Developing Commercial Awareness - Hints & Tips

Newspapers are an easy and accessible way to read up on business issues. If you don't buy a newspaper regularly, there are other ways to get hold of copies. Many university libraries have free copies of the broadsheets for you to read between lectures.

On-line newspapers are a great source of information, because you can trace stories back over a period of time. When you read an article on-line, the website usually provides you with useful links that help you piece the story together over days or weeks.

Here are some suggestions:

• The Irish Times: www.irishtimes.com
• The Irish Independent: www.independent.ie
• The Irish Examiner: www.examiner.ie
• The Sunday Times: www.timesonline.co.uk
• The Financial Times: www.ft.com
• The Tribune: www.tribune.ie
• The Sunday Business Post: www.sbpost.ie

You can even get some good pointers on what is happening in business from tabloid papers and the 'MetroHerald' newspaper - use these as a guide to what current stories are in the press, and check out all the details in the newspapers and websites detailed here.

Other Websites:
The RTÉ News website www.rte.ie/news is an excellent source of all kinds of news - general and business.

The Economist is a well known business magazine and they have a comprehensive website with lots of different News sections: www.economist.com/countries/Ireland/.

Bloomberg's website is full of detailed financial information on organisations - access the News section on their website via www.bloomberg.com/news.

Business and Finance Magazine is a popular website and magazine - good for keeping up to date on what is happening in organisations like PricewaterhouseCoopers and other firms. You can access this website via www.businessandfinance.ie

For more specific information on PricewaterhouseCoopers and our business, visit our business website on www.pwc.com/ie.

Before interviews, take some time to think about your own Business Awareness. For example, if you have a part time job or have completed an internship or Co Op programme, ask yourself these questions about your employer and their business:

• What kind of business do/did you work in?
• What is their main product or service?
• Who are their main competitors in the market and why?
• What makes the business successful (or not)?
• If you were in charge of that business what changes would you make?
• What business issues are facing that organisation?
• What skills have you learned from your experiences?
• How will these help you in future jobs?

This is just one example, but hopefully it will help you think about the kind of questions you might get asked in an interview situation.

• Keep up to date with what is happening in the press
• Read newspapers / business magazines / on-line newspapers
• Work experience - be more aware of where you work and how you fit in
• Ask questions and discuss issues
• Don't leave your preparation to the night before your interview!

REMEMBER - we are not looking for candidates to learn and recite information from the Irish Times or from the RTÉ website.

We want to see candidates who can talk about a business issue that interests them, and who can have a sensible discussion about that topic in an interview.