Career Buddy

Career Buddy Career Buddy offers professional career advice and support to both students and professionals.

Career Buddy is available to:

Students & parents seeking advice on 3rd Level options and CAO support

Clients seeking advice on course changes and other HEI options, both national and international

Clients seeking advice, guidance and practical support with job-seeking, including CV building, job search planning, networking techniques, mock interviews and Skye interviews

Those in employment seeking advice and guidance on career change options

15/09/2017

TIP: Manage your time and stress levels well this Leaving Certificate year by planning well in advance. Despite only being two weeks back in school now is the time to get your application dates and deadlines in order between CAO, SUSI, HEAR and DARE etc. We can't help you study but we sure can help you with your college and career planning options. Please feel free to contact us anytime to arrange a confidential chat. All the best to the LC Students of 2017/2018.

21/08/2017

Good luck to all students who got their 2017 CAO course choices this morning. An anxious time, no doubt! However, remember the destination is YOUR career and not the course. If things don’t go your way today or Thursday (2nd round offers) consider some of the many PLC courses nationwide that will allow you progress to reach your ultimate goal. They are a brilliant alternative to start your journey and you’ll still end up in the same place with excellent experiences gained along the way! Good luck and best wishes........

21/07/2017

I spent time last week on both sides of the recruitment fence – working with potential candidates for a job in Dublin and interviewing for a senior PA role in Sligo. Interviewing is an emotional roller coaster for the interviewer as you experience both the highs and lows of all the candidates. Interviewers are human too! Have I any thoughts or reflections from the week? Yes. Preparation is key! Fail to prepare then prepare to fail. Two key lessons: you must read and understand the position description so that you can help the interview panel see where your skills and the requirements of the role are aligned. Secondly practice your interview skills with a mock interview. Better to clip the fences during the mock than at the main event. Using these two tips will improve your chances significantly!

07/07/2017

Should have gone to JOB Spec savers! Despite the position description listing everything you need to know about the job many hopefuls do not read the job description PROPERLY. Therefore they apply based on what they think they CAN do as opposed to what the employer needs. The person specification section is most important. This section tells you what the employer WANTS from the ideal person (Hopefully that’s you) including both hard and soft skills. Hard skills refer to the technical qualifications and soft skills are the less tangible ones needed to do the job effectively. The most common soft skills include communication, interpersonal, team player, initiative, flexibility, problem solving and organisation & planning. Next time you read a job specification for a role, ask yourself do you possess the qualities within the person specification? Have you the experience and skills necessary to carry out the roles and responsibilities of the job. If the answer to both is YES then you are in with a great chance!

03/07/2017

Why should we hire you? One of the most commonly asked questions at interview this is a much misunderstood and feared question. Simply, most candidates haven’t got a clue how to address it. Employers are not asking if you are a nice person who loves cats and like to help the elderly. They are simply asking you in a direct manner what makes you believe you deserve to be sitting opposite them. They are hoping that you know why you are there and that you will demonstrate your many transferable skills that will allow you to undertake their job effectively. Sadly, when asked about skills, talents, strengths, and attributes most (80%) of people can’t list, never mind explain theirs. If you don’t know what skills you possess how can you convince the panel you are suitable for their job? So - start by making a list of at least 8-10 of your top skills and then think back over your career/life to-date to identify where you have effectively used these skills. Transferable skills are skills that you have gained and used in the past that can be applied to new situations in the future…..like a new job!

16/06/2017

While many candidates tend to think of the summer as a relatively quiet time for job seeking it’s a very important time to get yourself “market ready”. Typically, mid-September is seen as the pick-up date for recruitment but this is too late to start your preparations. A common mistake we see with clients is they start preparing only when they apply for a position. THIS IS TOO LATE!! The problem here is if you do get the call the length of time between the application and interview is too short to properly prepare. Like a plane coming in to land you need lots of system checks and a good long runway. The very best candidates have their preparation work completed BEFORE they apply. So, use the next 8 weeks to get your CV, cover letter and interview techniques ready. September is only just around the corner!

13/06/2017

My colleague and business partner Michael Kilcullen will shortly start sharing some great insights from his new book on job searching on this channel. Michael hails from the recruitment industry on the East Coast and is now based in Ballina. He is the ideal person to review and revise CVs and to help prepare candidates for interview. As a former recruitment consultant he brings the “Employer perspective” directly to the candidate and his guidance is invaluable. Both Michael and I have worked (Successfully) with a number of candidates and helped them across the line.

06/06/2017

Spare a thought for the Class of 2017 who start their Leaving Certificate examinations tomorrow. Cast your mind back to that time in your life when your whole world revolved around that examination - which seemed to dominate your life. It’s amazing when you look back at it now and remember the anti-climax when the leaving cert exams ended. We saw the examination as a finish line when it reality it was only the start line. The very best of luck to everybody tomorrow and remember there is life after the Leaving Cert!

29/05/2017

Career Choices. Most of us end up in jobs or careers by luck (Good & bad), chance or just circumstances. If you ask somebody what would be they like to be – you’ll rarely find it’s the job they are doing. We come across lots of people who want to discuss their career and mostly hanker after a change. However in most cases it’s not always easy to discuss these weighty matters with your significant other. Why? Simple: they have skin in the game too. So telling them you’re fed up being an accountant and you want to start a rock band might not go down so well! The real heroes in the world of work are those who punch in 40 years doing a job they dislike. Life is too short to be doing something you don’t enjoy. So where do I start? Well speaking to a career coach is a good start as this will help you delve more deeply into the causes of your unrest – and begin the process of seeking suitable and realistic alternatives. And you may even start that rock band!

22/05/2017

What’s happening this week? We‘re working with a great candidate seeking a graduate placement and is called for his second interview. The candidate has all the right qualifications, experience & motivation – so why are we working with him? Simple – he suffers with interview stage fright or a bad case of nerves. So what can we do for him? Everybody experiences nerves coming up to interview – especially if you really want that job. Nerves can work for you – giving you that extra adrenalin rush – or more often nerves can sever the link between brain and mouth! Some simple breathing techniques and tools can help to keep those nerves in check to allow you perform well at interview!

18/05/2017

Good luck to the class of 2017 getting ready for the Leaving Cert! When the examinations finish there is a short window for those lucky enough to be called for the Familiarisation Day in the Cadet School. Make no mistake this day is key to your success in securing a cadetship. We were lucky to help coach applicants last year – some of whom are now in the second year of Cadet Training.

11/08/2015

Best of luck to everyone getting their results tomorrow!!

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