So what are the key things that will result in your application ending up on the reject pile? Here are my top 3…

1. The scattergun approach. Some students think that precisely because the job market is so competitive, they should apply for as many jobs as possible; the logic being that this will increase their chances of success. Others aren’t really sure what they want to do, so they ‘hedge their bets’ by applying for everything from finance to consultancy to marketing. Unfortunately, in most cases this backfires, as their applications tend not to be targeted very well at the company or role.

   There’s often a liberal use of copy and paste, which experienced recruiters will spot very easily and in the worst case scenario may result in you accidentally including the wrong company name in your application. Employers say it’s amazing how common this is. The motivation part is often a) generic, b) vague and c) it won’t say why the particular feature of the company you mention interests you in particular. For example, I must have seen hundreds of statements on covering letters that go something like this: “I am excited by the prospect of working for a top global company such as X with the many challenges and training opportunities you offer.” Statements like this are lazy and show a lack of proper research into the company and generally don’t impress recruiters. They want to see you’ve taken the trouble to research their organisation. If they don’t find much evidence that you know what they’re about (e.g. their business, their strategies, their clients, their values), they are unlikely to be convinced you’re really motivated to work for them.

   Here’s a slightly better example… “I was interested to read in your annual report that you are diversifying into hydrogen fuel, as this is a technology that I chose to focus on for a recent research project at university, and I’d be very keen to develop my knowledge of this and other ecologically-friendly fuels further.”

   Obviously, researching an organisation in that much depth (reading their annual report, reading news stories about them etc) takes time, so unless you are confident you can deliver quantity without sacrificing quality, a more effective strategy can be not to write so many applications, but to focus on the jobs you really want, and make sure you do them really really well.

2. Claims (usually about skills and qualities) unsubstantiated by evidence. By this I mean things like personal profiles on CVs such as: “An energetic, talented graduate with excellent communication and analytical skills…” or statements on applications like: “I was selected as team leader, thus demonstrating my excellent leadership skills”. To provide proper evidence that you possess/have developed a skill, you need details and facts. Why should an employer believe that just because you were chosen as leader, you actually did a good job of leading your team?Here is an example of a fairly strong answer relating to leadership skills on an application form. Notice that the person breaks down her example into the specific skills or activities required of good leaders (e.g. delegation, motivation, organisation and keeping the team on track) and explains how she carried out these activities in the particular situation she describes.
3. Poor spelling and grammar. Yes, I know we’ve said it before many times, but this is still something that employers complain about again and again. Here are a few funny ones we’ve come across. While it’s hard not to chuckle at some of these, it’s a bit sad too, as they’re so easy to avoid and they create such a poor impression. Don’t rely solely on computer-based spell checkers either. They don’t pick up everything and they sometimes even introduce new errors.

If you’re making applications for jobs and work experience at the moment, check out our Applications and interviews pages on the careers website for more advice, and if you think you’d benefit from individual feedback on an application you’re putting together, book a same-day quick query appointment with one of our advisers.

For the prepared Graduate the summer after you graduate is one which is synonymous with your last days of freedom. The last time you can legitimately or not wake up at 12 and claim you are basking in feminist discourse with the Loose Women ladies. Days are defined by jesting with your peers about the hilarity of one of your gang making out with the ominous character Dowey Jones from the year below rather than number crunching and sweating that the Dow Jones has dropped several points. However, the scenario is quite a different one for those without the security of an impending Graduate Scheme and the prospect of hundreds of Facebook friend requests from future colleagues who undoubtedly in a few years you will either learn to despise or make out with inadvertently at company sponsored drinks.

For the unemployed Graduate, which believe it or not The Saduate is, the days, weeks, and even months after graduation present quite a different picture. The routine varies little depending on your level of self belief or aspiration. Jeremy Kyle can provide an important feature of the day. Whether you are watching Jeremy Kyle for a sociological insight into dispute resolution, or curiosity into the scientific advancements being made in paternity cases, or even for a critique on the changes and acceptability of leisurewear, one thing Jezza certainly provides is the ego boost to get on the job hunt and change out of your tracksuit that looks uncannily similar to Ksophie (silent K, naturally) from Warrington who was on the show to prove she didn’t sleep with her boyfriend’s friends cousin’s dog.

