Advice Centre

 

... around the World have one thing in common, they know what they want and whether or not they remain faithful to a rigid career plan and it is likely that they have spent some time setting goals and evaluating their progress along the way.

What does a career plan look like?

Start by asking yourself these questions and your career plan will take shape:

1. Where are you at the present moment? List the qualifications you have achieved/at what stage are you in your career?
2. Consider what interests you?
3. What are you good at/what do you like about your job?
4. What useful skills have you developed through work experience or involvement in sports/social groups? 
5. Imagine where you see yourself in 2 years, 5 years and 10 years (often helps to work backwards)
6. What is required to reach each goal?
7. How long will it take to complete relevant qualifications?
8. How can you get work experience in your chosen field?
9. Will you need to travel/move away to achieve any or all of your goals?

Once you have your career plan (no matter how detailed) research your options and seek unbiased advice on how to refine and evolve your skills base, what relevant jobs are available and how to go about getting your foot in the door of the company you really want to work for.

Speak to someone who is working in the industry now, they may offer you work experience but at the very least they will explain what they did to get there.

Think of the company/ies you would like to work for and visit their websites. Most have careers pages which provide information about bursary schemes, work experience and graduate training programs.

We always advise candidates not to be blinded by big salaries as they will achieve far more in the long run by ensuring the company they join is dedicated to training and nurturing its staff.

Websites provide lists of current jobs available across industries and offer a glimpse of the varied roles available. With your plan in place you can then match up roles to the different stages of your career.

Study job descriptions to work out what is required for a role. For example, a brief description for the position of Trainee Trust Officer, will offer a guide to requirements to join the industry (although this is dependant on company, role and candidate):

Trainee Trust Administrator

Educational requirements

Minimum 3 A levels A-C, Degree with classification of 2.1 +

Competent in Microsoft office suite

Qualities / Core behaviours

Willingness to study for the Certificate in Offshore Administration (or equivalent qualification)

Accurate/attention to detail

Good communication skills

Common sense

Be willing to work as part of a team

Visit a recruitment consultant.

The team at Park are committed to offering unbiased advice and opening up options for candidates who feel in a career rut. However, before we can understand your expectations and match your skills and experience it's important to have your career plan ready.

It's imperative that, if you don't already, you plan to stand out from the crowd, once in the interview it's up to you to sell yourself, again having your career plan to hand will demonstrate just how important the job is to you.

To join the top performers write a career plan and embrace all opportunities that present themselves. 

A CV (Curriculum Vitae) is a ‘story of your life’.  It's a summary of your academic and work history and achievements. In essence your CV is a sales pitch – a powerful marketing tool that should be carefully crafted to 'sell' your skills and experiences to a potential employer. With competition in the job market so high you will have just 30 seconds to impress the recruiter and secure that all important interview so you have to ensure that your CV is more appealing and attractive than the rest.

What information should be included in a CV?

Obviously the basics:

Personal Details

Name

Address

Email Address

Contact Telephone Number

Then move onto:

Personal Profile

Positioned at the top of your CV, underneath your personal details, your personal profile should immediately capture the reader’s interest and entice them to read on. Consisting of fifty to eighty words, and written in the third person (a more professional style), your Personal Profile should summarise your career status, progression, success and areas of expertise whilst also providing an insight into your workplace characteristics and reflecting a little of your personality. The easiest way to write a personal profile is to think of 5-10 skills that you have developed that would be most applicable in the new role for which you are applying – some examples of these might be  ‘communication, leadership, decision making, time management or negotiating skills’.

Then consider what three things motivate you most (avoiding the obvious ones such as salary, perks and bonuses etc!). These might include ‘learning new skills, working as part of a team or meeting pressurised deadlines’.

Finally, compare your lists with what the company is looking for. Gather information from the job advert, job description, person specification and company website. If the skills are radically different, you may need to rethink the job as a viable option for you. If they are similar however, then that is great – include as many as you can, not only in your Personal Profile but throughout your CV and covering letter. In this way you can ‘match’ yourself into the job and demonstrate that you have the qualities that the recruiter is looking for.

Achievements/Key Skills

This section should include strong, impressive statements of your major achievements and key skills. Make sure you refer to facts, figures and timescales - prospective employers look for quantitative information such as hard facts, rather than vague claims. Examples may include; “Achieved 110% of target for mortgages/loans in quarter 1” or “Nominated for a customer services award for going the extra mile for a customer in March 2010”.

