What I Do

CV Service

‘Working with Mary, I gained a clear understanding of my own skills and achievements and more importantly translated these to my CV.  I felt two inches taller when it was finished’. CO’D

Are you failing to get your CV noticed? It’s so demoralising when we send out CVs and get no response. Maybe your CV doesn’t capture your achievements or pass the 15 second test. Did you know that the average time taken to read a CV is about 15 seconds?

CVs need to focus on achievements (e.g. what you organised, resolved, managed, reduced, increased), be ‘scannable’ and easy to read. Mary loves to unearth, capture and present nuggets of information that clients often overlook or fail to communicate powerfully. She has a track record writing CVs that get the attention of the employer and get clients to interview, at all levels.

The CV service is offered in person, over Skype or on the phone. It will take a minimum of one coaching session, depending on the amount of work that the client does in advance of the session.

Interview Coaching

‘I always hated interviews and felt I let myself down. Mary gave me a very simple formula to prepare for interview and now I know how to communicate my achievements clearly in an interview. This approach has transformed the experience for me.’ CO’R

We can do a lot of preparation prior to interview but, if the preparation is not focused on meeting the employer’s needs and how to communicate this clearly at interview, we can fail to convince the interviewers that we are a good fit for the job and the company.

Did you know that employers want to know 3 things?

  • Can you do the job?
  • Will you do the job?
  • Will you fit in?

Interview preparation needs to focus on the job description, examples from your CV that demonstrate the competencies required by the employer and, of course, answers to the questions that you just don’t want to be asked.

The interview coaching is offered in person, over Skype or on the phone. It usually takes one coaching session, with the client given clear guidelines on additional work to be done in their own time.

Elevator Pitch

Imagine yourself getting into an elevator with your dream employer and you have until the ground floor to convince them that you are the person for the job. That’s the elevator pitch! This pitch is essential to the job seeker. You must be ready.

‘Tell me about yourself’ has the potential to have the job seeker giving their life story and rambling on aimlessly. The answer to that question is a brief pitch that outlines your knowledge, skills and experience and finishes with what you are looking for. If the pitch in these few seconds is interesting, the conversation will continue from there.

The ‘elevator pitch’ needs to be prepared in advance, in your own language, ready to be used every time you have the opportunity to let somebody know what you are looking for.

The elevator pitch is usually prepared as part of the Interview Coaching service.

Career Coaching: What do I really want?

‘Mary brought me through a process of examining my career to date, defining my skills and more importantly my real interests and helped me to gain focus on suitable career choices. Mary coaxes and challenges at just the right times and makes you question your perceptions of your limitations and potential. She has a genuine passion for ensuring that each of her clients finds the right career path for them.’ SC

Do you want more from your job but have no idea where to start? Are you out of work and don’t know what kinds of jobs to apply for?

When we have these questions, we just wish that somebody would tell us what to do. That they would wave their magic wand!

Career coaching takes many approaches, depending on where you are right now. One option is taking an on-line test that identifies your unique combination of Personality, Skills, Interests and Values and suggests career areas and jobs that match your profile. This provides a rich opportunity for increasing self-knowledge and researching and planning your career. Sometimes, the focus of career coaching can be on work-life balance and the coaching approach would be different there.

The coaching service is offered in person or over Skype. After an initial discussion, the approach is agreed. Clients have flexibility over the number of sessions that may be required. Often, clients return to explore farther at a later stage after the initial coaching sessions have been completed.

Career Report

‘Mary has a genuine passion for ensuring that each of her clients finds the right career path for them.’ JW

If you are not sure that you are in the right job or if you are unhappy in your career, taking time out to reflect on your choices can be very useful.

The Career Report is an on-line assessment that identifies your unique combination of Personality, Skills, Interests and Values. This Report then suggests career areas and jobs that would match your unique profile. This provides a rich opportunity for increasing self-knowledge and researching and planning your career.

This analysis of Personality, Skills, Interests and Values which points towards career options can be a particularly powerful tool for young adults making early career decisions through CAO choices.

Career Planning Workshops

Mary has extensive experience facilitating Career Planning Workshops in-house for groups of up to 12 participants.  Please contact Mary to discuss your specific needs.