Testimonials

I very much enjoyed working with Margaret. She is very knowledgeable and easy to work with and is extremely prompt and professional and really does go the extra mile in the service of her client. I would certainly recommend working with her.

Margaret has been an incredible career coach, that I absolutely recommend. She knows the London job market as the back of her hand and also has a recruiter’s perspective, which really helps. After my session, Margaret and I exchanged over 90 emails and several short phone calls for 5 months, including weekends and bank holidays. She has given me invaluable insights on every part of the job search until I got the offer I wanted. She really offered me an outstanding service!

Just a quick update to let you know the good news, I got offered the job! The interview practice was very helpful and the feedback I had about the interview showed that my preparation was spot on. As expected, it was a very conversational interview (as it was internal and they already know me pretty well) but I was ready for all their questions and was able to come across confident and prepared. It’s the promotion I’ve been seeking for a while and I’m over the moon to have landed it.

Thanks again for all your help and getting me to a great place before the interview.

I prepared for the interview just as you suggested and in particular the first two questions ‘Tell me about yourself’ and ‘Why have you applied for this position’ – were very succinct and included my achievements. I think they liked that as the feedback l received from the Director was that l did an excellent interview!

Thank you so so much, this was my 12th interview since June and the one l felt most confident. l really believe your coaching really helped me focus my technique much more.

Thanks again and wish you all the best. I will most definitely recommend your service and no doubt contact you again in the future.

I’m deciding which to take, and the one that has offered me a day at home a week and 4 days in the office is likely to be the one.

I wanted to say a BIG THANKS for your advice and guidance, which really helped me secure 2 job offers within 6-8 weeks of my initial job hunt. I will definitely recommend you to anyone looking for a new job, so once again thank you.

I’m very pleased that I got the job I was applying for, and would happily recommend Margaret to anyone who feels unsure about the interview process or needs a bit of extra practice.

Six interviews no success. A session with Margaret; I got the job!!!

I didn’t know what I was doing wrong but I had a feeling there was something missing from my answers.  A colleague suggested I find an interview coach. I searched on Google and found Margaret.

Her services are very affordable and this was the best decision I made.  Margaret explained how I can structure my answer and provided some really good hints and tips and the type of questions to ask in the interview.

Thank you Margaret.

Better to sweat in training than bleed in war” is a good mantra to describe my experience of being coached by Margaret Buj. Margaret was very flexible to accommodate different time zones in her agenda and best slots for coaching sessions, even on weekends if needed. Extremely supportive and always testing our limits while simulating all potential type of interviews, I have progressed step by step along the recruitment process, reaching the final interview and getting the job! Margaret provided constructive and appreciative feedback on the spot and immediately after, in written with very helpful content to build upon to next recruitment stages. Several material and practical/real life examples were also provided. I can only give a heartfelt recommendation of Margaret work and support.

I just wanted to let you know that this morning was actually a very formal interview and he did ask me behavioural questions but it must have gone well….I just spoke with the recruiter about an hour ago and they (Facebook) would like to make me an offer!:-)

Thank you so much for your help, I think the confidence you gave me in my examples and in myself really helped me come out on top, even against 3 internal candidates:-)

I am delighted to tell you that I got the job yesterday, they wouldn’t let me leave without agreeing it there and then really so accepted.

Thank you so much for all your help, it definitely made a difference, went in there wanting to prove how good I was and it helped.

I had the interview last week and got the job ?They also commented on how well I interviewed. Thank you so much for your help it really gave me the confidence to succeed.

I just wanted to let you know that I was offered and accepted a new job as Head of IT and Digital. It is such a fantastic opportunity and I got it through doing 2 great interviews. It’s been a long journey to get here and finally find the confidence and belief in myself and I wanted to say thanks for your help and support on that journey.

I finished my interviews for a London role – they’ve found a better candidate than me, but I just got a good offer for a project manager role here in Madrid and I will start on Thursday!

Thanks for your help and keep in touch!

Margaret was friendly, personable and thoroughly professional as she eased my initial concerns and helped me structure my preparation for an important interview and a position I had long coveted. Her feedback was detailed and tailored to the exact areas I needed to improve, and we continued to work on these until I felt 100 per cent confident in my ability to use the STAR method for structuring relevant and compelling answers.

I got the job and received glowing feedback for the way in which I tackled challenging scenarios that Margaret had warned me to be alert to during our one-to-one coaching.

