The normal model for a job search is that you go online and apply for jobs, or hope that a recruiter will send you forward for openings that they’re working on. Perhaps you do some ‘networking’ by calling people you know and you may even meet a few for coffee. Our belief at Career Mentor is that in an effective job search, you need to be more proactive and in control of the process.

When you think about all of the things that go into presenting yourself in the optimum way during an interview, your posture and body language should definitely be on that list. In this blog, I’ll run through three levels to consider when it comes to body language and job interviews.

During a job search, you’re going to be reaching out to people in your professional network. Those people may be warm, lukewarm or cold contacts. There are a variety of reasons for wanting to send a message - primarily, it’s a step to ask for help to find and secure a job that aligns with your broader career goals. You’ll likely be doing this via text, email, Bloomberg or - increasingly - LinkedIn message.

When you’re assessing a particular firm to join, there’s an important factor to consider and that’s how they’ve set up their incentives. This is an area that’s often overlooked, but might well be a red flag. This is a key area I cover with my clients once they’ve secured a job offer. It’s an area worth considering carefully and asking thoughtful questions about during the interview process.

Starting a new role at a new firm and getting the nasty shock that things aren’t quite what you signed up for is, thankfully, not a common occurrence. However, it does happen, so it’s certainly worth knowing about because it’ll determine the actions you take and the question you ask as you’re accepting an offer and joining a new firm.

If you’re having a job interview with one interviewer, there are two agendas for you to contend with. If there’s more than one person - well, let’s not even go there (just yet). In this brief read, let’s look at what those two agendas are so that you can lift your level of interview skills and thus achieve better job search results.

Do a search on Google or YouTube about how to write a CV, and you’ll see any amount of advice, some of which is conflicting. Finding the best solution to your CV-related problems is not always straightforward, especially if you’re under time-pressure to send it to a recruiter or hiring manager. In this short read, we’ll go through 7 mistakes that should be avoided to ensure your CV is ready to go at the drop of a hat.

Is it possible that occasionally you lift your head up from the path, look towards the horizon, and wonder if you’re still going in the right direction? Becoming a bit lost in your career and not being sure where you ‘re heading is something that happens to many Financial Services professionals. In this short read, we’ll discuss this issue and give you some practical ideas for gaining greater clarity.

The issue of what to do if your 'top cover’ at work changes has come up twice in quick succession with my coaching clients. Your ‘top cover’ is typically the person in the firm who recruited you, protects you, and lobbies on your behalf - they’re the one who always has your back. If that person changes or moves on, it’s important to take a step back and consider if you too need to make a change.

In a job interview, the interviewer has a short amount of time to get answers to the questions they have. This often leads to them adopting an ‘interrogation’ style for the interview: I’ve got the questions and you’ll answer them. That can often be unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons, and can also fail to create the best result for the interviewer. So, how can you navigate this dynamic effectively? That’s the focus of this week’s blog.

During a job interview, you’re going to be asked many questions and it’s clearly important to listen carefully for ‘constructs’ placed in the question. Spotting them will help you form great answers and present yourself well as a great candidate. In this short read, we’re going to look at presuppositions, binary choices and universals.

If you’re actively looking for your next career opportunity or are concerned that your job could be ‘put at risk’ in a difficult market, then it’s really important to have visibility. In fact, I’d go one step further: if you’re simply not getting interviews, then a key missing component is most likely your visibility. Let’s look at this more closely and discover some ways to fix that.

Making a change in your career path is not always straightforward. It’s likely that interviewers are going to try to allay their concerns in a job interview. Let’s have a look at this from their point of view and then come up with some guidelines that will serve you well.

There’s no question that LinkedIn has become an essential tool in having a successful career. Despite this, many Financial Services professionals are not using the platform in the most effective manner. In this short read, I’ll focus on the importance of connection requests and how best to open productive conversations.

You might be forgiven for thinking that having a successful career is a result of getting the right opportunities. In a way, you’re right. However, there are some other factors that are in a chain that need to be in the right sequence to ensure that you actually find career success.

As we stride into 2024, it’s time to look ahead to what that year might hold for you and your career. In our last blog, we encouraged you to ask some questions about how things went for you in 2023. Now in Part 2, we’ll ask some questions that will help you to look forward. We invite you to take a moment to create a compelling vision for the year ahead.

As we come to the end of the year, you might be able to find some time to reflect on what happened for your career in 2023. In this first of a two-part blog, we’ll ask some important questions, which, when answered, will create a base from which to move on and think about your ambitions and plans for 2024:

It’s highly likely that at some point in an interview process, you’ll be asked a situational question. The STAR approach is a great way to answer these questions. In this blog, I’ll discuss situational questions, the STAR method, and how to utilise it to best effect. 

There are a few slightly odd things that can happen in job interviews that can throw you off track. However, if you anticipate them and factor this into your interview preparation, it’s possible to use them to your advantage. In this short read,I’ll go through them so that you can add them to your job interview preparation and rehearsals.

Imagine this situation. You’ve conducted your job search well and have secured an offer that you’ve signed and agreed. You’re now in the process of resigning from your current firm and lo and behold, they set to work persuading you to stay. This is a career shaping moment and it can go badly wrong. Let’s look at what’s in play.

You’ve decided to make a change in your career and have successfully conducted a job search and now you have an offer. Why is it then that you’re hesitating about taking the plunge?

As you engage in a job search and then find yourself in an interview, what should you do if it becomes apparent that you lack a key component that the interviewer is looking for? 

I’ve just had a conversation with someone who has been conducting their job search for some time and has yet to have any success. It was difficult to diagnose where the problem in their process lies because their activities have been somewhat haphazard. They haven’t kept track of the results they’ve been getting at each stage for the journey. This means that they have no real data to draw on and analyse.

Getting a verbal offer is a real achievement and milestone in your job search. It may mean that you’re now close to getting your desired result. However, it might also mean that the number is too low and that you’ll have to turn the offer down and keep looking. So, what are the questions to ask both the potential employer and yourself? Let’s go through some ideas.

Job searches can be a long and exacting process. If you’re employed, you’ll be short of time and if you’re out of work, there may well be cash flow pressures so the clock is ticking.

How useful would it be to have an easy checklist of the most essential things to do in preparation for a job interview? Well, with that in mind and drawing on the work I do as part of my career coaching, here are 10 key things that will help make sure you’re well prepared for any upcoming interview. 

With 930 million members, which includes all of your colleagues, competitors and future employers, on LinkedIn, I think that we can agree that doing just the basics to enhance your profile is something to seriously consider. In this blog, I’m going to focus on two simple things that you can do to make yourself more findable and more likely that someone will reach out to open a conversation.

Like it or not, the job interview remains the gateway for getting any new job. Therefore, avoiding common mistakes when trying to get interviews for jobs that you’re targeting is critical. So let’s have a look at the things not to do in a job search.

We are speeding towards the last quarter of the year and attention will soon turn to end of year appraisals, bonus conversations and planning for next year. We know that it’s a time when people quit for new jobs with new firms. Management teams will have to go out and hire to replace those that they have lost to the competition.

In our previous blog post, we looked at the importance of recognising the early signs of burnout for professionals in Financial Services and what those signs are. Taking action early before burnout is clearly imperative. With that in mind, let's consider 4 practical steps you can take to prevent it developing and reclaim balance so that your career is more fulfilling and better aligns with your career vision, values and ambitions.