Coaching, which became extremely popular in recent years, first developed in sporting activities where hiring a coach improved team performance. Later in the 20th century, Sir John Whitmore noticed the connection between sports coaching and organisations building a framework of GROW model, one of the most popular and common models in business coaching. 

Life coaching is relatively a new discipline in the coaching industry. However, it’s gaining more attention and recognition for the benefits, leading to enhanced well-being and personal functioning (Grant & O’Hara, 2006). Qualifying recently as a Personal, Leadership and Executive Coach and based on my work with the clients for the last year, in this blog, I will answer the question: What Life and Career coaching is and how you can benefit from Life and Career coaching process. 

What are Life and Career Planning Coaching? 

Career and Life Planning is a learning process structured to provoke your thoughts, to develop your working life and personal life, focusing on the moment, and moving forward.  

There are several different types of coaching, depending on the interventions, but the bottom line is why people are looking for change (Kingstown College)

The same applies to Life and Career Planning Coaching. However, discovering what you really want can take some time and reflection. The coach will not provide you with the solution but will start thoughts and feelings to help you find meaning in your life and work. One solution would not fit everyone but the process can help you find your personal vision and transform that vision into a plan with SMART goals. 

How is the Life and Career Planning process structured?

1. Analysis of the current situation

Reflect on your current situation right now. Many people underestimate this step, looking for an immediate change to run away from the situation. Career and Life planning looks into the entire life, looking into parts of your life that are important to you.  During your life, you will realise that the importance of different elements is changing. Ask yourself questions: 

• What is going well in your life and work? Give examples!
• What would you like to see more of?
• What are the areas of your life that are important to you?
• What is the meaning of my life?
• What is the quality of your life now? What type of life quality do you want?

2. Self-analysis- Career Design Blueprint

Make a self-analysis, inventory of your strengths, top skills, talents, passions, interests and understand better who you really are.  Focus on discovering what you know, what you have to offer and what you want to take with you to your future career. 

Look into a previous article to get some inspiration How to successfully change your career

3. Building my vision for the future

In this phase of the process, you have to be really honest with yourself. There are different reasons people are looking for a change; sometimes, they look for change without knowing what they want. There are many options available, and the sky’s the limit, but listen to your inner voice and answer the question: What do you really want in your life? Are you living the life you choose, or are you fulfilling someone else’s dream?

4. Goals and personalised action plan

You can complete your life and career blueprint with all the clues, traits, skills, values and paths. The next step is to start achieving what you really want. Change requires time; some steps can be achieved quickly, others take a bit longer.  They are not written in stones; you can adjust them during the process. But once you’ve set yourself a goal, you make yourself accountable for achieving this goal. 

 Check regularly the progress from your Career Blueprint and where you are with your goals. Regular assessment, constant validation of your goals and action plan are crucial in achieving the change.

Meet Kamila S. Kucharska, Recruitment and Employer Branding Specialist, working with thousands of companies globally, helping them manage their online recruitment strategies more effectively to find and hire the best people in the world.

Job seeking is one of the most stressful experiences in our life. Kamila shares her tips on how to search for a job and how to feel more confident during the whole process.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I have people around me, personally and professionally, who are always saying that I am a “people person” with the ability to build long-lasting relationships. When I heard it for the first time, I realized that it may be a good choice for me to study International Relations, focusing on Foreign Trade as I was always passionate about Sales and helping others solve problems. As the people aspect in the organization started to be more and more interesting for me, I worked hard to finish my second Master’s Degree, in HR.  Going this extra mile was a great choice as I have been working in this field for 12 years already. I may say I am lucky to connect my interests of Recruitment and Sales in my current role – as an Account Manager, supporting companies to find the best Talents on the market.

Where to start if you are looking for a new job?

When you start looking for a job, you need to understand your own professional needs and career goals fully. It’s essential not only for people searching for a job for the first time but also for those who are changing career paths completely or want to be promoted to a position in the new company. Make your plan, analyze things you may improve to reach your goals, f.e., additional training (improving your soft/hard skills), work on your CV and LinkedIn profile.

Why is customizing your CV so important?

