When asked if he had any questions of them he responded “How many cars do you make every year?”. The interviewer had to explain that they made aero engines!

I find that the best answer makes it clear that you recognise the weakness and that you show that you are doing something about it. Or that you show that you have mechanisms in place to minimise the effect of the weakness.

The worst answer is “I don’t have any weaknesses” it simply isn’t credible.

I agree about putting the country next to the time as well. Thanks for raising this

However, there are other things you can and should be doing provided they don’t take over your life. Do make sure that you get some exercise. Make sure that you are keeping in touch with your particular sphere of work so that you keep abreast of the latest developments and keep yourself mentally fit. Most people also take some time to do small jobs and DIY around the house. All of this is good provided it is part of a planned programme based around your core role of finding work.

So the answer is yes, do help with football coaching, but be very clear how much time commitment you can give and then don’t be persuaded into giving more time than you can afford.

If they want you to start immediately it sounds as though they are in some need to fill the gap quickly. If you are currently out of work then is there any reason why you shouldn’t start straightaway? Most companies are very reasonable with new recruits and if told in advance that holiday was pre-booked they will honour that holiday period. This is especially true if you are helping them by taking up the appointment immediately.

However, don’t start the job and then tell them that you have holiday booked. It is always best to be honest up front with any employer. Clearly they want you and therefore it is in their interests to be helpful.

They are asking me to start immediately, but I have planned some holiday with my family in August. Should I cancel the holiday or tell them and hope that they will give me the time off?

The real problem is the amount of time people are away from their desks. I have found that on site training to small groups in ‘bite size’ sessions is proving popular. However, most of the people being offered training are senior managers, and very often it is more junior people who would benefit more. So the challenge is how we can offer training at a price that becomes affordable for everyone and not just a select few.

I suspect that having been offered the job, they are now preparing an ‘offer’ letter. This is a letter which usually contains the formal offer plus the broad details about your package as well as a draft contract.

You say this is a company based overseas. Therefore there may be some issues as to the contract they issue. For example if they are based in France and you are in the UK they may have issues to resolve about whether they issue you with a UK based contract or a French based contract. You don’t say if you will be based in the UK or abroad, but if you are based abroad then that will also make a difference.

There may be other issues related to translation and checking out employment legislation for the country concerned.

If after a week you have heard nothing then I would send an email to the HR Director and ask for an indication as to when the offer letter will be sent. You also mention a head-hunter. There is no reason why you shouldn’t ring the head-hunter and ask the consultant if he or she knows what is happening. Remember head-hunters get paid when you are placed and they usually get a percentage of your first year salary. Therefore the head-hunter will have an interest in getting this resolved quickly.

Let us know how you get on.