Competency based Application Forms are now beginning to become common as a means of applying for live, open job opportunities. They are more prevalent in the public sector, though some private organisations are beginning to design their own, tailored versions for certain high-level positions. Application forms as we know them are an application form, where you answer each question that is put to you concerning your personal details, education history, training courses completed, career/employment history, references and interests.

Today, the newly designed application form contains the above, however towards the latter part, there are 5-8 competencies listed and explained, and the applicant is requested and expected to give an example or outline an achievement where they felt they best demonstrated this competency in their current employment, a previous employment, in academia or through a voluntary initiative. Most times (though not all the time), they give the applicant a word count to adhere to when writing the competency.

The reason that competencies are being used now in application forms are many. The potential employer wants to know where, when and how you demonstrated this competency in your past because past behaviour is a great predictor of future success. The competencies chosen by the employer and that are detailed in the application form, have been carefully chosen and are deemed to be what is required and necessary in the successful candidate so as for them to carry out the job tasks immediately upon recruitment.

So, what are the reasons for Competency-based Application Forms?

Some reasons include:

• They ensure that each application is consistent with respect to layout, information and length, unlike a CV
• They allow each applicant (candidate) an opportunity to outline and share how they are competent in each competency through relevant examples / achievements
• They are used as the basis for the actual interview i.e. a competency-based interview
• They give the interview board relevant, tangible information i.e. has the candidate done this type of job before while demonstrating the required competencies therein
• They help the interview board hire the right, most suitable candidate

Examples of competencies:

• Planning and organising
• Building and maintaining relationships
• Teamwork
• Specific knowledge and experience
• Strategic thinking
• Leadership
• Management
• Communication skills
• Presentation skills
• & more

To explore competency-based job opportunities in the public sector, visit publicjobs.ie.

Get the help you need to ace your application form. Book a FREE call with me today!

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Madeleine Burry from The Balance Careers offers some tips for getting back into the workforce after a long break, that are outlined below:

Re-Learn Your Industry and Network

If it’s been quite a while since you worked, you’ll likely need to refamiliarize yourself with your industry and the opportunities in it.

Some possible steps to take are:

• Research your industry: Get familiar again with your job, role, industry and stakeholders
• Network Reach out to former colleagues to let them know you’re returning to the workforce. These contacts may also be able to update you on the latest industry outlook—the big players, the new jargon
• Attend conferences & informational interviews: Setting up some casual informational interviews can also help you feel up-to-date in your industry. Participating in conferences and LinkedIn Groups related to your industry can also help you get back in the groove.

Freshen Your Skills

During your industry research, you may discover that there’s a whole new world of jargon. New programs are essential. Or, maybe the tools are the same, but it’s just been awhile since you used them. Freshen up your skills and this will help you feel more confident.

Get Back into the Work Routine Quickly

Get back to a work routine, days before you even return to work. Embrace and cherish that you have a job to return to. It may not be the ideal job, however it is easier to get a new job, start a new career when you are working for many reasons.

Source: https://www.thebalancecareers.com

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Outplacement services are services an employer offers to employees who are made redundant from their job in the employer’s organisation. Whether the employee is taking / accepting a voluntary severance package or it is a situation of compulsory redundancy, the employer can help their ‘now’ previous employee make  a great start in their search for a new employment income. The employer can choose an external organisation to provide the outplacement service to the employee(s) over a number of hours; a number of days or a number of weeks depending on their available budget.

Outplacement services can include the following help and supports for the employee:

• Designing Your Destiny & Identification of Your Ideal, Realistic Job / Career
• Identification of Further Education, Training, Learning & Development Needs
• Presentation on Paper (Cover Letters, Executive Summary’s, Curriculum Vitaes, Target Letters)
• Job Hunting Skills (Six ways in how to secure interviews)
• Interview Skills & Techniques (Competency-based)
• Return to Work Programmes
• Own Business Development, Planning & Management
• Personal Development in a Business Framework (Coaching)

Advantages for the employee upon receiving these services include:

• They can secure a new form of income much faster
• They don’t feel isolated after becoming unemployed
• They know that what they are doing in securing a new form of income is being carried out correctly and professionally
• Confidence and self-belief is maintained or at least enhanced
• They have an opportunity to change and realise their ideal job / career  

Advantages for the employer / organisation include:

• They are seen as a great place to work in
• The employee receiving the outplacement service is grateful to them
• Remaining employees appreciate that the employer is helping their fellow employee
• The employer feels a sense of satisfaction having helped the employee
• They are creating employment / business for their outplacement service partner

Outplacement services are a good thing to offer and a good to thing to receive…

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In his book, ‘How to be Smart with your Time’, Duncan Bannatyne, known from Dragon’s Den fame, has the following main content headings:

• Identify your goals
• What are you waiting for
• What’s stopping you
• Focus, focus, focus
• Don’t innovate, replicate
• Second best is close to ideal
• Play to your strengths
• Momentum
• Delegation
• Work with what you’ve got
• Stop kidding yourself
• Ignoring the little vice
• Just say no
• Detox your life
• What did you do yesterday
• Scheduling and planning
• The turbo-powered ‘to do’ list
• Clearing your backlogs (and making sure they never come back)
• The best way to start your day
• Get organized
• How to be smart at work
• What works for you
• Be decisive
• Beware: deadlines approaching
• Overcoming procrastination
• Communication matters
• Be a smarter commuter
• Teamwork
• Technology

These content headings alone give us some idea of how time management is more important than ever in today’s world. We have all attended some form of time management course over the years  throughout our career and found them to be somewhat helpful and beneficial. Some of us too have read the books, such as Bannatynes book above, again to our benefit.

When it comes to time management, there are a few basic rules of thumb that I have found to be paramount:

• Do a work list / to do list either on your smartphone or paper diary every day
• Don’t delete / cross out anything until it is actioned / completed in some way
• Get up early in the morning, you will definitely feel so much the better for it from mid-morning onwards
• Try not to procrastinate, stick to the task you have to do at that time / that day
• Get your required amount of sleep time i.e. the experts say 7-8 hours

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Continuous Professional Development…?

Continuous Professional Development (CDP) is a well-known term used in public sector organisations, where employees are encouraged to upskill, re-train, re-educate themselves on a continuous basis so as to stay up-to-date in the area of their job / career that they specialise in. These training interventions can have durations of a number of hours where employees are updated / briefed on a new policy / procedure / standard, to a day, to a few days, to a week or indeed a curriculum year where people pursue a part-time Certificate, Degree or Masters Course. Most of the time, the public sector fund the courses bringing in external trainers / facilitators or using internal trained employees to deliver new knowledge and learning. These CDP courses should always be respected, accepted and attended as they can have significant benefits to people in the future:

• Increase knowledge and expertise
• Increase confidence
• Enhance job / career opportunities
• Personal development
• Provide network opportunities
• Encourage more new learning
• Enhance internal / customer service

Most of the CDP courses in the public sector are usually compulsory to attend.

It is just as important for people working in private sector and self-employed to continuously learn, develop and stay abreast of new technologies, initiatives, changes in their area of discipline. It can be more difficult for these people to attend and commit to these CDP courses compared to the public sector due to many reasons:

• Not compulsory to attend
• Nobody to cover
• Specialist area of expertise that only this person(s) have
• Level of workload
• Time constraints
• Budget constraints
• Generic nature of some of the courses

But, again like the public sector, people working for themselves or in the private sector will also gain from upskilling, re-training and re-educating:

• Increasing knowledge and expertise.
• Increasing confidence.
• Enhancing job / career opportunities (either internally or externally).
• Personal development.
• Providing network opportunities.
• Encouraging more new learning.
• Enhancing stakeholder expectations.

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High potential employees who want to be the future leaders of or in their organisation need three key skill sets to realise their career ambitions namely:

1. Business acumen
2. Strategic acumen
3. Financial acumen

Where is the organisation going, what strategy do they have and how do they plan to achieve their financial targets? Having this acumen (knowledge and expertise), will propel you to new heights in your organisation.

High potential employees need to be smart, hardworking committed, trustworthy and resilient; they need to be great with their customers, be able to empower their teams, negotiate effectively, manage conflict and be great communicators.

