Nov
30
Joe McDermott | News and Events

From 1 October new laws were introduced to give agency workers similar rights in pay and benefits as their permanent colleagues.

As mentioned, there has been an increasing trend in employers taking on temporary and contract staff over the last couple of years presumably to avoid costly benefits such as sick leave and holiday payments. With an estimated 1.4 million agency workers in the UK this is a lot of savings. However this money saving technique is set to change from October with employers having to grant similar rights to all staff. (more…)

Nov
27
Joe McDermott | How To Answer

A very popular interview question and one that is favoured by the traditionalists is:

“Please tell me what are your weaknesses?”

So many candidates have lost jobs with the answers they give to this one question. So, how do you answer it effectively while at the same time making sure you don’t give something away which would give your prospective employer a reason not to hire you? (more…)

Nov
27
Joe McDermott | Employers
With ever increasing topics now the subject of discrimination legislation employers could be forgiven for wondering how on earth they can find out about people in job interviews without falling foul of the law. (more…)
Nov
27
Joe McDermott | Employers
Employing the right person in the first place is much cheaper in the long run than skimping on the hiring process and taking on the first person that comes along, so it pays to take time to decide how to interview your candidates. Learning how to interview effectively is essential and here are some top tips that will help anyone to conduct the job perfect interview. (more…)
Nov
22
Joe McDermott | Job Interview Advice

Preparing for an interview will undoubtedly help your performance on the day by giving you more confidence, and enabling you to be better able to answer questions competently and accurately, and also to present your capabilities to maximum effect. You will not know of course, the precise questions that will be asked, but you can cover the various areas and topics likely to come up. (more…)

Nov
21
Joe McDermott | Assessment Centres, Job Interview Advice
It is very likely that you will be invited to attend an Assessment Center at some stage in your career and during your job search process. It can be quite baffling and indeed a little scary for a first timer and in this article I will give you some top advice and tips as to what Assessment Center Exercises here in the UK are all about what is involved and how to pass. (more…)
Jun
5
Joe McDermott | How To Answer
So you arrive at the interview and find yourself in the hot seat. All eyes are upon you and the first question the interviewer asks is:

‘Tell me about yourself’

Ok, you think, nice open question, easy one, so you launch into a great rambling ten minute speech giving all the details about your life from the day your were born including your hobbies and the name of your cat. (more…)

Feb
4
Joe McDermott | Job Interview Advice
As interviewers, we pay particular attention to the questions that the candidate asks us during the interview. Our experience shows this can sometimes say more about their interests and intentions than the answers they have given to our questions.  (more…)