interview advice

If I see that phrase “time out of your busy schedule” one more time in a thank you letter to potential employers, I shall SPIT. It is such a cliché, there is no excuse for using it ever under any circumstances. Remember, this blog is called “Margaret says” and this is one of those times  when Margaret says and isn’t going

I read, ok, if I’m being honest with myself, quickly scan through all these tedious articles on my Internet home page (not saying which one, because my colleagues use other ones, and they’re all as bad as each other, the home pages, not my colleagues), giving career advice. They all seem to have numbers in

You went on a job interview. You prepared/could have prepared a bit better. You dressed in your interview best/you couldn’t dress appropriately because your boss would have guessed immediately what you were up to. You did your best/you weren’t on your game and totally blew it. You were the best candidate around but they put the position on

**with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her fabulous romantic sonnet, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways”.       1) You didn’t do your homework.  Mr/Ms Google is going to go to straight to heaven for coming up with a search engine that tells you everything you wanted to know,

The last blog was about what not to say in interview, you know, the NORMAL dumb questions. This week, I thought I’d write about the absolute silliest things ever  that my colleagues have been told their candidates said on interview (not through Merit, I hasten to add)… You sometimes read articles like this on msn

I have previously written about what to do when you get asked the tough questions, and when you get asked the same questions several times by different people for a specific job. This week, I thought it would be helpful to talk in more general terms about what NOT to say in a interview. You

Those of you who know me will be snorting in derision at the thought that I , Margaret, Queen of the vulgar, obscene, inappropriate language will be offering advice on what naughty words NOT to use in interview and, if you’re lucky enough to get the job, in those crucial first few months of employment.

Yup, that they do. Think about it, lads and lassies. Let’s start with the more mundane jobs – I don’t want to offend anyone with what I consider mundane but e.g. if you’re a minimum-wage barista, then you have to be pleasant to customers, or you’ll start affecting their revenue as customers disappear to the

….today’s lesson, gals and guys, will be to talk about the wrongstuff when you visit an employment agency. First, though, please, a word about employment agencies from our point of view. We are here to help you find jobs, and to help our clients find the very best people to fill those jobs. We help