I would not hesitate in recommending Margaret to anyone looking to sharpen up any area of their interview performance – I found our sessions invaluable and remain enormously grateful for her assistance and support.

Margaret was fantastic. I was struggling with interviews and needed someone to pinpoint the areas where I needed to sharpen and she did exactly that. After just 1 session, the day before a crucial interview, I felt ready, more prepared and critically more confident in my interview technique. The following day I had the interview and was told within an hour the role was mine!

If like me, you’re going for high level roles and want to be sharp and clear with your answers, the best thing you can do is hire Margaret!

Thank you!

Very pleased to let you know that I have been offered the job!

I actually came out of the interview feeling I had done poorly, as I lost track on 3 of the questions at least.
However, the feedback was that I was very good, excellent answers with loads of relevant and clear examples. So they called to offer me the job 10 minutes after I left the interview!

Thank you so much for your help I don’t think I would have been successful without all your advice on refining my examples. I did go into the room feeling very confident – no nerves at all, totally calm and ready to impress. Just felt a little embarrassed to have lost track a few times but I guess that didn’t have much of an impact on their overall impression.

Thanks again!!

I had been on many (over 30) interviews and I’d made it to final interview stages several times, but I felt my interview technique was letting me down.

After one session with Margaret, I got a call back from the company that interviewed me within 2 hours asking for a 2nd interview. After the 3rd round interview on Monday, I have been offered the job! Thank you so much for your help, I greatly appreciate it!

I just wanted to let you know I did get the Managing Director’s job you helped me prepare for… thank you!

I went to my second interview and right at the end the Head of the Service said he’d like to make me an offer! I was shocked (but ecstatic!) – I’ve never had a job offer there and then before. When I spoke to the recruiting agent, he was also shocked that I was made an offer there and then. He said it’d never happened before (in his time) and that I must have done really very well.

I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU!

For giving me a little more confidence, support, advice and preparation for the interviews! And for seeing me at short notice! You really helped me! I even have the book you suggested, but in a miniature version.

I still can’t say I like interviews very much but I feel a lot better about them now and more aware of what to expect.

I am pleased to let you know that I got an employment offer from a successful asset management company.

Many thanks again for your coaching advice, which have been very helpful and I hope to see you again in the future. I will recommend your services to anyone among my circles who are interested in professional interview training.

Thank you very much for all your help and suggestions. I am pleased to let you know that I got the job and start in July, which I am really excited about.

With Margaret’s help, I landed the job I wanted at Facebook.

I’d been rejected before and I saw this as my one shot, which made me nervous. Preparing with Margaret gave me the confidence to be myself.

In face-to-face and phone mock interviews, Margaret gave me detailed feedback on things that I could improve. The sessions helped me structure my preparation by spending more time on my weakest areas.

In addition to feedback, Margaret gave me a better sense of what to expect in the interview and general moral support during a stressful time. This was invaluable.

The session we did enabled me to approach the interview with much more confidence and it gave me the tools I needed to do well. I got the job and they said they were impressed with my performance. The tools and techniques I picked up from you, and the feedback from the panel chair, will stand me in good stead for future restructures and any opportunities that come out of those.

Thanks again.

I am pleased to report that the interview went really well and I have been just offered the job! Thank you very much for your support!

I came to you because I had read your publications and posts on LinkedIn and it was clear to me you were very skilled in your field.

At the time we met, I had been unemployed (after finishing a long term contract) for some 7 months and I had become disheartened and felt stale.

You asked me to run through some interviews I had been on, made sure to understand how my job search had been progressing and then made good observations.

The next stage in our face-to-face meeting was a mock interview, which was extremely useful. You helped me greatly improve my answer to the introductory question: “Tell us about yourself.” You also asked some difficult questions that I hadn’t expected and gave me feedback and explained how I could convince the interviewer of my capabilities so they were left with the conclusion: “We need to hire this person. Now.”

As I’m no longer in the first 10 years of my career, how would this affect my search? You had published an article stating that it isn’t age that matters, you can’t use this as an excuse for not getting a job. Age gives experience (if your career has progressed well) which is essential, provided it is coupled with being up-to-date, fresh and energetic. The hiring manager in this successful interview made a specific reference to the quality of my LinkedIn profile: it showed I use social media well. Again, this is something you often mention: it’s a great way to promote yourself.

