Interview Coaching

Why wasn't I successful?, Interviewing for Executives, Re-energise your job search

Interview Trends. What are the top three skills sought by hiring managers?

Laura-McGrath
March 23, 2023
executive interview, interview trends, senior management interviews

Throughout my career I’ve worked in partnership with hiring managers to ensure they attract and retain the best talent. In the past five years in executive interviews there’s been an increased emphasis on soft skills, with particular attention being paid to three focus areas. What are those skills? Influencing, learning agility and emotional intelligence.

In this article, I’ll explore why these qualities are important and guide you on how to weave them into the interview process.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years' time?

How to answer the interview question – Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Laura-McGrath
February 27, 2023
interview tips, interview questions, interviewtip, interview answers

Even if this question isn’t specifically asked in the interview, it will be the elephant in the room. With this in mind, what do you need to consider when answering the question “where do you see yourself in five years’ time?”

Is it important to highlight soft skills in leadership interviews?

Laura-McGrath
November 8, 2022
interview tips, hybrid working, virtual interviews, working from home

Hybrid working has placed increasing demands on organisations; changing how we collaborate with colleagues and blurring the boundaries between work and home.
More than ever, employers are placing a premium on emotional intelligence in their selection process to ensure their teams have the inbuilt flexibility required to weather any unexpected storms, yet remain on course.
With this in mind, what are the three top qualities employers look for?

Why wasn't I successful?, Re-energise your job search

How can you overcome ageism in interviews?

Laura-McGrath
November 8, 2022
ageism, unconscious bias

In our youth obsessed culture, what’s the best way to navigate unconscious bias in interviews? Acknowledging its existence is a good starting point. Many of us have internalised the idea that risk, energy and agility are the preserve of the young. Yet when you reflect more deeply, we all know people in their 20s who crave security and routine, preferring Netflix to running marathons. The reality is, there’s as much diversity in the over 40s as there is in the under 40s.

Interviewing for Executives How to Stand Out

Women in Leadership, Interviewing for Executives

Interviewing for Executives – 5 tips to ensure you stand out

Laura-McGrath
March 14, 2023
executive interview, leadership, senior management interviews

The interview process is a highly competitive one and like any elite sport the difference between winning and losing is marginal. With this in mind, it’s useful to look at the characteristics shared by successful candidates.

They reposition themselves from job applicant to business partner:

When coaching clients, I always encourage them to understand the world from the interviewer’s perspective. I invite them to focus on what they need to be successful in their new role and explore how they can add value to their new employer. This injects pace and passion to the interview……

Only 4% of CEOs are Women - What's Wrong?

Women in Leadership

Only 4% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. What’s going wrong?

Laura-McGrath
February 21, 2023
women in leadership, diversity, equality, womenempowerment

In 1918 Irish women got the right to vote. 1973 heralded the abolition of the marriage bar; 1977 saw the introduction of the Employment Equality Act. Girls now consistently outshine boys across the globe in exam results. Having made so much progress, why are women still underrepresented in political circles and the upper echelons of business?

Why wasn't I successful?, Re-energise your job search

5 Tips for dealing with the ‘Overqualified’ issue

Laura-McGrath
February 13, 2023
overqualified, ageism

In order to get back into the job market after a career break, many people are applying for roles that don’t require their level of experience and qualifications. In this situation, how do you avoid running the risk of being overlooked in the recruitment process and rejected on the basis of being overqualified? The following 5 tips should help:

What do employers look for in competency interviews?

Laura-McGrath
February 6, 2023
Competency Interview, Problem Solving, conflict, influencing, communication, Dealing with failure, Leadership skills, working under pressure

Competency questions are still hugely popular and form part of most interviews. Whilst recent research has questioned their value in predicting success in fast moving environments (Harvard Business Review Feb 10th 2016), you’d be well advised to anticipate competency questions and have examples to hand.

Here’s a few things to consider in the lead up to your interview:
Be strategic with your examples:

Review the last 5 years in your job, identify your biggest wins and build your examples around them. Choose examples that most closely align with your target role. For promotion interviews, try to choose examples where you’ve already “acted up” in your role – eg where you’ve deputised for your manager or taken a lead role in a project.

Why wasn't I successful?

Interview Nerves

Laura-McGrath
February 1, 2023
Interview Nerves, imposter syndrome, interview anxiety

Anxiety and fear of interviews is a common problem. As a business coach, I have worked with clients whose fear has crippled their career development and earning potential. My clients are very capable and know their anxiety is irrational but sometimes that’s not enough. It takes time and effort to understand and overcome such emotions but all is possible with the right help.

Re-energise your job search

What does a good Linkedin Profile look like?

Laura-McGrath
January 22, 2023
networking, linkedin, profile, jobsearch

In his book “Empowering Yourself”, Harvey Coleman puts career success under the microscope to get a better understanding of where you should spend your energy to get maximum return. It turns out that being great at your job isn’t enough – in fact it accounts for only 10 % of career success. It’s just the entry point. Your image, exposure and how people perceive you accounts for the remaining 90 %. In a nutshell, to be successful, people need to know who you are, what you do and why it matters.

Linkedin is a great vehicle for boosting your exposure. It allows you showcase your expertise and lets people know what value you can bring to a company and how you can contribute to its success.

Here’s 10 tips you should consider when crafting your online profile.

Why wasn't I successful?, Re-energise your job search, Ten Reasons to Use an Interview Coach

Top 3 Interview Mistakes

Laura-McGrath
December 19, 2022
popular, interview mistakes

Being told that you were unsuccessful in interview is a brutal blow but it is important to view each interview as a learning experience, quickly identify where you fell down and make the necessary changes to ensure that next time round you get over the line. To help you critically assess your performance, I have outlined below the five most common interview mistakes.

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Blog

Interview Trends. What are the top three skills sought by hiring managers?

How to answer the interview question – Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Top 10 Interview Questions and Answers

Is it important to highlight soft skills in leadership interviews?

How can you overcome ageism in interviews?

Interviewing for Executives – 5 tips to ensure you stand out

Only 4% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. What’s going wrong?

5 Tips for dealing with the ‘Overqualified’ issue

What do employers look for in competency interviews?

Interview Nerves

What does a good Linkedin Profile look like?

Top 3 Interview Mistakes

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Laura McGrath - Executive Coach