The covering letter has a very dear and unsettling place in my heart, very much the same feeling you get after getting a coil fitted, at the time it feels fucking painful but afterwards you know you’ve done the right thing by doing it. Covering letters are meant to provide an employer with an insight into what you are like and your competencies. If they haven’t already denounced you after a Google search finding the pictures that will haunt you forever dressed as a Smurf, which has also served to eradicate any chance of a future career in politics, the covering letter can be the key to making you stand out.  There are many things that you can discuss, whether it’s the communication skills you have picked up as a check out assistant (although this risks the dreaded question of how you feel about self serve which is always a very divisive matter) or the people skills you have developed through being social secretary at the Lager and Real Ale Appreciation society, it has become increasingly difficult to really make yourself shine. This very much reminds me of a scene in Grease where Marty sprays a pink letter to her penpal with perfume, I wonder if I did this would I get receive replies? Needless to say the smell of ‘desperation and loathing’ isn’t likely to appeal to employers, unless you do intend to apply for the stockroom assistant position at The Perfume Shop where ‘desperation and loathing’ is the newest addition to the minimum wage friendly range of fragrances.

So as the job search continues, I’m sure the ability to seem like an employable graduate will become easier…. that is unless you’ve decided to write a blog decrying the uncertainty of the world after graduation where eventually luncheon vouchers will seem increasingly more appealing.

Over the next few days I’m going to be sharing with you a few different approaches to the cover letter.  One a day, lets say.

Here’s today’s:  I read on the Guardian Careers website only yesterday that a good covering letter should be composed as if it were a love letter where you, the applicant, are pleading to hold the employers hand or kiss him on the lips or ask him tenderly to pull down his trousers (substitute ‘her’ as appropriate).  A nice idea I thought.  One with enviable legs.

On to COVERING LETTERS 2 ?

• When do you use one?
• What are they?
• Do I use one at all?

To clarify, I asked my colleague, Dawn Bugni from The Write Solution to join us to help list and talk about the confusing definitions and misconceptions of cover letters:

Misconceptions

1. → That’s a sheet you put on the top with your name on it, right?

2. → Every cover letter is read, 100% of the time, in the order intended by the sender — before the resume. WRONG (from Dawn Bugni)

3. → A cover letter tells the employer what you want from them and when done correctly, is filled with “I, me, my” statements. WRONG (from Dawn Bugni)

4. → A cover letter is a regurgitation of resume content or your resume in narrative form. The reader wants to read the same info twice. WRONG. (from Dawn Bugni)

5. → A cover letter is optional. WRONG. (Unless the posting specifically states “No cover letters”. Then follow directions.) (from Dawn Bugni)

6. → Can you just do a generic one that I can slap on the top of my resume for everyone? You know one like this:

What’s wrong with this? It is written without targeting the position at all. You have no idea what specifically the job seeker is looking for in a position.

A cover letter is never a blanket. It is a sales tool that from the start lets the reader know why you are sending your resume to them. (From Dawn Bugni)

You are selling YOU! You are the product.

Here’s a snapshot of a cover letter start for one of my recent clients.

Strategies differ for cover letters but essentially they are a sales tool to help you convey your value to the employer for the specific job.

• The resume does that too but you generally don’t have to fine-tune the resume to meet the exact specifications of each position. The cover letter does that for you.
• Like a resume, the cover letter needs to portray value, speak about how your accomplishments will transition to the needs of the company, and solve the company’s “pain”.

This post is just the tip of the iceberg but it should help to get you thinking about what the job of a cover letter is and why you need one. Always think target and selling when you are planning to write a cover letter which will help you be on the right page as you write.