In conclusion, your time, focus and highly specific comments and advice were invaluable to me. I am convinced that they made the difference between me being a good number 2 and being the number 1 they hired.

I was looking for a job for over one year. My applications were constantly being rejected, and if I happened to be invited to an interview I did not succeed…I realized I needed some professional advice. After doing some coaching sessions with Margaret, I was successfully passing all the stages of the process. She was leading me during the whole process with excellent and professional advice, which allowed me in one month to land a job in the company I always dreamed to work for. I have never felt so confident about myself in a job interview as I did in this whole process and thanks to her permanent coaching, professionalism and knowledge on recruitment I finally reached my goal much quicker than expected.

All in all, I can only warmly recommend Margaret to any job seeker who is struggling to get where he/she wants!

I did get the job that I asked you to go through with me – so thank you sooo much as it definitely worked!!!

After being made redundant I’ve spent 4,5 months looking for a job without success. Although I was able to secure interviews in the first place, I just couldn’t progress onto the next stage or secure a job offer. I then decided to consult an interview coach and came across Margaret. She was able to assist me in forming my answers whilst using the STAR technique. I haven’t realised how important it was up until then. Margaret gave me very valid advice with regards to tailoring my CV and how important it was for each and every role I was applying to. We had a couple of mock interviews and it helped me in a lot in raising my confidence and knowing how to conduct myself in interviews.

Although it took me couple more months to get the job at Ernst & Young, her advice was very useful and I highly recommend Margaret to those preparing for an interview or looking for a new job. She’s very dedicated, quick to respond and has a great level of knowledge and resources that are very helpful. Margaret is also kind and great to work with. I recommend using her services.

I hope that you’re well and had a good Christmas. Just to let you know, following my interviews I’ve recently started a permanent position at the University of Reading.

Thanks for your support.

Has taken a lot of time to bring all these leads to fruition, but in the end, I had offers from 2 investment banks. The RBS one trumped though, so I start there on Monday!

So it really remains to say a big thank you, for the interview help again. Extremely valuable, and helped me ace just about every interview I went for.

Many thanks again.

I got the Croydon post at the end of April. Really enjoying this assignment. Interview coaching was v. helpful – thank you!

I wanted to share my good news that l was offered the job l interviewed just before Christmas in Bath and l am so so grateful for all the help you gave me. They took a while to let me know as they were still interviewing after Christmas. I should be starting on 2nd February.

I prepared for the interview just as you suggested and in particular the first two questions ‘Tell me about yourself’ and ‘Why have you applied for this position’ – were very succinct and included my achievements. I think they liked that as the feedback l received from the Director was that l did an excellent interview!

Thank you so so much, this was my 12th interview since June and the one l felt most confident. l really believe your coaching really helped me focus my technique much more.

Thanks again and wish you all the best. I will most definitely recommend your service and no doubt contact you again in the future.

I am very grateful to Margaret as the one to one coaching gave me the confidence to perform very well during the interview process. I am a Banking professional with international experience and was looking for a role in Management Consulting for over one year yet I couldn’t convince Employers to both invest in me and understand the value I could add to their organization. I was getting interviews and also reaching the final stages of a couple of interviews without securing a role which was quite frustrating.

I knew my profile and CV was strong, but needed an extra edge over other candidates and the coaching session with Margaret was very beneficial. Would highly recommend it.

Just to share the good news: I got the job! Thank you for your support in such short notice. Your tips were essential and they gave me the extra confidence I needed to perform at my best!

Quick note to let you know that I got the promotion! It was the first of the two interviews that came up. Overall very pleased, thanks for your advice and assistance.

The questions were very similar, the same interviewers as one of my previous attempts, so the questions just had some slight variation.

Starting in 2 weeks time. One of my opponents came a very close 2nd, two percentage points behind!!

Thanks again, I think it was the visualisation techniques that really got me focusing on the positives.

I found my performance during job interviews needed improvement. Margaret Buj send me her e-books, a blueprint on the basics of doing interviews and we did a practice interview and some exercises: optimizing my story and confidence. She provided concrete and fast answers to every question asked.