Additional skills to mention are languages and IT skills e.g. "good working knowledge of MS Access and Excel, plus basic web page design skills".
Being able to demonstrate a range of transferable skills on your CV will also make you far more marketable. There are some generic attributes that all employers want from the staff they hire; if you are able to demonstrate these effectively you will be much more attractive. Examples of transferable skills include: Ability to adapt to technology changes, ability to show a high degree of integrity, capability as a self starter, prioritisation and organisation, adaptability and a can do attitude. Think about your transferable skills and how you have utilised them through work experience, part-time jobs, hobbies or during your studies and make reference to these.

Education & Qualifications

Depending on the job vacancy and the employer's expectations, your education and qualifications can either be placed after the achievements section or after your career history, or given higher prominence if the situation warrants it. 

You should include the dates the qualification was acquired, the school/college/examining body and the details of the qualification itself. Be honest about your qualifications, employers will find out if you have stretched the truth. You can also detail any relevant courses you have attended which may add value to your application.

Career History

Start with the most recent or present job and end with your first. Show starting and finishing years and months, the company name and your job title. You should then include a list of your duties and responsibilities in that role to give a potential employer a general overview of the skills that you developed in that role. If you have held a number of roles within one organisation detail each post, making reference to any promotions you have received. Use action words such as developed, planned and organised. Work in a shop, bar or restaurant will involve working in a team, providing a quality service to customers, and dealing tactfully with complaints so remember to include this.

Covering Letters – the personal touch

The covering letter is vital to your CV. This is why it is the first page and not an addition; remember that ‘please find enclosed my CV’ will not get you very far.

The covering letter puts flesh on the bare bones of the CV. It points out to the employer the information showing that you have the qualities the job calls for, and makes a statement about you and your suitability for the job.

Hints & Tips

• Always type your CV and covering letter unless you are requested not to.
• Use your own words rather than formal long-winded clichés and always write your CV in the third person.
• Spell-check and then double-check your spelling and grammar.
• Print out the job description and keep it beside you when you write your CV. This will really help you stick to the requirements of the role.
• Sell your key skills but do not lie.
• Avoid any time gaps
• Avoid the witty email address that amuses you but may not amuse an employer eg hotlegs@…

Prepare In Advance

Answer competency based interview questions using real experiences that you have had and be ready to give examples.

Tell it like a story as this will better engage the interviewer and as an alternative you could start your answer by detailing the result and then carrying on by describing the steps you took and the process you followed.

Before the interview review the Job Description. Think about how your skills, knowledge and experience match the requirements of the role and the examples you can give that will allow you to demonstrate these skills.

The best way to answer a competency based question is to:

• Describe a situation (can be outside of work)
• Explain exactly what you did – use ‘I’ not ‘we’
• Describe the results that can be attributed to your actions
• Summarize the example with a positive evaluation of your skills
• Explain how you learned from the experience or how you were able to solve the problem by using other skills and abilities. 

Example Competency Interview Questions

• Talk me through your CV?
• Why do you want to work in Finance?
• What do you know about our organisation? What do you think makes a good people manager?
• In the perfect world, what would be your ideal job? What do you look for in an employer?

Strengths & Weaknesses

• How would your manager describe you? How do your colleagues see you?
• What role have you enjoyed the most in your career?
• What aspects of your current role do you enjoy the most?
• What aspects of your role do you enjoy the least?
• What are your core strengths?
• What are your development needs?

Planning

• Talk me through a typical day at work.
• How do you ensure you meet your deadlines?
• What do you do if you aren't going to meet a deadline?
• What do you do if you’ve planned your day and then something unexpected happens?
• Tell me about a project you have been involved in? What was your role in the project? How did you plan for the project?

Accuracy

• What parts of your role involve being accurate?
• Is your work checked?
• What are the consequences for the business if your work isn’t accurate?
• How do you ensure your work is accurate?

Motivation

• What motivates you in your job?
• Is there any time in your role where you have instigated and implemented change? What were the benefits to the business?
• How do you stay motivated in your role?
• What would you say has been your greatest achievement?