MY OPINION:

IT IS REALLY A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR US TO KNOW ABOUT COVERING LETTER AND IT IS BENFICIAL FOR ALL JOB SEEKERS TO MAKE IT CORRECT.

Thanks to Julie Walraven

Ref From: http://designresumes.com/2010/08/should-i-include-cover-letter/

One of the quickest ways a Recruitment Agent or Human Resource Officer will shortlist the huge pile of applications in front of them, is by sifting through those applicants to see who has read the application instructions carefully.  Something so simple can be quickly overlooked.

• Did they request your resume to be sent in Microsoft Word 2003 format?
• Did they ask for a 2-page covering letter that explains each of the questions in the selection criteria?
• Have you listed contact details for 2-3 referees?
• And lets hope you’ve check the closing date of the application…

For some roles requiring attention to detail or accuracy eg: advanced administrational positions or reading off plans in the building industry, Recruiters have been known to deliberately specify actions to be taken when applying, only to quickly detect those that lack attention to detail.

Recruiters may interpret these small errors as a flaw in your communication skills or ability to follow direction. This is not a time to step outside the perimeters of instruction.

Remember, your resume and cover letter need to position you to outshine your competition and grab the employer or hiring manager’s attention.

This tip is brought to you by westjobs.com.au with over 15,000 WA jobs online. If you want to see more interview and job search tips, please go to our Job Search and CV / Resume Tips page.

Working for a recruitment process outsourcing company, you get to see a lot of CVs, and speak to a lot of applicants for all sorts of different jobs and different clients. Therefore here are my sure-fire tips to what to do, and what to avoid during the application process in terms of making yourself more employable.

CV spamming

In desperation perhaps, many applicants send their CVs off to many, many roles on a weekly basis. This technique has a couple of major flaws. Number one, your work experience as an applicant probably doesn’t suit 40 opportunities every week, leading you to become frustrated by the lack of response and success. Perhaps worse, in your enthusiasm (or otherwise) to send out todays target of job applications, you will miss the detail that might get you a step closer to the few roles that you do suit. I regularly review CVs where the name of the company in the covering letter, or the job title referred to, isn’t the same as the one that I am recruiting for.

Covering letter

Two rules – keep it brief – no more than 3 medium length paragraphs (if an employer wants much more than a CV, then they will likely ask you to complete an on-line application form), and make it specific to the role and employer – show why you are both relevant and excited by the opportunity. Include some insight into your knowledge of the company if you can at this stage.

Gaps on your CV

Simple – don’t have any. If you have been out of work for a while, put an explanation. ‘Actively looking for work’, along with some details on how you are staying occupied is much better than a gap.

Job Title

On a job board, you are asked for your current job title. Don’t put “unemployed”!!  As professional recruiters, we are trained to look beyond this one or two word field, but trust me – many less diligent recruiters will have moved on down their list once they see this. Put you most recent job title, or perhaps desired job title.

Work experience

This one is directed at graduates. Employers love to see work experience on your CV. If you don’t have any, you can’t make it up, but you can be expansive on what you have done. We all know what for example what a shop assistant in a shoe shop does on a daily basis. But don’t make or let me assume what the experience meant to you – tell me.  “Assisting customers with selecting and purchasing footwear. I really enjoyed meeting a wide variety of people” potentially tells me something completely different about you than – ”Working with a small team of salespeople to hit weekly store sales targets”.  Both statements might be true – the point is to include them on your CV, not just a job title and employer name.

Training

Sure, training is more relevant for some roles than others, but never as relevant as your actual work experience. So position it on your CV accordingly! I have seen CVs with personal details on page one, training courses and awards on page 2, and on page 3 that many recruiters will not bother getting to, the work experience. Whilst most organisations want or need staff with first aid qualifications, they almost never recruit for candidates based on this qualification! I have seen several CVs recently where the a first aid qualification is more prominent than the work skills and experience (I was recruiting for office staff, not ambulance drivers)

Word allowance

Many job application forms have a word limit for many of the questions. Use this as a guide – if there is a limit of 250 words, and you have only written 50, then you may not be fulfilling the employers expectations!

