Responding to the interview question: “Why are you leaving your current position?” By Matthew Coppola


Why are you leaving your current position?

There are many reasons why someone would leave their job.

They may have been made redundant, left for personal reasons or lost their job either for performance reasons or did not pass the probation period. Whatever the reason is (There could be so many reasons) this question usually comes up in an interview.

WHY IS THIS QUESTION ASKED

The employer/recruiter wants to know why you left your job because it’s a fair question and they want to be aware of your intentions and reasons for applying.

You may however decide not to tell them the real reason why you left. You may feel that they will think negatively of you or that you may lose the opportunity to secure the job because of your reason/s for leaving.

This is indeed a tricky question.

You may decide to be upfront and honest about your real reasons for leaving.

Or, you could approach the question the following way:

  • Explaining that you left for personal reasons, but then conclude by talking about the positive points of your experience, what you learnt and how you are ready to now take the next step in your career.

By taking this approach, no specific reason is provided but the prospective employer sees that you are positive about it all and just wanting to progress and move forward.

Would you like interview skills coaching? Contact Client Centric.

Would you like a new and tailored resume and cover letter that helps to highlight the valuable skills and experience you have gained in past roles? Would you like assistance addressing key selection criteria?

Why not contact the team at Client Centric Executive Employment Solutions. They would be happy to help. 

www.clientcentric.com.au

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Responding to the interview question: “Why do you want this job?” By Matthew Coppola


Why do you want this job?

Fairly straight forward question, right?

For most people, the real reason why they want the job may not be exactly what they decide is appropriate in the interview to say.

How so?

Some of the real reasons for wanting the job are:

  • Unemployed – need to pay the bills and so having a job is high priority. 
  • More money/higher income and greater job challenges.
  • To be involved and part of the work force.
  • Really need a job to sustain a certain lifestyle.
  • Desire to be industrious, hard working and busy.

I have highlighted the main reasons which I believe are the most common.

But should you prefer to provide another reason other then what I have listed above, you may opt to say the following:

  • Role really interests me and is exactly what I am looking for to make next step in my career.
  • As much as I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in my currently role, I feel now after ____ years, I am ready for a change.
  • Since being made redundant/leaving my last role, I have been actively searching for work. This job is precisely what I am seeking.

Would you like interview skills coaching? Contact Client Centric.

Would you like a new and tailored resume and cover letter that helps to highlight the valuable skills and experience you have gained in past roles? Would you like assistance addressing key selection criteria?

Why not contact the team at Client Centric Executive Employment Solutions. They would be happy to help. 

www.clientcentric.com.au

Dealing with nerves during a job interview, by Matthew Coppola


#interviewnerves
#nervousinterview
#interview
#jobinterview

When conducting interview coaching, I am often asked by individuals about how they can deal with their nerves during a job interview.

They feel that that they get so nervous and flustered, that they forget what to say, have a ‘mental blank’ and end up either saying something brief and short, or talking extensively around the question.
 
Then, they feel what they have said isn’t right and start to question what the prospective employer will think of them besides what is written in the resume.
 
Has this ever happened to you?
 
Indeed, this has certainly happened to me, as you can read here.
 
Below is a list of my suggestions on how you may be able to better cope with those nerves during the interview:
 
  • Have an introduction to your response, finishing it off with a concluding remark.
  • If you have a glass of water in front of you, take regular sips before responding.
  • Slow down your responses – don’t feel you need to rush your answer.
  • Emphasise certain points, stress certain parts of what you are saying, then take a pause – this helps buy you some breathing space and will also encourage them to really meditate and digest on what you are saying and trying to get across.
  • Thoroughly prepare, prepare, prepare for your interview before hand.
  • Get an early nights rest before the day of your interview.
  • Arrive early to the employer’s location and take the time to sit down and relax.
  • Read through the job description before your interview and really think about how your skills and experience match with what they are asking for. By having a good understanding of what they are after, you will hopefully feel more confident in yourself and feel less of a surprise when questions are asked of you.
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If you are interested in receiving interview skills coaching, please do not hesitate to contact the team at Client Centric Executive Employment Solutions. They would be very happy to help.
 
www.clientcentric.com.au

About employment services from Client Centric for Defence Force members and their partners, by Matthew Coppola


Client Centric Executive Employment Solutions offers a special tailored and expert service for members of the Australian Defence Force needing help transitioning into the civilian workforce and require a demilitarised resume and cover letter.

The range of tailored services that they offer to help individuals transition out of the army, navy or airforce include:

  • Professionally Written CV/Resume
  • Targeted Cover Letters
  • Interview Skills Coaching 
  • Revamped LinkedInTM profiles

​Their services are designed to market and promote an individual’s skills, experience and training gained from their time in service (as well as prior experiences before entering service) to a prospective employer in the civilian work force. 

Would you like a new and tailored resume and cover letter that helps to highlight the valuable skills and experience you have gained in your career to date? Would you like assistance addressing key selection criteria?

Link to the specific page on Client Centric’s website is: https://www.clientcentric.com.au/defence

Why not contact the team at Client Centric Executive Employment Solutions. They would be happy to help.

www.clientcentric.com.au

 

How many words should my responses be to the key selection criteria? By Matthew Coppola


So, as part of your application you need to address a set of key selection criteria. How long should your responses be?

Firstly, my suggestion is to find out if the employer/recruiter has asked for a certain number of words per response or how many pages your application should be. Will help you determine the length and size of your answers.

However, as a rule of thumb, my suggestion is to stay around 300-350 words per criteria. Or best to stay less than half a page long, with multiple paragraphs rather than a couple of long paragraphs that may be a little difficult to read.

Would you like a new and tailored resume and cover letter that helps to highlight the valuable skills and experience you have gained in your career to date? Would you like assistance addressing key selection criteria?

Why not contact the team at Client Centric Executive Employment Solutions. They would be happy to help.

www.clientcentric.com.au

 

How many pages should a cover letter be? By Matthew Coppola


The cover letter is equally as important as the resume. Although the CV summarises your skills, experience, education, personal details and references, the tailored cover letter takes the next step further to explain why you are suitable for a particular job.

So, how many pages should the cover letter be?

Unless the employer has stipulated their requirements for the length and size of the cover letter that they expect for each application, my suggestion is to stay to the general limit of a page.

However, every job application is different and it’s important to find out if the employer/recruiter has any expectations on how they would like the applications to be formatted and written.

Would you like a new and tailored resume and cover letter that helps to highlight the valuable skills and experience you have gained in past roles? Would you like assistance addressing key selection criteria?

Why not contact the team at Client Centric Executive Employment Solutions. They would be happy to help. 

www.clientcentric.com.au

What size font is best suited to a resume? By Matthew Coppola


So, you want to make sure that your resume can be easily read. What size font is best suited for a resume and cover letter?

My suggestion is size 10 font for the CV, and either size 10 or size 11 font for the cover letter.

Generally speaking, most job applications are viewed online, rather then printed out and read in paper form. The reason being is that a recruiter/employer may receive hundreds of applications. In the interests of saving paper/environmental sustainability and cost reduction (costs in paper and ink), they may opt to just view the application documents online.

Viewing documents on a computer screen allows you to expand and zoom in on the document, depending on the reader’s preference.

Would you like a new and tailored resume and cover letter that helps to highlight the valuable skills and experience you have gained in past roles? Would you like assistance addressing key selection criteria?

Why not contact the team at Client Centric Executive Employment Solutions. They would be happy to help. 

www.clientcentric.com.au