A "job application" is probably the most important part of the job search and recruitment process. The job applications stage of assessment is where most job applicants will be rejected, most of the time for pretty petty reasons, such as small or careless mistakes on a job application form, CV or covering letter.
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Some employers receive thousands of applications for jobs. You must make sure that your application really stands out when you apply for a job, to be in with any serious chance of getting through to the interview stage of the application and assessment process.
The following articles give advice on various types of applications, to help candidates when applying for jobs:
Although most graduate schemes require applicants to fill out application forms for jobs online, many jobs require your CV and/or covering letter and/or other form of job application to be emailed or posted to your prospective employer.
For more information on making graduate job applications ask questions in the Wiki Job Application forum.
Job application forms determine whether or not you will make it to the interview stage of the recruitment process. It is very important that you get them right. There is little point sending poor quality application forms to employers. There is even less point sending a large number of poor quality application forms to employers. Candidates should focus on making a reasonable number of intelligent, insightful and outstanding job applications to firms they have a strong desire in working for. As far as your job applications go, it is certainly better to produce quality rather than quantity.
Correct spelling, structure and clear expression are the most basic and most important prerequisite of any application form. Every year an impressively large number of application forms are received with a sub standard use of grammar, and most are immediately rejected by recruiters. If people cannot express themselves within a written application form they have had an unlimited amount of time to produce, it implies that they don’t check their work or care about the work they do - not great characteristics for employees.
Recruiters get rather bored with the same old generic responses lifted from application form to application form so it is important to make yourself and your application stand out. At the same time you need to get the balance right: coming across as too "zany" will not benefit your application. You want to demonstrate the same level of professionalism you would show at interview, or actually doing your job once employed, on your application form. Employers also look out for unique points, so consider your application form like a marketing tool
If you won an award at university or achieved the highest A-Level marks in the country, put it in your application form. Make sure you use every detail from your life and experiences to your advantage in your application form.
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Before you let your form leave your sight, have someone else read it over and check it for you. They may be able to spot mistakes that you have missed or advise you on how to phrase something better. Ask your tutor, careers advisor or even your mother for advice. Everyone has a valid opinion.
Never lie on your application form. Interviews are designed to be probing and are likely to catch you out if you fabricate your answer. For particular careers (such as lawyers and accountants) employees must be exceptionally honest and accountable. Any sign of dishonesty will be looked upon severely. If you are offered the position, you will be required to provide references and original certificates of your qualifications. Make sure your application form is an accurate account of your life, experiences and qualifications.
Now see - Example Cover Letter and CV.
If you know what you are doing, completing application forms is a relatively straight-forward process. However, it is essential to spend time and effort checking and perfecting your applications as even a small mistake could result in interview rejection.
Most application forms consist of five main sections:
Application forms may also include sections that require you to provide answers to specific questions, such as:
It is important that you complete each section of your application form without spelling mistakes and remember to answer the questions that are asked, rather than what you may think is being asked.
The personal details section of an application form is the most straight-forward part to fill out. Make sure you input the right information in the appropriate places.
You will be expected to list the names and addresses of schools or colleges attended and may be required to give your academic grades for qualifications gained from secondary school through to and including university. First year grades may also be taken into consideration, even though these will not necessarily count towards your final degree classification.
It is very important that you meet or exceed the minimum academic requirements required for the job you are applying for. Some employers, particularly those using automated recruiting systems, will simply disregard applications that fall short of minimum academic requirements.
If you have a very serious reason why your grades do not meet the minimum requirements of the job you are applying for, you must call HR to discuss you application. Be prepared to include documentation to substantiate the reasons you are giving for your poor grades, e.g. a doctor's letter.
Before you start answering this section, read any guidelines carefully to make sure you are filling it out exactly as the employer requests. You will be asked to give details of employment including vacation work and internships, usually most recent first. Include details of holiday or part-time jobs, temporary work, and unpaid or voluntary work experience.
Ideally you need at least three examples of work for your application form. If you have had many jobs, the examples you use should be the most recent and/or relevant to the job you are applying for.
Gap Years
It is important to account for every period of your life on your application form, even if there are periods when you were travelling, or not in formal education or employment. Do not leave dates unaccounted for.
For Gap Years, be sure to state: exactly what you did, where this took place, how you organised/funded your trip, and what skills you gained as a result of the experience. Try to show your employers that your Gap Year is an asset to your employability.
Make sure you include skills, activities and interests you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for. Be sure to include highly regarded skills (such as second languages) above hobbies such as cars or music.
You will normally be asked for the names of at least two referees on your application form. Try to use one referee from a period of employment and one academic referee.
Make sure you get their permission before using their details on your application form. A job offer is usually subject to positive references, so it is a good idea to let your referees know they might need to give their opinions of you in the near future.
This section may also be called Personal Statement. In this section you must prove to your employer why you are suitable for the job you are applying for. Try to sell yourself and match your skills, competencies and experiences to those you believe the employer is looking for.
Let your employer know:You can include details on times when you may have met with employees from the company you are applying to, e.g. at careers fair, company presentations, work experience, internships, etc. Talk about the impression you have of the firm from these meetings. You may also talk about any independent research you have conducted on the firm's position in its industry, its culture, structure, training, technology, staff retention, history or anything similar.