Communication

Remember – rightly or wrongly, for most roles you are being assessed at every stage of the process. Remain upbeat, positive and confident with whoever you are speaking to – don’t just save it for the face to face interview.  And be excited about the role – don’t say to the prospective employers recruitment team (as someone said to me last week) “well I guess it’s better than what I’m doing at the moment” – I don’t recall what that was, but he’s still doing it!

And one last anecdote – I called an applicant recently and asked if he had time to run through his application with me – “Can you call me back please – I’m just jumping in the shower”

Remember – just because it’s not a face to face interview, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be showing yourself in the best light at all times

If you made it this far, then I hope then at least one or two of these tips have been useful. They won’t guarantee that you will get a job, but at least you will get past the first couple of stages (at least you will if I am involved!)

Written by Will Shepherd from recruitment process outsourcing company PPS.

Use the call-write-call method for contacting employers. First, call and verify the name of someone in the company who might be able to hire you. You don’t need to speak to the actual decision maker on this first call. You are simply calling to find out the information you need in order to write and send your career documents.

Next, send a cover letter and resume to the decision maker. In the letter, be sure to specify your desired position and then state that you will be calling them within 48 hours. Finally, call again, this time asking for the decision maker by his/her name and title. If anyone asks why you’re calling, you can truthfully say, “they’re expecting my call”.

By using this call-write-call method, every time you call a decision maker, it will be a warm call, not a cold call.

Remember, your resume and cover letter need to position you to stand out from the crowd and grab the employer or hiring manager’s attention.

This tip to “Finding Success Within The Hidden Job Market” are brought to you by westjobs.com.au. If you want to see more interview and job search tips, please go to our Job Search and CV / Resume Tips page.

http://www.kth.se/polopoly_fs/1.1972!Check_brev_sv_eng_2010.pdf

I just want to highlight some points:

• Point 5: You should add “why do you want to work for that position”. If there is not offer about a concrete position, tell them what do you want to do
• Point 6: You should focus on what you can offer to them instead to ask for what they can offer to you.
• Extra point: The personality is also important: How you are, what are your hobbies, etc. Cause you will be part of a team, the personality is relative to your integration to one team.

Remember: Always write a new cover letter for each new position. Do not write a general one and broadcast it.

More info:
http://www.kth.se/en/student/karriar/karriarstod/covering-letter-1.9085

Example of Covering letters:
http://www.career.vt.edu/JobSearchGuide/CoverLetterSamples.html

I’m currently learning to sell myself. Not just my body, (it’s hard to do a job without one), but also my mind, in the skills and experience I can bring to a professional setting.

It’s more difficult than I’d imagined. Firstly I’m slightly modest about my personality, hopefully like most other people are. However in the context of writing covering letters and my curriculum vitae I am learning that all modesty gets thrown out of the window. Being soft spoken or stoic are not desirable traits in an employee. Companies appear to be searching for the most eager sounding candidates.

One thing I’ve noticed though is how shallow this projected image is. Companies, or their agencies, will give short and vague job descriptions and expect a two page CV and one page covering letter in response. Often this means very little information to go on. Of course research is the course of action to be deduced from this, but sometimes a company can be almost invisible.

I’m currently through to the final stage of interviews for an internship for a young company. They employ the use of a freeware media player as the core software behind their service. The media player is used commonly to bring manipulation of 3D objects to the end user’s computer screen. Such technology has a wide variety of possible applications however in all my research I cannot find out a thing about what exact service the company provides with this technology. During my initial phone interview I learned that Formula One cars are involved and that the company is so mysterious because of its youth and decision to expand its clientèle by word of mouth.

So how exactly am I meant to appeal to these people? I’m shooting in the dark, unable to perceive the details of the internship that is so desirable because it is apparently in marketing and public relations.