Role

• What interests you about this role?
• What would you hope to achieve in the first 90 days if you came into the role?

Communication and Building Relationships

• To what extent does your role involve dealing with other departments/ clients?
• How do you prefer communicating?
• What aspects of your current role involve getting information from other departments?
• How do you ensure you get this information on time?
• How do you build and maintain business relationships?

Management and Team Leading (If Relevant)

• What has been your main challenge as manager in your current role?
• How do you motivate your team through the highs and lows?
• How do you ensure all your staff are performing to the required level?
• Tell me about a time when you have had to manage a member of staff who was underperforming? What did you do? What was the outcome?
• What do you do if a member of staff isn’t pulling their weight in the team?

Finally remember to review the job description and the organisation’s website as part of your preparation and try where possible to tie your answers back to the skills required and tasks described.

Ask questions when offered the chance but make them count .. some examples:

• What is the structure of the department?
• How does the department fit into the rest of the organisation?
• What opportunities are there for training and development?
• What opportunities are there for progression within the role?
• What are the main challenges facing the department / organisation?
• What is the culture of the department/organsisation?

 

We at Park are well placed to offer our experience and advice and whilst it is a painful time we do have many encouraging stories about how individuals have turned a perceived negative event into a positive outcome. 

How you respond to redundancy and the action you take will dictate the outcome.

This event does not control your future – you do!!

The first thing to remember is that redundancies are about the position, not the person!

I have been made redundant…..what do I do now?

You may have been aware for some time that your position was at risk or you could be in total shock, either way, it’s important to try and keep calm and give yourself time.

Your organisation may work with experts like Park to support you in looking for new opportunities, reviewing your CV, skills and experience but if they do not we have some tips and advice that may help.

A step by step plan

Start the process by taking a step back. You could use this time to really analyze yourself and your requirements. Searching for the right role is important in securing your long term happiness.

Think about what you’d like to do

What industries interest you? Look through the jobs pages, newspapers and websites.

Think about yourself

If you can’t think of what you like, think of what you don’t like. If you aren’t numerate then rule out accountancy! Make a list of the things you are good at and enjoy.

Be realistic

There is no point in considering joining the police force if you are vertically challenged, or considering nursing if you are squeamish!

Research

There’s no substitute for hard work. If you don’t have a clue what you want to do, look around. Use the Internet to research jobs and careers, read newspapers, magazines, books - find out what’s out there.

Remember – you are an individual

The only way to find a career that’s right for you is to think about it for yourself. No one can tell you what to do.

What Are Your Unique Transferable Skills?

Job Skills is a very broad term as it covers the generic abilities and skills you have built up. Making a complete list is a worthwhile task.

Step 1: Make a list of your past jobs (going right back to your first job) and activities (including volunteer work, secular training, and even hobbies). Make sure this list is complete.

Step 2: Write down the tasks associated with each job and activity. Again, you want this to go into great detail so don't rush it.

Step 3: Tasks lead to skills. What did you learn by doing those tasks? What abilities have you gained? Skills range from such definable things as IT skills, presentation skills, and foreign languages, to characteristics like leadership, emotional intelligence, and reliability.

You should now have a complete list of your skills. This is very useful when you are applying for several jobs, as you will be able to compare the person specification with your job skills list and choose relevant items.

Self Assessment

Once you have identified your transferable skills it is important to take time to think about what you want from your next role.
What do you really like doing when you're at work/at home/in your spare time?

What excites and energizes you?

During a self assessment you gather information about yourself in order to make an informed career decision. A self assessment should include a look at the following:

Values: The things that are important to you, like achievement, status, and autonomy

Interests: What you enjoy doing

Personality: A person's individual traits, motivational drives, needs, and attitudes

Skills: Activities you are good at, such as writing, computer programming, teaching etc

Once you've discovered (or rediscovered) your passion, spend some time researching the types of careers that center around these.

Don't worry if you're feeling a bit unsure or insecure it’s a natural part of the process.  How much research you do also partly depends on how much of a change you're making. A period of self-reflection can help you!

But my confidence it at rock bottom?

When you're feeling really low in confidence, self-doubt and poor self-esteem can impact every aspect of your life. Nobody can make you feel bad about yourself the way you can and it's in your power to change.

The good news is that being confident is a skill you can learn.

