The Inside Track

There is sometimes a misconception out there that once you get invited to interview with a company then you are almost home and dry, the job is pretty much yours.? A lot of people feel that their experience and CV will speak for itself.? This could not be further from the truth, the impression you create in an interview is vital to the success of your job search.

Ahead of the next IMAGE Networking Breakfast, Charley shares her tips on interview performance..

How to prepare?

Do your research on the company and on the position offered.? Know your interviewers; look them up on Linkedin and on Company Websites and find out as much as you can about them.? Know their competitors and what they are up to.? Search Annual Company Reports.? Prepare answers. The first interview will commonly be competency based so make sure you prepare possible answers to possible questions.? Ensure to present your achievements in a Goal, Action and Result format.? Explain what you set out to achieve, how you went about achieving it and what the results were.

Here’s a few things to keep in mind:

• Dress to Impress – even if you feel it’s a more casual environment you are going into, you don’t know how the interviewers will be dressed so better to error on the side of caution.
• Arrive at least 5-10 minutes before the time
• Maintain a warm and friendly demeanor with everyone you come into contact with – start with the receptionist!
• Try to choose a seat that is directly opposite the interviewer – wait to be offered a chair before you sit.
• Give a warm handshake, nothing worse the being on the receiving end of a limp handshake.
• Body language is extremely important – Words express only about 30-35% of what people communicate. Maintain good eye contact throughout the interview; maintain an open body position, lean towards the interviewer a bit to show interest. Sit tall.
• Show enthusiasm in your answers
• Have questions prepared for the end? – Company growth plans, Professional development opportunities, culture of the company.

Things to avoid:

• Irritating habits such as pen clicking, hair twisting and foot swinging
• Overbearing ?Know it all? attitude
• Over emphasis on money

Charley Stoney, Group Managing Director, Alternatives Group

Charley joined Alternatives in May this year at a critical time in the group’s growth plan.? Her responsibility is focused on providing strong leadership and guidance that continues the group’s reputation for sourcing top talent in the marketing, customer and commercial disciplines.

Prior to joining Alternatives, Charley was Managing Director of FMI, a leading sales outsourced business, where the revenue and profits more than doubled over her six year tenure, despite trading through the recession.? In addition, she was previously Managing Director of McConnell’s Fusion, the below the line business within the former McConnell’s Advertising Group.? Before moving back to Ireland in 2003, Charley held a variety of sales and marketing roles in the UK ?within a variety of business sectors including, financial services, consumer electronics, ecommerce and marketing services.

At the IMAGE Networking Breakfast on Tuesday, October 28, Charley will talk about her ?unplanned career path?, sharing the highs and lows of an eventful journey which saw her start life as a porcelain restorer, (stashing her salary in a tin box under her bed), to her reinvention as a leading business woman in the Irish marketplace.? She will also share insights into career progression in today’s highly competitive environment and talk about how women are poised to increase their presence within the top echelons of Ireland’s business community.

*** STOP THE PRESS!! ***

Ticket includes luxury gift bag from Max Benjamin that includes an express breakfast blowdry from Dylan Bradshaw.

Prizes on the day include a stay at?Rathmullan House, Co. Donegal courtesy of Ireland’s Blue Book.

In association with KBC, Arnotts and No7.