We then set out on a career path with a clear starting point, a vague mid point and beyond that often a complete unknown.

Any thought of a subsequent career change is often put off. Instead promotions follow, headhunters call, offers are accepted and life goes on.

Then at some point, often triggered by a major birthday or a material change in personal circumstances or a significant external event such as redundancy, we reach a “career crossroads” when the idea of a career change becomes ever more attractive.

Perhaps our work-life balance is no longer acceptable or we are not enjoying what we do, which raises some important questions:

Am I going to seek a career change or continue what I am doing for the rest of my working life?

Is a major career change of direction feasible?

What do I really want to do?

And how am I going to make a career change?

The way forward is to take stock of where we are and decide where we would like to be and what it will take to get there:

Examine our skills, marketability and personal preferences.

Make decisions about what to do next, plan a strategy and then execute that strategy, just as we’d undertake a business project.

We now have a choice:

Do we try and struggle through this on our own?

Or do we consider enlisting professional support and know how, which will enable us to move forward more quickly and decisively and probably achieve a better result?

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You will generally find that career education courses and career training courses have a shorter duration than a degree course because they do not include general education subjects that you already learnt at high school. They also cover a wider range of subjects than you will find on degree courses.

If taking a degree course does not appeal to you or you would prefer a vocational course instead, career education and training may well be the right choice.

Online Career Education and Training

These days online learning is becoming an ever more popular way to gain career education and training. Consider these advantages:

• Because it’s less expensive than attending a college and enables you to work at your own pace and in your own time.
• Because you can often start at anytime although some online career education and training sites do have a designated start date.
• Because generally you can work at your own pace although be aware that some online course follow regular semesters.
• Because you won’t be on your own because most career education and training sites will appoint an instructor who will provide course material and set assignments.
• Because you’ll be working from home you will save on travel and accommodation expenses.
• Because mums can stay at home to study, enjoy not leaving their children and avoid costly childcare services.
• Because just like so much else on the Internet, career education and training courses are available regardless of your social status or whether you have a physical disability.
• Above all because there is no racial discrimination online.
• Because one huge advantage of taking a degree course is the chance to meet and interact with people from all walks of life and social backgrounds, which is also available through online career education and training courses because most offer forums where you can meet and discuss with other students who may be from anywhere worldwide.

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When the Duke of Wellington said that The Battle of Waterloo ‘was won on the playing fields of Eton’ he could have been stressing the importance of preparation. As with so much else in life, preparation for the first interview is pivotal.

To have a fighting chance at this stage, the candidate needs to treat it like an exam. Although recruiters will be aware that candidates could have interviews with other employers, they will want to be sure that a candidate has genuine reasons for applying to their company. Just wanting a job, rather than wanting a job with that particular company, is not going to get a potential employee very far.

The candidate should set about researching the company systematically. Key areas of research will be company history, leading executives, financial performance, recent news, global structure, recent successes and failures, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

This information serves as a minimum requirement to get through the early stages of the interview. The interviewee also needs an understanding of the basic functions of the department and the job applied for, as well as some background on the company’s graduate recruitment programme.

Candidates should also find out exactly what graduate position they are being considered for. There is nothing worse, for example, than going to an investment banking interview wanting to be a trader, when one is being interviewed for a back office position.

The first interview is normally carried out by a company’s human resources team. They are likely to be attending numerous universities interviewing for a number of different graduate positions.

From their point of view, the purpose of the first interview is to match potential employees’ character profiles with the corporate culture of the company and individual departments within it.

Interview check-list

A candidate should consider the following:

Questions

The purpose of all interviews is to enable both parties to make an informed choice. A candidate needs to perform a balancing act between conveying the right message in their answers, and asking the right questions to be able to make an informed decision if they are offered a job.

The first interview is a macro interview and questions should focus on the company and its approach to undergraduates’ hiring, training and development. Candidates should put time aside to prepare questions, research the answers and ideally ask for more information in the interview. The quality of a candidate’s questions says a lot about their research and the seriousness of their application.

Under the microscope

Everything that a candidate says and does is being assessed. The interviewer is assessing both style and content. This is a very subjective part of the process for the interviewer, who must whittle down a large number of applicants down to a manageable shortlist.

Enthusiasm

There is a saying that enthusiasm sells. So if a candidate feels enthusiastic about certain aspects of the company, the job or their own life, they should demonstrate it.