It’s rather like building a muscle - it takes exercise. When regularly practiced, confidence-building exercises can be an effective method of raising self-esteem and confidence. 

What do you need to think about before applying for a role?
Make sure you have read and understood the Job Description and the skills and qualifications required to undertake the job. There is no point in applying for a role that you don’t have the skills for.

Be honest about your skills and qualifications. Employers will find out if you have not been honest. If you have a thorough understanding of the role and the skills that are required this will show the employer that you have initiative, a good eye for detail and want a position that matches your skills and experience.

What makes you stand out?

Being able to demonstrate a range of transferable skills will make you far more marketable. Think about your transferable skills and how you have utilised them through work experience, part-time jobs, previous roles and outside activities. Be able to demonstrate how your use of these skills has added value to roles and tasks you have undertaken. There are some generic attributes that all employers want from the staff they hire. Being able to demonstrate these effectively will make you much more marketable.

What transferable skills are most important to an Employer?

Ability to adapt to technological changes– our dependency on technology is increasing all the time. Think of ways that you can demonstrate that you have embraced new technology and used it to be more productive and efficient

Be a life long learner – It is important to continually update your knowledge and learn new skills. Ensure you continue to update your work related skills through structured courses, on-line learning, reading relevant articles and keeping abreast of legislative changes in your field.

Show a high degree of integrity – Employers need to know that you are honest and reliable. Show that you are committed to fulfilling your role to the best of your ability, that you can commit to deadlines and that you can produce results

Be a self starter – Think about how you can demonstrate that you thrive in a challenging environment, see problems as an opportunity and that you are optimistic. Employees who demonstrate these skills are more valuable in an organisation as they create a positive working environment.

Demonstrate personal discipline – Employers want people who are disciplined in their work habits and thinking. A disciplined employee requires less management and therefore is far more attractive. Think about both area’s in work and in your social activities where you have demonstrated commitment and focus to a task

Prioritisation and Organisation – Two of the biggest time wasters in an organisation, are not knowing where to start with your work and then working on items that are of low importance. Show that you are able to identify and prioritise work effectively and organise your day accordingly.

Be Adaptable – To survive in the modern business world, organisations have to constantly develop and adapt their business focus and working methods. Show that you thrive in a changing environment and see change and new initiative’s as an opportunity rather than a threat

Think creatively – Employers are looking for people who are able to think of creative solutions to problems and suggest better and more efficient working practices.  Think of ways your ideas have been used previously to improve working practices in your previous employment

Have a can-do attitude – Show that you can maintain a can-do attitude, even in a negative environment. If you can demonstrate a positive can-do attitude in all aspects of your life this will make you far more employable.

Demonstrate excellent communication interpersonal skills – What ever role you are undertaking you will have to be able to relate to customers, whether these are internal or external. Customer focus is high up on the list of priorities for most organisations. Being able to demonstrate that you are able to converse, write, present and communicate to a varied audience will make you more attractive to potential employers.

The ability to highlight these skills, either on an application form or your CV and at interview stage will help you stand out. It will show that you have thought about what an employer looks for when recruiting and that you can demonstrate how you have utilised these skills to add value when undertaking tasks.

When possible your CV should always be accompanied by a covering letter.

Use it to put your CV in context with the position or organisation, outlining how you relate to its values, ethos and aspirations.

A covering letter should:

• Demonstrate to the employer your interest in and knowledge of the company
• Highlight particular parts of your CV that are your unique selling points
• Give additional information that does not fit easily into a CV
• Explain any personal circumstances or anomalies in your application.
• A well-written covering letter is essential for speculative applications.

Style

• Address your letter to a named person, even if this means you have to phone the company to ask for the name of the person who deals with recruitment. This will ensure that it reaches the right person. It also gives you a contact name for a follow-up call or email.
• Think from the employer’s perspective rather than your own. Tell them what you can contribute to the organisation rather than how it can benefit you. Do not send them a standard letter with only the key details changed.
• Your covering letter should be no more than one page long and with short and clearly themed paragraphs. Aim for no more than four paragraphs as a rule.