High potential employees (who want to be leaders) need to understand the business, where it is going and their role in taking it there, have the ability to scan the external environment and identify risks, opportunities, make strategic recommendations, understand the financials of the business, the story they tell and take appropriate action or make appropriate recommendations. This is the door-opener to career-advancement in your organisation i.e. business, strategic and financial acumen. All the other competencies are what make you different.

So, if you aspire to leadership i.e. going from middle management to senior management you need to develop the skills, competencies and acumen in business, strategy and finance. This can be achieved through mentoring, further education, training, reading and initiating / leading innovative projects…

Source: Susan Colantuono (TEDTALKS – Audio – November 2013) 

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1. Know what you want
2. Get yourself on paper
3. Get out there and get known
4. Learn to sell
5. Keep going

Know what you want

What do you want to / love to do in a job or in a career that can generate enough income that delivers on the lifestyle that you want? Invest in psychometric tests / profiles, speak to experts, assess whether you are a people’s person, a hands-on person or a mind person. You cannot go anywhere without knowing where you want to go to.

Get yourself on paper

When you have identified your ideal career, you need to get yourself on paper in the form of Target Letters, Cover Letters, Curriculum Vitae’s (CV’s) and Competency-based Application Forms. These documents need to be tailored around your ideal career, the job you are applying for and the organizations that have these types of jobs. These documents are the prospective employer’s first impression of you; it is your personal invitation to want to meet with them…don’t get turned down.

Get out there and get known

People need to know that you are looking for a job. People that you know need to know that you are looking for a job. You need to get out there and get known. The process is called job hunting. You can job hunt in a number of ways, seven in fact; Work with Recruitment Agencies; Use The Internet; Use LinkedIn; Read Job Advertisements in Newspapers & Magazines; Network and Direct Mail / Cold Call Potential Employers.

Learn to sell

Learn to sell is about how you sell yourself at an interview. A lot of interviews are now competency-based, where they require you to demonstrate your skill, knowledge, experience in an area of the job that is important to their organization. Your demonstration is a story told in six parts – the situation, the task, the action, the result, what you learned and what you would change. 

Keep going

Whatever the results of all of the above, you must keep going until you realize and land that all important job offer. You will get many ‘No’s and ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you’ responses. Remember the more of these you get the closer you are to a ‘Yes’. This is a project. It could last one week, one month or six months. The more you put in, the more you will get out.

Do it yourself, make things happen for yourself and work hard at it, staying focused, purposeful and determined not to fail…be your own best careers coach…

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Plan your return to work by doing these:

• Identify three job / career areas
• Prepare to go back to school
• Develop a tailored Résumé
• Plan a formal job hunt campaign
• Learn about competency-based interviewing

 Identify three job / career areas:

By yourself or through a professional, identify up to three job / career areas that you would like to work in, have an interest in, have skills in, have a qualification in, that are realistic and sustainable. You have to know what you want i.e. where you are going to. If you don’t, you will end up somewhere that others have decided for you, possibly nowhere.

Prepare to go back to school:

Accept the fact that you may have to / will have to return to education. Even while job hunting and after choosing your ideal job(s) / career(s), be upskilling / re-training. The course(s) you are pursuing must be linked to the job / career you want, they must be accredited and look impressive on your Résumé.

Develop a tailored Résumé:

Speaking of Résumé, with your job / career chosen and further education in progress, it is now time to put yourself on paper to impress potential employers. You need to tailor this document around the job you are applying for, the organization you are applying to and your skills / qualifications (past, present, future). This is your invitation to meet new employers, try not to get turned down.

Plan a formal job hunt campaign:

With your Résumé completed, you now need to look for the advertised and unadvertised jobs. The seven ways of looking for a job need to be executed here – 1. Using LinkedIn, 2. Working with Recruitment Agencies, 3. Networking, 4. Direct Mail / Cold Calling, 5. Using The Internet, 6. Attending Business Events / Seminars and 7. Answering Job Advertisements in Newspapers and Magazines.