Absolutely thrilled to be writing this review. I met twice with Margaret and then went in to the interview for my dream job and nailed it! Absolutely delighted. Margaret has helped me get my career back on track as I will be working in the sector that I have wished to return to for the last year and a half. I found the sessions with Margaret absolutely fascinating. She really helped me to get back to the basics, structuring my interview answers and highlighting my previous achievements relevant to the job. She helped me to focus on selling my skills and previous achievements using the STAR method, which worked wonders. In previous interviews I had been reading every single bit of literature about the company I was interviewing with, rather than focusing on what I could bring to the company, selling myself, my experience and my skills in a coherent way. Margaret has shown me that both things are equally important when interviewing. She also helped me to streamline my answers, to avoid “blabbering” (as I have a tendency to do!) I would have no hesitation in recommending this course to anyone, at any level. Thank you so much, Margaret. Great job! Sorry it’s taken a while! I hear you’re meeting up with my brother-in-law – see, I have been singing your praises! Thank you so much once again.

In my personal life, I am a self-expressed confident person but as soon as I set foot in an interview or other (potentially stressful) professional situation, I would fall apart. I would get nervous, lose the ability to listen and comprehend what was being said, constantly be thinking about what I would say next and then forget what I wanted to say. It was a nightmare!

But things meaningfully improved for me after a few sessions with Margaret. Margaret was not only a great practice partner and coach but she also helped me see how other people see me. And much to my surprise, I actually come off pretty well!

I would not have been able to land my dream job as a consultant at a Fortune 500 firm without her. Definitely, one of the best investments I have ever made!

I was seeking entrance into an Executive MBA programme with one of the top Business Schools. Having been invited to attend an interview, I felt that I did not have enough confidence and I decided to approach Margaret. The interview practice session with Magaret tested my ability to maintain a clear train of thoughts and convey a clear message, probed my thinking on the feet and boosted my confidence.Money very well spent.

Hope you’re well. Been meaning to send you an email for a while – I had interviews with two companies since I last saw you and it looks like I got a job with one of them. Apparently I’m the one they want (already had the call from HR talking me through their benefits and the recruiter confirmed that I’m the preferred candidate), now we’re just waiting for sign-off from the US. It seems to take quite a while, fingers crossed. Anyway, I’m sure it had a lot to do with the interview training, I felt so much more in control and had a lot more to say than in previous interviews. So thank you! It’s a really good job with a global company, lots of travel and with a lot of scope for my career. So whatever happens, I’m much more confident in interview situations…so glad I had the training. The material you sent was also very useful.

I was struggling to get my experience across at interviews and even on the phone to IT agents. I needed to look at the way I came across, both in what I said and how I said it. After a chat with Margaret about effective communication, going through examples, I shifted the way I spoke to agents. I spoke with confidence and clarity. Within two weeks I have had more interviews then in the previous months. During my recent interviews I structured my answers to push my strengths and actually enjoyed being interviewed, which for me underlines the difference Margaret has made to my job search. If you have a problem coming across well at interviews, I would highly recommend you speak to Margaret. She can make a big difference to improve your interview technique. My body language during interviews has also improved considerably.

Thank you for all the support, help and encouragement you gave me at the beginning of this year. Sitting down with you and recreating my CV has made such an enormous difference in my life. The sessions I had with you allowed me to look at my life and my skills in a completely new way. Thank you for helping me to represent myself on paper (my CV), such that I had the confidence, power and focus to go for the job I really wanted! I am now a company Director of a limited company and I am on a salary higher than I had thought I would get.

I also wanted to let you know the good news…. I got the Reading job!!! I am so, so pleased as it was the full time, permanent position that I really wanted!!

A massive thank you to you for your time and brilliant coaching session. Although I knew which areas of the interviews I was struggling with and which areas needed improvement, it was fantastic to have the opportunity to spend that time with you and gain some great advice. I think the visualisation technique you told me was amazing and it definitely helped as it was something I thought about a lot prior to the interview. I was glad to put into practice what I had learnt from you at my interview on Monday in Bristol and although I felt that interview went better than ones before my coaching session, I decided when I was there that I wouldn’t like their job anyway.

I went into the Reading interview feeling calm and centred and most of all very prepared. Afterwards I was thrilled how the interview had gone and was pleased that I had done my best. They told me in the interview (at 3pm Tuesday) that they would get back to us on Thursday with their decision. They phoned me at 4pm on Tuesday to let me know I had been successful and that although another candidate was currently working in the field and thus had more experience than me, I had interviewed so well and was so enthusiastic that they wanted me in their team instead!

A million thank you’s as I am delighted to have got the job I wanted and feel that your coaching was a big contribution to this success. I have already recommended you to a friend!