Know thyself

Recognize strengths and weaknesses. There should be alignment to the psychometric test or questionnaire. Candidates should be able to back-up any comments with real life examples.

Pressure

Be prepared for shock tactics: not every interviewer will be pleasant. There are many cases where there may be two or more interviewers involved at this stage, and it is not uncommon for someone to take on the ‘bad cop’ role. This person will put the interviewee under pressure by being confrontational, questioning answers aggressively and testing the resolve or depth of true knowledge, feeling or desire on issues.

Logic and consistency

The interviewer is looking for a consistency of message. For example, in the types of job and company applied for.

Presentation

First impressions last. Some people say that one never looks as good as at the first interview. Invest time into preparation. If in doubt, it is better to err on the side of being more conservative.

Punctuality

Be early, know where to go, and plan the journey. If an interview is at 1700 in London the time taken may be longer than it takes at 0800 because of rush-hour traffic, for instance. Being late for a first interview is a killer.

Top tips

Do not arrange an interview for the morning after a big night out. Chew a mint or gum before arriving, and watch out for cigarette or kebab breath. If nervous, put some tissue paper or a paper towel in a pocket – this is good for wiping the sweat from hands before handshakes.

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Being well prepared for a job interview can make all the difference. Doing homework on the company and the industry can ensure that candidates have a steady stream of relevant answers when the interviewer starts asking questions.

But what is just as important is for candidates to have some questions of their own ready. This shows that the candidate is thinking about what has been said and is trying to better understand what is required.

Active listener, active contributor

The candidate should be an active listener, as well as an active contributor. Nothing loses the goodwill or interest of an employer more than a candidate who consistently misses the point and is not focused on what is being asked. This is often a result of nerves. If this is the case, the candidate should just pull back and concentrate on the point of the question.

Asking for clarification buys thinking time and teases out more information. To make sure that the next job is a positive career move and not a leap into the great unknown requires rigorous preparation.

Prospective employers, for their part, are not charities or foundations. They need candidates who can meet their requirements and bring something extra to the business.

A two-way street

Candidates should find out what they will be getting from their prospective employers. Not just in terms of remuneration, though it is important to think this through and to discuss it at the right stage, but also in terms of personal and career development.

The interview process is the first step in the relationship and needs to be a two-way street. The two key questions are: is this the right company for me and is this the right job for me? Some of that information can be found in company brochures and websites, but it is also crucial to make use of the interview process.

Find out what happened to predecessors

Candidates should ask what has happened to the last three people who did the job they are applying for. Have they been promoted through the ranks of the company and are they now enjoying heady perks at the top of the ladder, or have they been shuffled off sideways into a dead-end job?

Perhaps the predecessors no longer work for the company. If so, did the job catapult them into the managing director’s chair in a rival company or did they leave because the job was heading nowhere?

If predecessors are now doing exactly the sort of job the candidate is dreaming of, then the job could be perfect. If they are not, deciding whether the position is the right one may require further thought.

If applying to a multinational firm because the idea of travelling appeals, the candidate should find out what the opportunities for international experience are.

It is all a matter of asking the right questions and finding out exactly what the scope is before accepting the job.

Think big, but watch the detail The candidate should take a careful look at the employer and its departments. Also get a clear picture of where the company is going strategically. There is no point getting the ideal job in a company that will cease trading in a year.

On the other hand, an employer might not be able to offer the ideal job now, but it may offer great opportunities for the future. It is important to find out what the aspirations of prospective employers are. If a candidate is looking for US experience, a company that is just about to expand across the Atlantic could offer them a valuable opportunity.

To an outsider, the most mundane job can look glamorous if it is in the right wrapping. It is up to a candidate to peel off the layers and get down to the true essence of a position. That involves doing some background research, talking to people who work for the company and using that information to ask the right questions in the interview. Making an informed decision is at the heart of changing jobs.

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Preparation will also go some way to banish pre-interview nerves. But most importantly, research will help you to establish whether a company or industry can match your needs and ambitions.