Imagine the situation that you are a recruiter, and you are opening CV nr 57 today? If it is not customized, it won’t grab anybody’s attention. Think from the recruiter perspective – it should be easy to catch the experience and skills relevant to the specific position you are applying for. It is good to hear you have communication skills while talking with clients but is it really nr 1 skill when applying for the Data Analyst position?  Built your personal brand for the role that you are applying for.

What do you mean by Personal Brand?

In my opinion, a personal brand is very similar to a corporate one. It is showing who you are, what your values are and how you express them. It is your chance to communicate with future employers. What is important? Before you start to work on your Personal Brand, think about who is your audience. Create content (for example, on LinkedIn ) about the industry you are working in, participate in groups and connect with people who share similar interests.

How to stay on the top of the job search?

Whether you are currently working, you are unemployed or finishing your education; you have many sources where you can look for a job. It is good to use a few of them at the same time to increase the chances to find your next employer.

Recruitment Portals

If you are searching for a job on websites like Indeed, LinkedIn or Monster, do not forget to set up the job alert to make sure that you are aware of any new opening in the field you are interested in.

Upload your CV to their databases – your profile will be visible for recruiters and Hiring Managers that are looking for a specific set of skills, title, or education;

Social Media

Join the groups but also be active to connect with people. They may know about job openings.

Recruitment Agencies

Contact them and ask about the possibility to speak about your background, they have a wide pool of clients who are looking for candidates, and they may match your job expectations with the expectation of the company;

Networking

Create a list of companies you are interested in, connect with people who work there, follow their social profiles – may be, for example, there is a coming Open Day or they will be a part of Job Expo (once we will have them back :)),

Unemployment offices

Your local Intreo Centre can also provide additional support, especially for a job search in your area.

LinkedIn is a great place to grow your professional network with people from different companies and industries. It is a start point to build relationships with hiring managers and recruiters. But, like any other platform, you have to use it wisely and strategically to get the best results out of it. The steps below will help you structure your plan for running your Linkedin Networking Campaign when you are actively looking for a job.

If you are not familiar with LinkedIn and Networking, here are a couple of LinkedIn courses available:

LinkedIn networking: Online Courses, Training and Tutorials on LinkedIn Learning

5 Tips how to successfully build your LinkedIn Networking Campaign

1. Find your target audience  

Even if you don’t have a premium Linkedin accounts, make sure that you use Boolean Search when you look for people. Combine keywords and titles that are customised to your search. Before you start, make a list of targeted keywords.

2.  Reach out to the right people

Start reaching out to people on Linkedin who are doing the job you are interested in, hiring managers in the company that you are targeting, and recruiters hiring for the specific role.  Your ultimate goal is to start building a relationship with them, learning more about the future and the role.  Also, they can submit your resume as a referral later, when the role is open. It’s important to network regularly and keep consistency in your Networking Campaign.  Don’t ask straight away for help in finding a job (if you are reaching out to current employees)- ask for advice or network connection instead.

DO NOT SEND YOUR RESUME STRAIGHT AWAY!!!

3. Be patient- it takes time!

Networking takes some time. Make sure that you are consistent with your reach-outs.

1. 1. To make it efficient, book time in your calendar (30- 60 min) EVERY DAY.
   2. Set up a target and keep track of the invitations that you’ve sent. 
   3. From ca.100 invitations during the week, you should receive 15-20 responses.

4. Check your LinkedIn inbox every day!

If someone doesn’t follow up with you within a week- send a follow-up message.

5. Ask for an informal call

Some of your reach out will turn into informal interviews. It’s a golden opportunity to sell yourself as a potential candidate for the role.

Do you feel stuck in your job but are not sure what to do next? Have you been reflecting on your career recently and realised that you don’t find fulfilment anymore? Are you thinking of changing the industry, but you are not sure if you have skills?

Deciding on a significant career change can be a rocky road.  You might be someone who recently graduated and looking for a first job or someone who wants to pursue a new path. Perhaps you want to grow your career in your current field but change the industry?  How to be sure when is the right moment for change? How to know what to do next?