Content

• Use the following format as a guide for your letter
• Briefly introduce yourself, state the post you are applying for and where you saw it advertised. For a speculative letter, specify the type of work you are looking for.
• Explain why you are interested in this type of work and show an understanding of what it is likely to involve.
• Explain why you are interested in working for this particular employer. Demonstrate enthusiasm and evidence of research into such aspects as their successes, involvements, values or clients.
• Highlight what makes you suitable for this position. Provide evidence of your key strengths by referring to experience listed on your CV. Aim to show that your key strengths reflect their requirements.
• Take the opportunity, if necessary, to explain any anomalies in your background, such as time gaps or ways in which you do not match the selection criteria. Perhaps explain how any hurdles you have encountered have helped you develop in a positive way.
• If the role and organisation are creative, you should reflect this in your writing style. If the organisation is formal, you are more likely to be successful if you write a formal covering letter.
• Ensure there are no errors and spelling mistakes and that you have written the addressee’s name correctly.
• Respectfully request an interview or an opportunity for an informal discussion.
• The letter should be typed, but a nice touch in formal letters is to use a fountain pen to hand write ‘Dear ...’ (with the recruiter’s name) and to sign ‘Yours sincerely’.

Disclosure of disability

If you have a disability, you may feel that it does not affect your ability to do the job, but that the employer may not view you objectively if the disability is declared. Disclosure before interview is not a legal requirement, so you can make your own decision on this, but remember that there is a good chance that disclosure could highlight your personal skills and qualities to the employer.

Disclosure also improves your access to equal opportunities and training schemes in place under current legislation. There may be a health and safety implication, e.g. a requirement for workplace adaptations, which the employer needs to know from the outset. Also, funding is available to help employers make necessary changes.

Failure to disclose a disability on an application form when you are specifically asked, or on a medical form, could give rise to dismissal later on.

You may choose to disclose a disability in your covering letter. Remember to be positive and highlight the skills you have gained as a result of your disability. If there are matters likely to be of concern to an employer, you may wish to deflect them by suggesting to solutions, or giving examples of how you have successfully dealt with these challenges in the past. 

Job Skills is a very broad term as it covers the generic abilities and skills you have built up. Making a complete and relevant list of your skills is a worthwhile task. Here are three simple steps to doing it:

Step 1: Make a list of your past jobs (going right back to your first job) and activities (including volunteer work, secular training, and even hobbies). Make sure this list is complete.

Step 2: Write down the tasks associated with each job and activity. Again, you want this to go into great detail so don't rush it.

Step 3: Tasks lead to skills. What did you learn by doing those tasks? What abilities have you gained? Skills range from such definable things as IT skills, presentation skills, and foreign languages, to characteristics like leadership, emotional intelligence, and reliability.

You should now have a complete list of your skills. This is very useful when you are applying for several jobs, as you will be able to compare the person specification with your job skills list and choose the relevant items.

Self Assessment

Once you have identified your transferable skills it is important to take time to think about what you want from your next role.

What do you really like doing when you're at work, when you're at home or in your spare time? What excites you and energises you?

During a self assessment you gather information about yourself in order to make an informed career decision. A self assessment should include a look at the following

Values: The things that are important to you, like achievement, status, and autonomy

Interests: What you enjoy doing, i.e. playing golf, taking long walks, socialising etc

Personality: A persons individual traits, motivational drives, needs, and attitudes

Skills: Activities you are good at, such as writing, computer programming, teaching etc

Why Is Any of This Important?

A period of self-reflection can help you:

• Learn more about yourself. Explore your interests, skills, strengths, career and life values, career motivators, behavioural and communication style. Doing this you can manage your career for maximum fulfilment and balance.
• Learn more about yourself to help you pinpoint and brainstorm options for a new career and/or field when you are considering a career transition.
• Become a foundation for making decisions about which field and work situations are best for you (job function, industry, types of companies).
• Understand how you react and behave in certain situations, and how your behaviour can enhance or help derail your success.
• Enhance your self-esteem as you begin to explore and see your unique skills and contributions.
• See patterns and provide a focus for prioritising options for moving forward.
• Understand what differentiates yourself from others in the marketplace so that you can more effectively market your career brand.

