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All About Applications
IntroductionJob applications are a crucial element in the selection process of all organisations, as they allow equitable comparisons to be made between candidates. Whether you are applying for a voluntary or vacation position or a graduate job, the quality of your job application will be critical. If it is of a high standard, you will maximise your chance of being selected for an interview. The best job applications make an impact. It usually consists of a cover letter, résumé and, if required, a statement addressing the selection criteria. Some organisations also require you to complete an application form. Your application must include your address, professional email address and phone contact details. Personal information, such as your date of birth or marital status, is not required. You should also include your qualifications, a summary of your skills, relevant work experience and any extracurricular interests. Online applications Many organisations now require candidates to submit applications online. Online application forms often have to be completed in one sitting – you do not have the option to save and come back to it later. The key is to be prepared, have all documentation ready, make sure you have given yourself plenty of time to complete and check the application. If possible, download a hard copy of the form and write a few drafts before you complete a final copy online. Some online forms allow applicants to go back to previous fields and change information throughout the process. Cover letters The key to a successful job application begins with your cover letter, so it is important to get it right. Cover letters should be written individually for each application and should be no longer than one page. Use a formal business letter format, with your address and contact details followed by the employer’s details, and appropriate greeting line/salutation (eg. Dear Mr Smith). It is essential that you briefly address the key skills listed in the advertisement and demonstrate that you have gained those skills through your various work, study and voluntary experiences. Résumé A résumé should be written individually for each application and should be no longer than three pages. It should provide a summary of the skills you have gained through your education, relevant work experience (including full- or part-time, casual or voluntary), professional development and leisure activities. Include the names and contact details of two or three referees. Use an easy-to-read font, ensure margins are reasonably wide and information is well-presented (using bullet-points and clear headings). You must demonstrate that you have the experience to match the key skills required. Résumé styles Résumés are written using a variety of styles with the most common being chronological or functional. A combination of both styles is also effective. Select a style that best highlights your skills. A chronological résumé presents the key information under a series of headings commencing with contact details, education and skills. Dates are prominent, with the most recent always listed first. Arrange your experience to demonstrate your career development path. A functional or skills based résumé focuses on skills rather than a sequential career history. Although the standard categories may be used, the information is set out differently. For example, work experience is organised under job or work headings (eg. project administration or hospitality) rather than by dates. This avoids repetition of job duties. As part of the screening process, résumés are often scanned on behalf of an employer. When key words from the selection criteria are addressed in the cover letter, the document is more likely to proceed. Selection criteria Employers use selection criteria to quickly and effectively short list candidates. Each applicant is rated on how closely he or she meets the criteria. Although criteria will vary from job to job, there are key employability skills, such as communication and team-work skills, which apply across most graduate positions. The statement addressing the selection criteria should be presented in a separate document but attached to your résumé. You should address all of the items in the selection criteria and provide individual responses for each criterion. Provide a specific example that demonstrates the required competency using the STAR method as a basis (see details below).The key is to demonstrate what skills you have and where you gained them. Don’t exaggerate your claims, as you may have to discuss them further in an interview. Remember... It is essential that you have your résumé checked for grammar and spelling. Seek the assistance of your university careers service. Staff can help you refine your application, ensuring you don’t repeat information, exaggerate your qualities or ‘undersell’ your skills. If you are sending a hard copy, print a good quality copy and post it in an A4 envelope. Some applicants follow up their application with a phone call to demonstrate their enthusiasm. STAR method
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RESULTS “A poorly completed application form or résumé is one of the most common mistakes job seekers make. Where it is a case of spelling mistakes, incomplete information or poor grammar, a bad formal résumé will not get you far. The application is your chance to make a good first impression and it’s unlikely to make the cut if it’s not of a high standard. If in doubt, get a friend to check it.” – Will Blott, Google Australia Application checklist:
This article is taken from the 2008 edition of Graduate Careers Australia's employer directory Graduate Opportunities
. © 2008 Graduate Careers Australia Electronic RésumésIn some instances, employers will request that you submit an electronic résumé when applying for a position. Often, these electronic résumés are ‘read’ by scanners, essentially 'text readers' in the first instance, rather than by a human being. These scanners are not designed to interpret or distinguish non-standard characters or formats, therefore you should consider submitting your electronic résumé in ASCII format. The key principles needed to make your electronic résumé readable are to:
You should have at least partly prepared your résumé before actively pursuing a job. In many instances you will need to customise your résumé to suit the particular job on offer, so this task will be easier if you keep your résumé up to date and ready to go. A cover letter will need to be prepared each time as it should be tailored to the job on offer; employers will recognise a standard letter and may not be impressed. Remember that the letter is part of your marketing plan to encourage the employer to invite you to an interview, so it should address the company’s selection criteria as well as outline your skills, achievements and attitudes. Whether the information you submit electronically is read by a scanner or gathered in an electronic application form it ends up being stored in a database. A ‘keyword search’ of the database is then undertaken in order to eliminate applications and arrive at a smaller list of candidates for further review and consideration. Therefore, if you are to ‘maximise your hits’ you must ensure that your application contains strong action-oriented language, particularly words that relate to the key skills or qualities that the employer is seeking. You should also always follow the instructions provided by the employer. It should be noted however that some employers, particularly those using third-party suppliers to assist with selection, do go through every application received. In the event that your electronic résumé is not read by a scanner and the employer simply requests this type of application for the sake of speed and convenience, find out in advance what word processing package and version the employer uses so that what you send is compatible. The last thing you want is either for the formatting of your résumé to be compromised when the employer opens it or, worse still, for it to be impossible to actually open or read the document! In creating an electronic résumé there are other issues to consider; if emailing the résumé, sending it as part of the message rather than as an attachment can be helpful. If it is sent as an attachment and saved as a particular application and the recipient doesn’t have that application or has an older version, it may become corrupt or unable to be opened. Saving files in ASCII or RTF format can solve this problem, but sometimes even doing this will not prove faultless.
Some Helpful Websites
Careers Online has a free, but compulsory, registration process. The resumé writing information is most relevant for secondary school students. There is a service called ‘RezWiz’, which requires an annual subscription.
The University of Minnesota’s ‘Resumania’ site helps the job seeker to create a résumé, step-by-step. It is a useful resource, especially as it continually reminds the user that the résumé has to suit personal tastes. This article was taken from the internet job-seeking guide Working The Web. Authors: Col McCowan, Head Careers and Employment, Queensland University of Technology. Email: c.mccowan@qut.com and Mal McKenzie, Manager Careers Service, University of Technology, Sydney Email: m.mckenzie@uts.edu.au Additional material was taken from the 2004 edition of Graduate Careers Australia's employer directory Graduate Opportunities
Author: Les Emery, Senior Careers Adviser, University of Western Australia http://www.gradlink.edu.au/content/view/print/3133 |