Career Change is a process, and there is no shortcut there. I went through it myself, and I have definitely learned valuable lessons as I went through the relaunch of my career.

Knowing yourself, taking time to reflect on your interest, passions, skills, and experience, understanding the fundamentals of your future job are the most important elements of the career change process.

Are you ready for the career change?

Fear of something new, leaving something that we know for something new and unstable, is why people are afraid of making a career change. Objectively review your current situation and evaluate if you are ready for a move:

1. What makes you unhappy in your current place? Is it a seasonal lack of motivation? 
2. Is it the right time to make a career change?
3. Is your life stable enough to make a change?

Deciding on your career

Take a matter in your own hands and reassess what path is right for you. It’s a golden opportunity to clarify what a perfect career should look like and truly understand yourself. 

Career Change Reflection – reflect on your current job’s components and how you feel about them. What are the elements that you like? What are the elements that you don’t enjoy? What are the activities that energise you at work, and what drains you? What is the definition of success to you? Think about the career ideas that are appealing to you and reflect on what you like about them? Go ahead with the search, look at the opportunities in the targeted areas, talk to people in the industry, research roles.

Personal values assessment – research shows an increase in job satisfaction if your values are aligned with the company values.  What do you stand for? If there is anything that you could change in the world, what would that be? There are plenty of personal value assessments available online if you are not sure about your values. Identify what really matters to you.

Identify your top skills and talents – reflect on your childhood and the subjects you were particularly good at? Is anything that you are particularly unique at? Talk to your friends and colleagues and ask them what they think your 3 top skills are? What are you really good at?

Personality assessment – investigate your personality type. You will gain more clarity on your purpose in life and natural strengths.

Your achievements – things you are good at and proud of regardless of the opinion of others. Anything that you did when your motivation was high, and you enjoyed doing it. Think about both your achievements at work and outside your work.

Passions and interests – often, we decide to pursue a career based on the influence of others without cultivating our true interests or passions. Think about what you really love to do, and how could you include that in your professional career?

Work Environment – think about all the elements of a successful career environment. Use the linked exercise to discover those elements that are most important to you.

Trust your instinct and make a decision – after doing the logical analysis, pulling clues from all the reflection and exercises collectively, it is time to make your decision. It is both an art and a science, and there has to be an alignment between your skills and what feels right.

From a dream to an action plan

Planning for financial flexibility – before you make an actual movie, you have to spend some time getting organised. A big part of it is financial planning and financial security during transition time. Consider compensation upfront. It’s important to know how much you spend each month and how much you need to earn your future job to meet your financial goals.

What skills can you transfer to a new career? Think about both soft and hard skills to have a healthy combination of both. Reflect on skills that you are lacking and look for ways how you can acquire them. Perhaps you can find a mentor or network with someone in the industry that you are targeting. There are plenty of free online courses available. Start networking with people and scheduling informal interviews to build your contacts.

SEO of your own brand – every industry speaks its own jargon, and you have to learn to speak that language. Your resume and LinkedIn profile need to include industry-specific keywords to get attention from recruiters and hiring managers. Craft your CV for a career change to sell all your skills and experience to the new role.

Change won’t happen overnight! Build your plan and take small, daily steps to execute it. 

Career transition can be a stressful experience for anyone. Finding a job that aligns with your values, career goals and meets financial expectations at the same time is a difficult task. Fear of struggling financially in making a change is one reason people don’t change their jobs.  When you are changing your career or even in unexpected circumstances of losing a job, the concern is always about not having enough money to survive. Discover 5 tips on how to plan financial flexibility for a career change.

Changing your career or switching your career completely might require starting from the bottom, and that often means taking a significant pay cut. 

Before you make an actual move, you have to spend some time getting it organised. Big part of it is financial planning and financial security during transition time.  It’s important to understand how much you spend each month and how much you need to earn your future job to meet your financial goals.

How to start planning your career transition budget?

1. Build up your savings

We all have heard that we should have some savings. But the question is – how much? It is advisable to have at least 6 months of salary. When you don’t have a job for few months, such savings can cover your basic expenses. It also gives you the flexibility to look for the best possible offer, instead of accepting the first one simply because you are under pressure to cover your day-to-day expenses. 