 

What to Look at During Career Self-exploration

During the self-exploration phase, you might want to consider evaluating all or some of the following:

• Values
• Interests
• Personality
• Skills Inventory
• Strengths
• Behavioural and Communication Style
• Personal brand—what differentiates you from the competition?
• Entrepreneurial Propensity
• Motivators
• Leadership Profile
• Work-Life Balance and preferred lifestyle

Your Values

Here are some questions to ponder:

• What is important to you in your life and career? This could include achievement, work-life balance, high salary, giving back to the community, time for hobbies, etc.
• Which values are the most important to you? Can you rank the above list? If given a choice between some of your values, which ones would come out on top?
• What motivates you and is important to you?
• Why do you work? What is your purpose in working? What difference do you want to make?
• What kind of legacy do you want to leave?
• What strengths do you bring to the workplace?
• Who do you become when you do what you love to do?
• How do you define yourself?
• Who are your role models?
• What do you admire about the work they do?

Your Interests and Passions

Finding things you are interested in and passionate about most likely will lead to enjoyment and success.

How can you find what you are passionate about and what interests you the most? Reflect on your past and the things to which you have been drawn. When you think about your past, which types of activities attract you? What activities do you love to do, and would do even if you were not getting paid, or getting paid very little?

• What do you enjoy doing?
• Are you more of a thinker or do you prefer some form of creative expression?
• Do you prefer to build and create organizations? Are you more of a doer?
• Do you like to organize things?
• Are you drawn to helping others?
• Are there any particular job titles, or general job categories that categorize the work you like to do?
• Are there any particular industries that attract you?

Here are some questions for you to think about:

• In your past roles, what have you enjoyed the most?
• Which skills gave you the most satisfaction?
• Which skills did you like the least?
• Which activities, when you do them, stress you out or depress you?
• Do you prefer to use a few skill areas and be a specialist in one career option?
• Do you like to use a broad variety of skills and be more of a generalist?

Once you've discovered (or rediscovered) your passion, spend some time researching the types of careers that center around your passions.

Don't worry if you're feeling a bit unsure or insecure  it's a natural part of the career change process. How much research you do also partly depends on how much of a change you're making.

Steps

1. Sit properly. Sit upright but in a relaxed fashion leaning slightly forward towards the interviewer. This sends the message that you are an interested and involved candidate.

2. Be aware of your hands. The best thing to do with your hands is to rest them loosely clasped in your lap or on the table, if there is one. Fiddling with hair, face or neck sends the message of anxiety and uncertainty. Body language experts agree that touching the nose, lips or ears can signal that the candidate is lying.

3. Don't cross your arms. Folding arms across the chest suggests a defensive type of position. It sends the message that the candidate is feeling threatened and ill-at-ease and is shutting the interviewer out. It can also send the message that the candidate does not agree with or buy into what the interviewer is saying.

4. Place both feet on the floor. Crossing feet at the ankles or placing them both flat on the floor sends a message of confidence and professionalism. Jiggling or moving the legs creates an irritating distraction and indicates nervousness. Resting an ankle on the opposite knee looks arrogant and too casual, crossing the legs high up appears defensive.

5. Maintain direct eye contact. Keeping direct eye contact with the interviewer indicates active listening and interest. Eyes that dart around suggest dishonesty. Looking down gives the impression of low self-esteem.

6. Biting your lips suggests nervousness. Try to relax your mouth.

7. Position your head. Keeping your head straight looks self-assured and authoritative, it sends the message that you should be taken seriously. For a more friendly and relaxed look tilt your head slightly to one side. Nod your head every now and then to show you are listening closely.

Top Tip!

Don't overdo direct eye contact; too much contact without breaks can make the other person extremely uncomfortable and can be suggestive that you are domineering. 

 

Aptitude tests are structured, pencil and paper (or sometimes computer-based) exercises, often presented in the form of multiple-choice questions. They are designed to assess your reasoning abilities independently of your academic or cultural background.

What are the different types of Aptitude Tests?

The tests that are used in the job recruitment and selection process can be classified as follows:

Verbal Ability Tests

Assess your ability to perceive and understand concepts and ideas expressed verbally. While these test are designed to measure reasoning ability rather than educational achievement, it is generally recognised that verbal reasoning test scores are sensitive to educational factors.

Numeric Ability Tests

Assess your ability to use numbers in a logical and rational way. These tests require only a basic level of education in order to successfully complete and are therefore measuring numerical ability rather than educational achievement. The test items involve number series, numerical transformations, relationships between numbers and numerical computations.