Follow this advice to help you make a positive and memorable first impression:

• Start with the basics and read the company’s own material. Look at their website and get a copy of the annual report. This will give a clear picture of the firm’s products and services and its strategic direction.
• Get information from Justpeople.com, the national press and relevant trade journals about the company and its competitors. Find out what role the company plays in its business sector and where it stands in relation to competitors.
• Make a note of important facts, such as share price history, pending mergers and acquisitions, or changes in key personnel. Ask yourself what is special about the company, how it differs from its rivals.
• Find out about the key figures in the company and industry. You will begin to see a pattern of the abilities and temperament required to succeed. Notice also which skills are in demand – engineering, accounting, marketing?
• If possible, come up with original ideas that could add value to the company.
• A company’s philosophy, often captured in a lofty mission statement, may differ from the day-to-day reality of working there. To get a better understanding of a firm’s culture and reputation, talk to friends or relatives who work in that business sector, or who can put you in touch with people who do. You could also identify and make direct approaches to individuals who work in the industry in order to find out more. This is a good opportunity to establish useful contacts and get names of other people to talk to – but don’t be tempted to ask for a job there and then.

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So here are some tips on how to write a better resume:

Objectives
Your resume has two objectives:

1. To secure an interview by quickly showing that you fulfil the job requirements as described in the job advertisement or by the recruitment agency.
2. To act as a prompt for the interviewer by providing the details that back your claim to be a preferred candidate.

Remember: Your resume does not get you the job – just the interview.

Attributes

1. Your resume should enable the person screening a pile of them to quickly ascertain the salient points that will decide whether you are a potential candidate.
2. At the same time, it should also contain the detail that will interest an interviewer. To fulfil these attributes, it must be easy to read.

Layout
The standard way to layout a resume is as follows:

1. Start with your personal details: name, address, phone numbers and email address.
2. Continue with your educational qualifications, professional qualifications and skills including software and methods.
3. Follow this with your experience in reverse chronological order. List employers, dates and your title. Describe the skills and methods you used and your achievements.
4. It is vital that you are conscious of the skills and experience required by the position for which you are applying and weave your own experience of them into your narrative.
5. End with interests and hobbies but be careful: candidates with a consuming hobby that could interfere with the business day, might be avoided.
6. Many recruiters advocate that your resume fit onto two pages but don’t feel constrained by this if you genuinely need more space to relate your key skills and experience where they coincide with the requirements of the position for which you are applying.

Bespoke
It is essential that your resume clearly demonstrates your suitability for the position. So, consider producing a separate resume for each application that directly addresses a match between the skills and experience required and offered. The overall content may be the same but you could put your most relevant skills and experience first.

Typography
Your resume may only have a few seconds to impress the scanner before being relegated to the failed pile – also called the bin. So it is of paramount importance that your resume can be easily and quickly read. Achieve this by following some simple guidelines:

1. When word processing your resume, save it in Rich Text Format (RTF) to ensure that someone without your word-processing software can easily open and read it. PDF documents can also be read by anyone who has the ubiquitous and free Adobe Acrobat Reader but remember that readers will not be able to edit your Curriculum Vitae, which may or may not be desirable.
2. Use black ink printed on a quality bond paper.
3. Your resume must be easy to read fast. You can achieve this by the use of wide margins so that each line of text has no more than about 70 characters. Think about newspapers that print in quite narrow columns that can be read by scanning the eye down rather than from side to side. Conversely, narrow margins with wide lines mean that the eye struggles to move to the next correct line when the distance from the right side back to the left is too far. Try top and bottom margins of about ¾ inch or 20 mm with left and right margins of 1¼ inches or 33 mm.
4. Although san serif type faces such as Arial have a clean modern look, it is actually easier to read serif faces such as Times New Roman, Palatino or Perpetua because the little feet or serifs on each character form an invisible line for the eye to follow. Because Times is so overused, you may prefer to stand out by using Palatino or Perpetua. Whichever you choose, stick with one font throughout. The only other layout that looks pleasing and that you will see used in many newspapers and magazines is to use a sans serif face for all heads and subheads and a serif face for everything else.
5. Don’t mix lots of font sizes. Either use one size throughout – 11 point is a good choice – or use a font one point larger for heads and subheads.
6. A word-processor is not a typewriter, so don’t use the space bar to align text. Set proper stops instead. This will also make it easy if a recruiter needs to amend your resume to a standard house style because stops can easily be adjusted whereas unnecessary spaces take ages to remove.
7. Don’t use underlining or ALL CAPITALS. They are old-fashioned, look like shouting and belong to the typewriter age when they were the only way to highlight text. Instead, use bold, italic or bold italic but do so sparingly.
8. Above all, leave plenty of white space. Firstly, it makes your resume easier to read. Secondly, it gives the interviewer room to write notes.