2. Understand your expenses and your baseline

Not all of us know how much we spend during a month, and we usually don’t have the habit of tracking it.  Build your monthly budget and understand your spendings. Think about anything you can do to lower it down during emergency times and what would be your baseline.

There are also plenty of budget calculators available online:

Mortgages.ie – Household Budget Calculator

Moneyfit – Budget Calculators

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission – Budget Planner

3. Cover your debts

Make a list of your outstanding debts and create a plan for how you can pay them off quicker. Instead of worrying about them during a change, better to use that energy in the future on finding your next play. 

4.  Plan your transition ahead

Think about how you can benefit from your current situation, knowing when is the best time to leave. It’s not always possible, especially if you lose your job by unexpected redundancy or another factor. But a good piece of advice was shared by Wladimir Klitschko, during the Web Summit in 2018, who said that “it’s important to prepare yourself in good times for bad times, because the bad time will always go to come up, no matter how good you are at something. Bad times or challenging times always will appear. To prepare for it, you have to do it during good times.” 

Take most out of your current role and consider what else you can learn from the current positions. Think about your current employer as your investor, build the right mindset, and don’t feel like you are in prison. 

When you are determined to change your career, remember that this will not happen overnight. Use your time in your current role to get the benefits from it.  Complete free certification, courses, or ask for additional job responsibilities that can teach you skills useful for your dream career. 

5. Increase your financial flexibility- finding a Side Hustle

If you want to boost your finance, you can also consider an additional part-time job, freelancing in the field you want to move to, get valuable experience, and develop your next role skills. 

A temporary side hustle can help you gain extra budget to afford career change in the future and create income security during the transition.

Meet Esther Doorly, Elocutionist, Founder of the Elocution Room in Dublin.

Esther opened the Elocution Room several years ago, working with thousands of people to improve their communication skills.

Two years ago, I reached out to Esther myself, looking for help to improve my pronunciation and presentation skills. Developing successful communication skills is an essential part when it comes to building a successful career. Esther worked with me not only on my communication style but most importantly; she helped me to find my voice!

I asked Esther a few questions on her journey of becoming an elocutionist and what she understands behind strong communication skills.

Tell us a little bit about your background and where your passion for communication is coming from.

When I was eighteen, I decided to do a drama A- level alongside other more traditional A-Levels. I didn’t have a particular interest in drama, but I simply chose to do it for the fun of it. However, the teacher, who had just recently graduated from Oxford University, where she had read English and Drama, was excellent. She was able to instil the love of speech and drama in all of her students and brought such life to the course that all of the students in her class became passionate about it.

After completing my A-Levels, I was lucky to get into the prestigious Royal Birmingham Conservatoire to study Drama. That was when my passion for the voice began. Watching the older students play certain characters, particularly Shakespeare and classical characters, and observing what they did to create depth and richness to their voice was amazing.

We used to have 2 hours of voice classes every morning, where I found the connection between your breath and voice. I learned how you could manipulate your voice to sound a certain way, sound a lot richer, and be a lot more in control of the message you wanted to send or how you wanted to come across. After three years of drama school, I returned to Ireland, I wanted to teach as this was my real passion, but I got lots of acting work which I enjoyed. Unfortunately, acting and having a family doesn’t necessarily work well together. I went back to what I love, which was teaching, and I have been lucky to teach ever since. I find that I’m always researching the voice and devising more effective ways to communicate with people. And with that research and learning, I can impart that to other people.

What do you understand as effective communication?

Effective communications are both listening and speaking. Listening is probably the more important of the two. So that you are really listening and hearing what the other person is saying, if you’re waiting to have your turn to speak, you will never listen and communicate effectively fully. Listening, synthesizing what that person is saying, pulling parts from what they said, and repeating parts back to them fully understand what they have said and, more importantly, what they meant. Effective communication doesn’t mean that you only speak. It means that you listen and try to really understand what the other person is saying.

Another important aspect of effective communication is thinking about the person you are talking to rather than thinking about how you come across.

What is the science behind effective communication?

