Interview Tips

Going for an interview with an international company note the following: This is where the cultures differ: Be on time, it is bad manners to arrive late, best to arrive 10-15 minutes early, it gives you time to get a coffee and calm your nerves. Turn off your mobile phone (no excuses). Be focused, if the interview is in English it is a good idea to only listen to English music or podcasts before arriving for the interview, this way your brain will be tuned in to the language.

Listen to the question asked and give clear precise answers. Stay on the topic and do not get side-tracked with your answers. Do not be afraid to ask the interviewer to repeat the question if you don’t understand. When introducing yourself, give your name- age- status and where you are from. Wait for the next question. This is where some people go wrong when answering a question, Colombians tend to answer with a monologue about their, life, kids and pets. The interviewer isn’t interested in this. It is not that he/she doesn’t care or seem uninterested, but you are applying for a job not writing a novel. Give a firm handshake and always give eye contact.

Dress smartly and ladies sorry to say this but remember the interview will be about your brain and abilities not about your body... No low-cut tops or short skirts. Always be positive; never say anything negative about your previous managers/jobs. Keep your personal views to yourself when it comes to race-gender-religion or sexist remarks. If you have to give a reason for leaving your last job, you can always say –to gain more experience, never say your last boss was a pain in the A...(which may have been true).

Other strange questions they normally ask: Where do you see yourself in 5 years time? - The answer they are looking for is that you still see yourself working for the company but maybe in a higher position, (obviously not the boss’s job). Someone once told me; well I said “I only need the job for one year as next year I am going to Australia” Yep, you guessed it, they didn’t get the job. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Strengths: related to how you achieve your targets/goals, can work using your initiative, work well under pressure /stress. Weaknesses: I find this question so strange... You can say maybe you tend to work too many hours, or you tend not to work in groups very well, or like me addicted to coffee. It also helps if you know some facts about the company such as, who the CEO is, where its headquarters are located, when the company was established, how many employees, this basic information you can incorporate into your answers.

What I do find strange is how Colombians are obsessed at knowing the next person's salary! We never discuss money/salaries or would never think of asking such a rude question!!

Festival time in Armenia

I like this time of year in Armenia: Festival Time, a time for people to come together and have some fun. If only for 10 -15 days, the rest of the year it’s all drab, reading and listening to all the negativity within the city. Yipao (jeep) is something very special and a credit to all the people who take part in this parade. I had never seen this before coming to Colombia. It took me a while to get used to the word Willy’s, (totally different meaning in Ireland, without the-S). Sadly, my other favourite la Cabalgata (horse show) has gone from the main streets, as a horse lover, seeing those amazingly groomed horses were something Armenia should be very proud of, but like everything else, a few **** people have ruined it for everyone. Sunday I was listening to Peruvian and Colombian music in Parque Sucre having a coffee, what more can an Irish Gringo ask for!! - Happy 129th Birthday Armenia.

Problem with Spelling

Most have problems with A, E, I, in English. I tell the students to remember: A- for Apple, E- for Elephant, I- for Ice-cream. Oddly enough it works!

Irish Ballad

For those old enough or who have heard of Rod Steward, on his new album Blood Red Roses, he has included the Traditional Irish Ballad “Grace”. It's a true story that's been romanticised out of history and into legend and song. Grace Gifford and Joseph Plunkett both in their 20's married in his prison cell in Kilmainham, Dublin, in 1916. The wedding lasted 15 minutes under armed guards; they couldn't speak or touch each other. A few hours later he was taken out and executed for his part in the Easter Rising by the British. Grace never remarried and died in 1955 aged 67, the song is on YouTube.

Black ’47

Staying on an Irish theme this week, a new film online, or on Netflix called, Black ’47, tells the story of British Rule /landlords in Ireland during 1847, running in the background it shows a small part of, the worst year of the Irish famine, a potato blight between 1845 and 1850 which killed more than 1 million people and forced another 1.5 million to emigrate, most of them to North America. What little food and grain the Irish had they weren’t allowed to eat, It was shipped to England to feed the British.

The '800 years' of English rule in Ireland began in 1169 when an army of English barons landed in Wexford.

Ireland gained independence from Britain In 1922, after the Irish War of Independence most of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom to become the independent Irish Free State but under the Anglo-Irish Treaty the six north-eastern counties, known as Northern Ireland, remained within the United Kingdom, creating the partition of Ireland.

1949 - On Easter Monday, the anniversary of the 1916 uprising, Eire becomes the Republic of Ireland. Ireland leaves the British Commonwealth. 1955 - Ireland joins the United Nations.

And here we are again 2018 Northern Ireland being one of the sticking points to Brexit!

Until next Tuesday – Be good

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