Just to give you some feedback – I found the session we had very helpful in getting me back ‘on track’ in thinking about my career history and achievements and about presentation skills. Although we met at an early state in my preparations it helped me to focus quickly and the questions that you sent through supported my preparations. I have retained a post in the re-structured organisation – thanks so much for your help.

The first time I contacted Margaret, I had lots of questions and unknowns in my mind. I was also feeling a bit de-motivated by my job-hunting experience. It was a great pleasure to cover all these matters in a couple of sessions with Margaret, including regaining my motivation. Margaret identified my needs and issues quickly and suggested efficient solutions with a professional approach. She provided subtle yet clear guidance which made it easy for me to understand what to do and how to do it. I have acquired a great amount of information about interview techniques, the best ways to expose my skills and most importantly, to look my situation from a different perspective. I now feel much more confident and objective.

Good news from one of my interviews that I did on Tuesday. This interview was confirmed to me on Monday (I think I did not mention it to you over the weekend). Well, they offered me a contract initially to start with because I appeared to be very shy to them… so they will give me one month’s trial to see how I get on with the job. I also got another offer on Friday but decided to stick with the first offer. While I’d have preferred to get a permanent job, I am not complaining about getting 2 offers in a week after 20 unsuccessful interviews in the last few months!:-) Thanks again for your help.

I was quite skeptical whether interview coaching could help, but I am so glad I did it – I only wish I did it a year ago!

The position I was in before is that I was made redundant in April 2008, ALL interviews I’ve attended since I simply froze up, lost control in the way of keeping a structured discussion in place and I ended up talking a lot of mumbo jumbo. I knew I can perform these jobs inside out, I have many years of experience, I simply just made a mess of the interview. I’ve bought books, DVD’s, and I just didn’t know what to do anymore.

After just one phone coaching session with Margaret, my confidence has significantly improved and my interview yesterday went really well. Having a document in front of me with bullet pointed items helped me immensely and I can now clearly articulate how specifically I can add value. Thanks so much.

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say that I was yesterday offered the role of a Director for Education, Training and Development. Thanks for your help in getting me prepared.

I approached Margaret because I have had several job interviews recently and felt that I was not coming across positively enough and that I was not ‘selling’ my skills and experience effectively to employers.

The session with Margaret gave me a really valuable opportunity to practice my interview skills without the pressure and the nerves of a real interview. The feedback was really useful as Margaret was able to point out various aspects of my performance that I was not at all aware of (e.g. I was smiling throughout the interview, which didn’t give the impression of me being a serious candidate for a senior position and I kept talking about ‘we’ rather than what I had achieved in my career). She helped me to structure my answers and focus on my most impressive achievements.

Margaret also gave me useful feedback by e-mail and continued to coach me in the run-up to the interview, giving me valuable pointers about what I should focus on in preparation for the interview. As a result I felt much more confident at interview and didn’t go away kicking myself because I had not mentioned the key achievements which were most relevant to the post.

I would recommend Margaret as an interview coach – her advice was clear, practical and detailed.

Just to let you know the interview went well and I have been offered the position. After 2 1/2 years I got a job again! Thanks for your help.

I had the assessment, interview and a presentation on the same day. The presentation went really well and the interview was ok as well.

It wasn’t until weeks later that we were given the outcome due to number of reasons.

Yes, I got the job. Everything I had prepared had paid off.

Can I just say that your advice and support had helped me a lot, the methods and approach we discussed were really helpful in my answers, thank you very much.

Just wanted to let you know that I got not just one, but 2 internships at law firms in Hong Kong! I think the one you helped me the most was the telephone interview, as after the phone interview, I got a second interview via video conference, the same skills you taught me applied!

I think I’d told you briefly about another interview which was a group exercise, I got that one as well!”

Thank you for your help, and I am very happy I spent that time with you!

I engaged with Margaret for senior executive interview training. She took time to understand me and my skills then went through a process of preparing me for interviews including feedback on my CV. Margaret is clearly very knowledgeable about what drives recruiters at large organisations and her expert advice helped me land my ideal role.

I thought you’d like to know I got the job! The second interview was very intimate with two people interviewing me for 1.5 hours. No stone left unturned! Thank you so much for your help and support – it gave me a lot of confidence and I was able to use STAR and PAR to good effect to talk about relevant examples.