The science behind effective communication is preparing your body, aligning it. You need to make sure that you are holding no tension in your body, and your body is relaxed. I would say, in essence, that is using the Alexander Technique. It is a way of ensuring that your body is aligned to release tension or stress from any part of your body.

The second essential thing is using the correct breathing technique for public speaking. When you speak in front of a group of people or presenting something, the most important breathing to use is  Intercostal Diaphragmatic Breathing.

The third thing is turning that breath into sound. And you want to be able to do that clearly,  by using your organs of articulations.  It would help if you get your organs of articulation warmed up. Like every muscle in your body, if you don’t use them, they start to get tense.

Opening up vowels and consonants, making sure that there is a strong balance between them. That’s where the colour comes from. You don’t want to be over-emotional, and you also don’t want to be over robotic, so it’s critical to hit the right balance.  

In essence, that is the science behind good communication skills.

There is also an art to effective communication. It is applying active listening skills to your communication, clearing your head. Once you clear your head, you’re very much here, in the moment, speaking to your client, boss, student, whoever becomes a lot easier. The next part is to analyse the situation to ask yourself who you are talking to? When you are thinking about your audience, you need to think about the problem or issue you are discussing and ensure that your voice is sympathetic and/ or sincere.

Why is effective communication, such a complicated thing?

All communication and speech can be tied to our past, childhood, our school days etc. Simple hurtful comments made to us in the past about our voice or our speech could trigger a response every time we speak in front of other people and make us feel very nervous or embarrassed.

People can get very afraid when they have to talk in front of a group of people. It puts them under intense pressure; they feel they might be judged for their accent or quality of their work when they do a presentation. All comes back to trust. You need to create an atmosphere of trust.

When do your clients ask you how to communicate effectively? What do you say to them?

No two clients are ever the same; there is no one for all solutions. I  listen, and I ask them to tell me as much as they can about who they are and what they hope to achieve. With that, I put together an individual program for each client. I build trust between my client and myself, listen to whatever issue they may have, also observing body language and breath control. I focus on relaxation. 

Trying to unpack and find exactly what is blocking someone so that we can move forward. I will bring everything to the table, but the client needs to engage with the process fully.

I think it is actually the most important skills anyone can have to be able to speak confidently. 

What do you find most rewarding about your job?

I have met so many wonderful people through the years, and I’ve built up some wonderful friendships—the experience of joy when the clients achieve the goals they have set. 

Seeing how much happier they are. The nerves are gone; they follow their dream careers and build meaningful relationships. They are moving in directions they want too. I feel so privileged to be a part of it.

I recently completed an MEd in Education, and I look forward to incorporating my dissertation research into my teaching practice.

Meet Grace Coughlan, District Inside Sales Leader, UK Large Corporate and Corporate Acquisition at Dell Technologies. 

I had the great pleasure to meet Grace during a Women in Tech Event a couple of years ago. I must say I was always truly impressed with her sales career and how she succeeded in her leadership role. 

According to the 2019 Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are underrepresented in B2B sales in most industries, and only 12% of that number are female sales leaders. 

Grace will share her journey of becoming a successful Sales Leader and share some career tips for any females looking for advice on enhancing a career in sales.  #InternationalWomenDay2021

Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your journey in sales?

Like many young women in their early twenties, I was unsure of my career path. An opportunity arose to pursue an entrepreneurial venture that involved me ‘selling’ my business concept to investors and potential clients. With no previous sales experience and no one else to rely on to get my business off the ground, I quickly learned that sales is essentially the ability to understand your customer, their challenge/need and be able to articulate how your product/service can solve that. To be able to do so with honesty, transparency and ultimately build a trusting relationship with the customer is the essence of a good sales person. I had a natural flair for this, so when my experience as an entrepreneur reached a conclusion after a couple of years, I decided that I should pursue a career in B2B sales. At the time in 2011, technology was and still is the fastest growing industry in the world so I was delighted to be given the opportunity to join Dell Technologies as an Inside Sales Representative. My career has evolved in Dell over the last 10 years from inside sales rep to product specialist to sales coach to my current role now as a District Inside Sales Leader managing a team of incredibly talented sales account managers.