Abstract Reasoning Tests

Assess your ability to understand complex concepts and assimilate new information beyond previous experience. The test items require you to recognize patterns and similarities between shapes and figures. As a measure of reasoning it is independent of attainment and can be used to provide an indication of intellectual potential.

Spatial Ability Tests

Assess your ability to manipulate shapes in two dimensions or to visualize three-dimensional objects presented as two-dimensional pictures. There is a strong correlation between high spatial visualization skills and success in science and mathematics.

Mechanical Aptitude Tests

Assess your understanding of physical and mechanical principles including an understanding of cause-effect relationships between mechanical components. Mechanical reasoning tests are used to select for a wide range of jobs including the military (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery), police forces, fire services, as well as many engineering occupations.

How do I prepare for an Aptitude Test?

As with any part of the job-seeking process the more time and effort you put into your preparation, the better your chances. The employer or recruitment agency may furnish you with a sample paper taken from previous tests, and it’s worth asking for one even if they don’t volunteer it. Depending on the job you’re going for, you should have a general idea of the kind of test you’re likely to face, whether verbal, numeric, abstract, data checking or some combination of these. With that in mind, search the internet for practice tests on the appropriate subject.There are a number of sites that offer such tests or links to other sites that do.

• SHL Global
• Morrisby
• Queendom - the land of tests!

Other ways of getting your brain into the right frame of mind for facing an aptitude test is to do word puzzles or maths puzzles in the days or weeks before the test, pushing yourself to go as fast as possible against the clock and then checking your results. As well as sharpening your mind, this kind of practice will help boost your confidence when you finally arrive to face the real thing.

Practice reading sample questions to get a feel for the sort of language used. Always make sure you understand what the question is really asking before starting to answer it.

We should all regard the appraisal process as on-going, not just something that happens once or twice a year and we should seek to have continual feedback from our manager’s on how we are doing on a regular basis.

The appraisal gives your manager the opportunity to recognise your contribution, give you feedback on how you are doing and set objectives for the future.   It is also an ideal time to discuss your future training and development needs and your career aspirations. 

So what can you do to prepare yourself?

It is not a matter of just turning up and being talked to but being actively involved in the discussions and contributing to the meeting. 

Consider the following points in advance:

• How well do you think the last year has gone
• What were the challenges/problems you faced
• Were you involved in any particular projects, working groups or teams
• Have you gained any new qualifications or experience
• What training and development opportunities have you attended
• How did you perform against pre-set objectives, financial targets and personal development goals
• What evidence have you collected over the last year to support your performance

TIPS!

Keep any emails or letters which thank you for your help or support – it is always great to be able to remind your manager !

Make notes on all the above points and be prepared to have an open and honest discussion.

What next ?

Start thinking about the future and take to the meeting the following suggestions:

• What training and development needs do you require to better undertake your role.
• What objectives could you set for the next 6 – 12 months.
• What career aspirations do you have for the future – where do you want to be – (Be realistic)
• What were your past challenges and issues and how can you improve upon them.

Depending on the appraisal process you may well be requested to complete a ‘self appraisal form’ which will ask you to consider in advance similar points to those above.

Throughout the process it is important to consider your general interpersonal skills:

• Arrive at your meeting in a positive and enthusiastic manner. Smile!
• Be prepared to accept constructive criticism as well as positive feedback.
• Utilise your problem-solving skills to work through issues and seek resolutions. 
• Be prepared to offer constructive feedback with a view to improving relationships and performance.
• Be aware that some managers find the appraisal process and particularly the interview quite daunting, so work with your manager to obtain mutually agreeable outcomes – in appraisal meetings, you should do most of the talking!
• Be proactive and show interest in what the company is doing - ask where the company is going, what the future strategy is and how your role fits into it. 

If you are keen to continue on the career ladder, what do you need to do or know before you could be considered for the next promotion – (be careful not to be seen to be trying to jump into your own manager’s shoes!)

The appraisal meeting is about formalising what has happened in the past however more time should be spent on discussing the future.

Don’t forget this is YOUR opportunity to discuss your performance and your career aspirations. It's up to you to take responsibility for the actions that arise from the meeting and seek to follow up on all agreed points. Your active contribution to the process should help towards a more valuable experience!