Jon Gregory's blog

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Location, location, location

"I've recently finished studying Mechanical Engineering and now I'm starting to look for a job. I'd like to stay near Southampton, because I've got a strong interest in sailing, but how much might that limit my employment prospects?"

Duncan is right to be thinking carefully about this issue. The choice about whether to move and whereabouts to work can not only have a big impact on your life, it can affect your whole career.

Taking control

"On a training course someone told me that I should always 'take control' of the interview, but how in the world would I do that? Where do I even start? I can't imagine trying to force my agenda onto the interviewing panel."

This was from Wendy during a group session on interview technique that I was running recently on behalf of a client making redundancies. Put another way, how do you put across what you really want to say when the interviewer is perhaps asking questions that don't touch on where your real strengths shine from?

Skype interview

"I've been given a date and time for a Skype call with a departmental manager from a company I'm applying for a job with. I feel okay about interviews generally, but this is a first for me. Is there anything special I should think about to prepare for it?"

Sally was attending a group interview preparation training session when she asked this question. Early-stage telephone or video preliminary interviews are becoming more and more common.

Describing yourself on a CV

"I'm giving my CV a major re-vamp in anticipation of jumping back onto the job market to look for a more senior post. I’m confused about how to describe myself as I’ve read lots of conflicting advice. Also, I’ve looked at samples of ‘professional’ CVs but that hasn’t made things any clearer."

Andrew is right, there is a lot of conflicting advice around on how best to describe yourself on a CV.

Had a gap between jobs?

“I was made redundant quite suddenly and it took me over three months to get offered another job. Unfortunately, by the time the employer wanted me to start, I ended up with a six month gap on my CV. I want to move my career forward again now but I’m worried about how this looks if apply for other jobs. What can I do?”

Marc was very concerned about this issue and it’s one that gets raised regularly where people have had a break between positions, chosen or otherwise, or had a gap after university and before work.

So what can you do?

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