Why do you think there aren’t more women in sales?

I think previously sales was perceived as high stress, aggressive, time-demanding career choice which perhaps led women to fear that they would struggle to balance career and family life however I think there has been a critical shift of this perception in the last few years. I am proud to say in my organization we have an excellent balance of both male and female salespeople and most importantly this equal balance is concurrent in senior sales leadership positions. Dell actually has an excellent mentorship program called Stem Aspire which is a year-long mentoring program for women who are currently at University and who want a career in Technology after graduation. But making the transition from University to that first job in Technology can be so daunting they may never consider it. STEM Aspire sets out to make this transition easier. Many organizations across different industry verticals sponsor similar programs, which is fantastic.

What obstacles have you faced during your career, and how did you overcome them?

My biggest obstacle throughout my career to date has been my own self-doubt. I am aware of speaking with female peers and mentors that this is very common in women no matter what career they are in. It is known as ‘imposter syndrome’. It is an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. Men can experience this also. However, it is widely known to affect women much more. This has led to me procrastinating too much in the past about taking steps forward in my career due to fear of failure or suffering unnecessary anxiety ahead of key presentations or engagements. I have learned to internally check myself on these feelings, and now I simply ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’! 🙂

What would be a piece of advice that you can give to other women who want to develop their career in sales?

Women have a tendency to read a job spec for a promotion or a new role, and if they do not have 100% of the desired skill or experience, they will entertain thoughts that they are not good enough or not ready. My advice would be if you have even 50-60% of what the job spec is looking for, then go for it! By putting yourself out there, often hiring managers will recognise your drive and ambition to make up for the rest by upskilling on the job, which is very attractive to a potential candidate. I was given this advice early in my career by a male mentor, and he was absolutely right.

What do you think are the most important attributes to be successful in sales today? Do you think it has changed in the past years?

The most important attributes are, as mentioned, the ability to be honest, transparent and the ability to build a trusting relationship with your customer. To achieve this, you sometimes need to walk away from a sale if it is ultimately not going to benefit the customer or perhaps your business. This is key because you may not get that sale, but the customer will see you as a ‘trusted advisor’ and will endeavour to do business with you on other projects. I do think this has changed from times past when naively sales people would aggressively try to make the sale no matter what without much thought of the bigger picture or longer-term relationship with the client.

Any tactics that you would share on how you can grow your sales career and sales skills. 

In order to grow your sales career and skills, you must constantly be educating yourself. Educating yourself on industry and market trends (both your own and your customers). Educating yourself on macro-economic conditions of your market. Educating yourself on your product/service and how it can address challenges/needs. Educating yourself on sales communication techniques. Every day has to be a school day, as the saying goes. A colleague of mine once used the analogy that sales people educating themselves continuously are like professional athletes who need to constantly train and stay agile in order to win out on the pitch against the competition.

A lot of people struggle to craft a resume when they are thinking about a career change.  What details should you include? What is relevant, and what is not?

When you consider how many resumes each recruiter or a single company receive daily, you realise that they don’t spend much time reviewing every single bullet point on it. They scan them very quickly, looking for keywords that grab their attention. If you are thinking about a career change, you will have to revamp your CV and show the skills that apply to the new job. 

Put yourself in the state of mind that the intention is to create a resume that stands out.  Your resume is a “brochure” of what you have achieved and how you can use that for your new employer in the future. Its main purpose is to sell your skills and experience, and the product you are selling is YOU. You have to think about it as your sales pitch. 

If you are going into a new line of work, here are some best practices that you should follow when you start working on your CV. 

1. Craft your resume based on the Job Description.

Read the Job Description and analyze the keywords, key qualities, and competencies required for the role. Look for matching traits. Use the right language in your resume that matches the language of the Job Description. 

2. Write your summary statement to explain what type of position are you looking for.

In a couple of sentences, you have to answer the question of why someone should hire you! It doesn’t have to be long but include a brief description of professional you.

3. Highlight the skills that are directly related to the work objective and position. 

I know that the career can be a rocky road, but focus on skills directly related to the role that you are applying for. Don’t use the same standardised CV that includes all you did so far in your life- you limit your chances to be selected to the next stage of the interview. 