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Typically the second, or final, interview stage will tend to consist of panel interviews and group work, as well as one-on-one interviews. Each of these elements has a purpose and put together will allow employers to select the successful candidate.

Group sessions typically include up to three activities. First, there are discussions where topics are introduced and debated within the group. Usually these topics have an element of confrontation so as to assess a candidate’s contribution, testing their ability to put and defend a case and win others over to their point of view.

In a group of six or more this environment can be fun or hostile, depending on the group and a candidate’s knowledge about the topic. Having a leading role in these discussions is the best way of raising profile, but quality of content and ability to argue your case will be viewed favourably.

Tips for group role tests

Another common test is problem solving in a project format, working against the clock. Group dynamics are observed, as are the final results of the project.

Personality traits are assessed by observing the roles adopted and the ways in which people interact. The roles can include leader/manager, sales, entrepreneur and technician. These functions are broad descriptions for traits which individuals display when working in a group, particularly in an environment where there is fierce internal and external competition.

A very easy mistake for ambitious people to make is to think that the role of group leader is the only one worth having. As so much work is team-based and requires colLabouration, a candidate should work out which skills the group as a whole needs to be effective, and fit in accordingly.

R Meredith Belpin’s work has shown that everyone can play more than one team-role, although most people have usually no more than two significant role strengths. So spot the role that the group most needs, and if it is suitable, play it up.

Tips for presentations

There is also scope for individual work followed by a presentation. These presentations may be to the candidate’s small group, the combined group or an interviewing panel.

There is not much which can be done to prepare for these types of session beforehand. The best approach is to be well read on current events, get public speaking and presentation experience, and do some research into last year’s sessions. The content of the exercises may change, but the format will stay the same if it has been successful.

The two best ways of acquiring inside information are speaking to people already in the company and asking for it at the first interview. Often the best information, on anything from exams to share options, is from an insider. As the saying goes, ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’. So ask – the worst that can happen is that someone will say no.

Tips for panel interviews

Panel interviews are always harrowing. In one graduate interview, the candidate sat on a swivel office chair facing a panel of five people who were sitting in front of a huge window looking out onto a busy railway square.

The candidate had a tendency to fidget and get easily distracted so this was a big test. The hardest thing was not to swivel too much when talking to the people at either end of the panel. Managing to sit still for an hour helped get the job.

Panel interviews are usually made up of a human resources specialist and divisional managers, who may be competing for graduates or looking to make a joint decision. Some panels may also include senior management and or psychiatrists. These interviews allow a number of different directions to be pursued, in an environment where not everyone will agree with the interviewee’s viewpoint.

Good cop, bad cop

Some panels have a designated ‘good cop’ and ‘bad cop’. These interviews are a test of thinking on the spot, making judgements on why questions are being asked and where they are going to lead.

Do not expect to get on with everyone and have your view shared: explain and give reasons, but be careful not to become argumentative. Also beware of the silent person: they are likely to ask left-field questions.

Sometimes questions may be trite or obscure, to flush out contradictions between the candidate’s second interview, psychometric test, or first interview responses. But a panel interview can also be easier than a one-on-one because a panel may not be that well co-ordinated.

Tips for one-to-one interviews

The one-on-one interview will often be more micro focused, based on the hiring manager’s style, views and departmental needs. As a result the exercise often focuses on specific skill matching and therefore time may be spent testing or looking back on the candidate’s analytical or language skills.

There can be some difficult questions that may require the candidate to call on knowledge learnt during their degree, or problem solving. Other questions will be scenario-based, designed to test the candidate’s approach to handling particular situations. In many cases these will lead on to a resulting scenario which will need further solutions.

A third major element of the interview will be a discussion of the specifics of the department and the job. The interviewer will want to determine knowledge, level of interest and reasons for applying to that particular area of the company and for that job.

Both the first and second interviews have sections where the company will sell the benefits of coming to work for them, as opposed to the competition, to candidates and expect them to ask questions. Prepare questions and always be ready to respond to unexpected ones that arise in the interview.

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