People often ask me how I came up with the idea for Sparkle, so I thought I’d take a moment to share the very personal story behind this truly life changing card deck. ✨

Warning: If you read on, prepare yourself to see a very different version of Cara… and it ain’t pretty! 🙈

Have you ever seen a job advertised that instantly got you excited and you thought, Yes! I seem to meet the requirements! This job is made for me! I’d love to do that! Only to have those bright ideas interrupted a few seconds later by more gloomy reflections like Oh, I don’t think I’m ready, I’d never get it, I’d be no good! Then… before you know it… you’ve talked yourself out of exploring more, and scrolled right past your potential dream role?

I recently got to be a fly on the wall, when I overheard a recruiter telephone interviewing a candidate, while sitting in my hotel reception. Yikes!

After hearing the interviewer fall into many of the pitfalls which rendered their questions ineffective, I wanted to share my insights and top tips to help you avoid similar mistakes.

As an interview coach, I often get quizzed by candidates who are anxious at the thought of competency-based or behavioural interviews. “Why are competency-based interviews important?” “How do you prepare for them?” “How do you answer competency-based questions?” What competencies might I get asked? The questions go on and on!

When it comes to preparing for the interview questions, the first thing to put in your toolkit, should be confidently talking through your CV or career history!

With so many interviewers kicking the session off by asking candidates to give an overview of their career to date, or to talk through their CV, you’d be crazy to not be ready for it!