4. Articulate clearly your previous work history. 

It sounds obvious, but it’s a widespread mistake that I still keep seeing. Make sure that your resume includes all company names, length of the service and position titles. If you moved internally in the same company or got promoted, make sure that your CV reflects that too.

5. Quantify your achievements.

Instead of listing your main responsibilities, show your direct impact during the time with the tie company. It’s important to include in your CV your responsibilities, but when you do that, tell the story showing your direct impact on the business within your role and relevant to the role that you’re applying for.

Related topics:

5 tips on how to plan financial flexibility for a career change 

Job interviews can be a stressful experience for anyone who is looking for a new job. There are plenty of different types of interviews, but I’m sure that you’ve heard about behavioural interviews in the past. If you are looking for a job now or preparing for this type of interview, it should be your priority no 1 to understand it. Well build CV can tell the recruiter if the candidate has the skill required for the role. However, an interview is a critical step to evaluate this skill. Don’t panic! We have some practical tips on how you can be more tactical and master your skills here.

What is a behavioural interview?

A behavioural interview, known as competency-based, is an interview where the candidate is asked to give an example from their previous experience to predict their future performance. The best way to answer them is to use STAR methodology to help people structure their answers for behavioural questions in a specific and easy to understand compile way.

Let’s break down the STAR framework.

STAR stands for:

STAR Framework is invisible but gives you structure and strategy to come up with impressive answers. It’s practical in application, helping to articulate your experience and tell a meaningful story. It’s challenging to know what type of questions exactly the interviewer will ask you. Questions are designed based on the competencies that are required for the role and usually  start with:

“Can you tell me about the time, when…?”

“Describe the situation when …”

Based on the Job Description, you can predict some of them. Having that in mind, it’s important to have a few examples, you can adapt to a different situation. Mastering how to use the technique will help you organize your thoughts and ideas and build your confidence during the interview.

Nail the STAR framework

1. Be tactical! Learn how to read the job description and aim to find the required competencies for the role. Look for the keywords that will lead you to those competencies.
2. Think about the examples of your success and practice telling the story using the methodology. Great to have a few examples you can adapt to a different situation.
3. Have a mature reflection on your failures. How would you speak about them using the STAR framework?
4. Quantify your success, use numbers and data to show your direct impact on the result.
5. Be specific and concise- 1-2 sentences to each part is enough!
6. Do not memorise the answers; learn how to answer questions using the technique!
7. Practice, practice, practice!

Have you applied for a sales role, and the recruiter has reached out to you inviting you for the first stage interview? You haven’t been interviewing for a while, and you don’t know what type of questions you can expect? Feeling nervous?

Of course, the more you prepare- the less nervous you will feel on that day. I’ve been interviewing for sales roles for almost 2 years, and here are 5 tips that can help you prepare for the first round of the interview process:

1. Read about the company.

Always prepare for the interview, research the company, and understand its culture and mission. A quick look over the company website isn’t enough. Know the product and service that they offer- you don’t have to be an expert but can have a good discussion around it.

2. Understand the role.

Remember to read the job description carefully and be able to discuss it. If you are interested in more than one role- that’s perfectly fine! But be familiar with both of them! Map your skills against each of the job descriptions. Think about why you want this role and why you think you are a good fit.

3. Be able to sell your previous experience.

Usually, you have only 30 minutes to make your first impression and make sure that you sell yourself as a strong candidate for the role.  You need to have a story to tell about yourself. We want to know what was your sales cycle in the past. Have you been in a farmer or hunter role? Did you focus on net new business or existing accounts? How big were your customers?

4. Speak about your targets and previous deals.

The best way to show your success in sales is through your previous metrics. Be ready to walk the recruiter through your previous KPIs and the most successful deals you’ve closed. Any deals that you are proud of?

5. Ask questions.

I love questions, and I ALWAYS leave some time in the end for a candidate to ask them! Please have a good set of them ready.

If you haven’t been interviewing for a long time, remember, practice makes perfect! Here is a list of the most common sales job interview questions and how to answer them.  You can ask someone to help you practice answering them!