Learn about competency-based interviewing:

With all of the above work done to the best of your ability and with a positive ‘I will secure a job’ attitude, organizations will want to meet you. The interview is the last, but not least major hurdle to complete. Most interviews are competency-based now where you have to demonstrate how and why you can make a difference in the organization.

While doing all of the above, you are taking care of your mind and body, but not letting your disability / illness get in the way of progress…

The post Looking for a job after a long illness… appeared first on Talent Fusion.

1. On-line Marketing

2. Networking Events

3. Catching up with Previous / Existing Clients

4. Look for New Markets for your Business

5. Develop your business product / service offerings

On-line Marketing

You know this already; if you don\’t have a strong On-line presence, eventually you will feel the effect in your income / turnover. Everyone and anyone is On-line. They are using Home Computers, Laptops, Tablets and Mobiles to find what they want and need. If you as a business do not have a website that is friendly towards these communication mediums and an on-going search engine optimization (SEO) process in progress as a minimum, it will be difficult to keep going.

Networking Events

Who are the networks in your business that cater for your business type? Where do they meet, when do they meet, how often do they meet? We should attend one of these Networking events at least once per month or if possible, one per fortnight. Prepare for them. When you get there, work the room and make it worthwhile for you to have attended i.e. new contacts developed, business cards collected and follow up meetings arranged.

Catching up with Previous / Existing Clients

This should be an-going process in your business to check in and say hello to previous clients. No need to be pushing or annoying. It is really a social interaction to let them know that you are still in business, still doing well and hope that they are too. What has changed in their business, what has changed in your business? Suggest lunch / coffee with them, they normally will not refuse if you offer to pay for it!

Look for New Markets for Your Business

Who or what else needs what your business is offering? What other types of people and business (public and private) would benefit from what you do? Where and how else can you market your business to get to a new cohort of prospective new clients. As Richard Branson quoted some years ago, \’Opportunities are like buses, there is always one coming around the corner\’.

Develop Your Business Product / Service Offerings

Can you develop new mini-businesses within your main business? Can you specialize further, meet the needs of a new clientele, offer a brand new service / product that has not been done before? Can you market it and give it its own identity? You might say no, you might say I never thought about it really! If it\’s the former and / or the latter, think again.

Challenges. Problems and Setbacks are out in front of us to test how much our businesses means to us…show people what you mean…!

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• \’Home\’ page
• \’Contact Us\’ page
• Testimonials
• Communication options
• \’About Us\’ page

\’Home\’ page

The first page that you will usually land on is their \’Home\’ page. What is your initial feeling, does it give you a sense of professionalism, does it make you want to contact them? Is it clear what they do, how they can help you, why they can help you? Has the website been professionally developed and produced and has it all the expected website pages?

\’Contact Us\’ page

Open the \’Contact Us\’ page. Is it easy to make contact, by e-mail, telephone (landline and mobile), address? Does it show all the other social media tools of making contact or getting in touch? Test their response reaction by telephoning them or e-mailing them requesting some information. Is the response to your e-mail inquiry automated or personal? Where are they based? Have they a professional office in a business park, office block or are they working from home and meet clients in tbeir home or in a public place?

Testimonials

Do they have a Testimonial\’s page? Are there many testimonials displayed and are they genuine? This can be sometimes difficult to tell (you might know the person or organisation). The number of testimonials and their word structure will give you a good or \’not-so-good\’ feeling about the person / organisation they are talking about. Do they show or include a date of when the client worked with the person or organisation? And does the testimonial have any link or relation to your particular job / career / life challenge?

Communication options

What are the options to communicate with them? Can they carry out their work with you in your home, their home, their business office, through e-mail, through Skype, through landline or mobile? It is important that all if not most of these options are available to you. Choose the best one that suits you and will best help you address your challenge in the most efficient and effective way.

\’About Us\’ page

Finally, check out the \’About us\’ page. Where have they come from with respect to their education, career history, employment history, training, learning & development? Are they and / or what they offer accredited / recognized by well-known accreditation bodies? How long are they in business offering this type of service? Can you receive an accreditation after working with them and does it cost extra for this?

And finally, finally, speaking of cost, do ask their fees and payment methods and structure…

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