Applying

When you actually go to an interview, probably the most important thing is first impressions.  I will cover why those impressions are so important, and also how quickly they are formed in the interview section  However, those same first impressions are equally important when you first apply for a job in writing. Remember – to find a job and secure that job those first impressions are vitally important.

How Not To Find A Job!

Imagine receiving a scruffy bit of paper that has coffee spilt all over it.  Ask yourself, if that was a job application arriving on your desk, what would you do with it?  Yep, straight in file 13 (that’s the bin for the uninitiated!).  So, in this section, I am going to give you some tips on how to make sure any written applications you make get you noticed.

Get Noticed – Get A Job

That’s the key, getting noticed so that you will be called for interview.  If you don’t get noticed, you won’t get read, and if you don’t get read, you ain’t gonna get an interview, and if you don’t get interviewed, you guessed it, YOU WILL NOT GET THE JOB!  As you can see there are a number of stages at which you can easily be rejected. And…the application has only just landed on the prospective employers desk or in their “in-box”! Your job search has hardly begun.

So, it is absolutely critical that your presentation is right, and that the right things are highlighted.  Let’s face it, until you are face-to-face with a prospective employer, he will not be able to properly assess what skills and attributes you have, so at this stage you have to give yourself the best possible chance of getting in front of the interviewer so that you can get a new job.  Agreed?  Good.

A New Job – Why?

Obviously, there can be any number of reasons as to why you are applying for a new job.  It therefore follows that, depending on your circumstances, your approach will differ considerably.  To give an example, your letter/email of application will be different in tone if you have just been made redundant rather than if you are currently in a stable job and simply seeking a career move.  Whilst the approach does (unavoidably) have to be different, it is important to highlight the relevant and key points.  The information should also be consistent, and you certainly cannot afford to allow your emotions to interfere with your creativity at this stage. You’ve got to find a new job and it’s a serious business!