Competency questions are a common part of application forms. For more information about answering competency questions, see this article.
Examples of competency questions used on application forms include:Having trouble with your CV? Why not try our 100% free CV review service
For more information on completing application forms, visit the WikiJob forum.
If the job you wish to apply for does not have an online application form, you will probably be asked to send a CV and covering letter by e-mail.
The body of your e-mail should be a short note explaining which job you are applying for and that you are attaching your CV and covering letter. Your CV and covering letter should obviously be attached to your email.
Most employers will accept CVs and covering letters as attachments. If you plan to send your CV as a Word document, never send the original document you are changing and editing. Instead, copy and paste your finished CV into a "new document" and save it under a new name. It is possible to see all revisions of a document with certain types of Word and if you don't do this, your assessor may be able to see all the changes you have ever made to your CV document.
Sending your CV as a PDF document can be a good idea when making email applications. Your assessor may be using a different version of Word which may alter your documents and formatting. A PDF document looks the same no matter who downloads it. If in doubt, send both PDF and Word documents attached to your application email.
As with paper job applications, don’t forget to save a copy of your email application for future reference. This will give you a starting point for future job applications and you will be able to refer to it if you are invited for a job interview.
A rapidly increasing amount of employers now require job applicants to use online application forms, and apply by e-mail or over the internet, because this is usually the quickest and most efficient method of recruitment. Candidates should bear in mind that online applications require the same level of preparation as a targeted CV application, or hard copy application form.
If you are asked to complete an online job-application form, you will almost certainly have to register first. You should be prepared to give some personal details and may also have to answer a few basic questions about your interest in the job before you get to the real application form.
Although the internet is a largely informal means of communication, be sure to take the same care over an online job application as you would over a paper application form.
If you can, print out the job-application form and fill in a draft copy before you submit it. As online forms may have no word limit, this can help you make sure that your answers are not too long.
Follow the same guidelines as for paper job applications, ensuring you write in complete sentences, with good grammar and spelling.
Some online application forms include a set of multiple-choice questions about your likes, strengths and preferences. These can be used to identify whether your preferred style of working fits with the culture of the organisation and the skills they require. Try to be as honest as possible. There may be repeats of questions to ensure your answers are consistent and some questions that test whether you're trying to make a favourable impression.
However, it also requires different techniques to traditional job applications. Here’s how to make your online job application jump off the screen.
It’s a myth that you will be selected or rejected wholly by a computer. An automated system can only check that you meet the basic requirements an employer is looking for, e.g. qualifications. Some forms automatically scan for key selection criteria. Make sure you use words which are appropriate to the job you're applying for. Look at the original job description and see what type of words they use under their 'must have',
'required skills' or 'essential skills' sections. For example, if they say they need someone with excellent communication skills, use the words 'communication skills' in your application.
Whatever method is used, a person will read your form and make decisions on your application.
An online application form should not actually be completed while you're online; you might get disconnected, you might not be able to read it properly and there's a chance that you might press submit in error before you have completed the form. Instead, copy and paste it into a word-processing package, work on it, spell check it, print it out, read it thoroughly, transfer the details back to the original and check it again. Only then, when you're 100% happy with it should you click the 'submit' button.
Even the smallest error in your CV, covering letter or application form could cost you an interview, if spotted by your employer. Recruiters need to shortlist candidates in a very short space of time. If your CV has any flaws in it at all, it will almost certainly be dismissed.
Spend time checking and double-checking your applications. Quality is far more important than quantity. Sending out a lot of poor-quality applications will result in very few interviews, if any.
Your CV needs to be perfect. It's easy to overlook mistakes, especially if you rely on computer spell checks. You must check your CV and application forms yourself, several times.
Many candidates make the mistake of using several tenses when describing their previous work experience of past achievements. This is confusing and not advised. It shows a lack of continuity and attention to detail. For example:
Jan 2007 - June 2008 J.R.S. Services, ReceptionistThree different tenses are being used here. This position was in the past, so it would be best to stick to the simple past tense, e.g. I organised, I typed and I greeted. Choose one tense and stick to it for each job you are describing. If possible, stick to one tense for all the jobs you are describing.
Avoid using the passive at all costs. In applications, the emphasis is on you and recruiters are looking for evidence of personal involvement and contribution. The passive is used to when no specific person did something. Your CV and application form needs to focus on you and your own achievements.
Strong language and active verbs will help to make an impact on recruiters and help you to sell yourself more effectively. For example, compare the following:
Take ownership for your own involvement by using strong verbs to demonstrate your achievements.
In written applications, the emphasis needs to be on your involvement and achievements. Therefore you should never use "one" or "we". You need use "I" throughout your application to take responsibility for your actions. The employer needs to see how you can add value to their organisation.
Foreign applicants must get their CV, covering letter and application forms checked by native English speakers before applying to companies. Even the smallest mistake may result in your applications being rejected, and it can be very hard to produce a perfect application if you are not a native English speaker.
Remember that articles should fit before a noun in most sentences. For example, "I am a student at The University of Leicester" and "I work in a restaurant".
Prepositions are notoriously difficult in every language and there are no set rules for mastering them other than to practice and learn them. If you use the wrong preposition, it will be very apparent to your reader. Always use a dictionary to check which preposition the verb takes.