I’m having similar difficulty elsewhere. I am confounded by salary ‘negotiable’ and how much experience is required. Having had my applications rejected quite a few times now I am beginning to wonder how many companies are willing to take on a recent graduate with a BA. I curse my lack of vocational studies and pray to someday find a job description that says ‘training provided’.

Until then I’ll be trying to sell myself as honestly as possible with as much background information as I can gather.

QM Careers have just bought a new book – The Creative CV Guide. It is full of example CVs for jobs in film, theatre, the arts, media and more! It also has a CV checklist,  covering letter examples for internships & work placements, as well as tips for making an impression.

To take a look at this, or any of our other resources relating to Creative Careers, come and see us!

I have three years professional experience working with Linux and have found that my inquisitive nature and aptitude for solving problems have served me well.

You should give me a job because I am the man. Quite simply, I’ll come in there, fix all your systems so they work twice as fast, and shag all ur female employees (even the mingers might get some love if I’m pissed enough). I’ll probably turn up late a fair bit, but it’s OK because I can get twice as much work done as a normal person in the same time, mainly because I take outrageous shortcuts and try not to think of the consequences.

I’ve worked my way up to being able to stomach 4 or 5 coffees per day, which seems to be essential in dealing with the monotony of the 9-5 routine (or 10-5ish in my case). I have found that making someone coffee is very rewarding, mainly because it is the perfect reason to excuse yourself from listening to their completely pointless drivel about some trivial problem in their life, in which you genuinely have no interest.

I don’t have a problem with authority as I tend to nod, smile and agree with whatever my superiors are saying, only to get back to doing it my way five minutes later. Later on (probably whilst drunk or playing GTA), I’ll come up with some baffling technological jargon to explain why it couldn’t be done as they requested. This will greatly enrich their knowledge of obscure, irrelevant technical vocabulary, and they may well send me on a training course to reward me.

I would welcome the chance to provide you with the pleasure of meeting me, so I can expand on the exaggerated qualifications and achievements outlined in my enclosed CV. I am available mainly in the middle of the day or afternoon, although unfortunately not around lunch (12 – 2).

Yours indifferently,

The LittleMeister

1. Give your CV a make over.

Make sure your contact details, including NMC pin number are clearly visible at the top of your CV. Then give a summary of your current job role, current employer, how long you’ve been in that role for and how many years experience you have in total. Then you can move on to areas of greater detail like career history, qualifications and personal statement.

2. Write a punchy covering letter

Remember that the employer or recruiter who will receive your application has very little time to asses your CV so you’ve got to get their attention quickly. A great cover letter will help achieve this. Keep it relatively short, and divide it into manageable paragraphs. Say in short sentences why you’re applying, what relevant experience you have and what skills you would bring to the position. Then state when you might be available for interview and what your current notice period is.

3. Spell and grammar check

There is nothing that ruins a great application faster than poor spelling or grammar. Read through your application, and again, then give it to someone else to read just in case.

4. Send it before the deadline

You are almost guaranteed not to be considered if you apply after the deadline. So to ensure your application is in, either request a reply to confirm when you email everything, or send it by recorded delivery. If you are sending it by email, try to send the documents in .doc Microsoft Word format. This is pretty much universally acceptable.

And you can be sure that if you’ve followed every step above, you’ve given yourself the best possible chance of getting an interview.

Also make sure you include a few sentences about what a great worker you are, your ethics, commitment etc etc. That should get ‘em dribbling!

It’s a big subject that has been covered endlessly all over the web so I’m sure you really don’t need me to beat the subject to death.

Tip of the day:  You’ve read the advert and written a cover letter good enough to invite the advertiser to open your resume.  Why stop there?

Use those same underlined keywords and sentences to ensure your resume  quickly conveys the message to the advertiser that your experience will have you hit the ground running if you were to be employed by them.  Do it in point form and keep it brief.  Work backwards… the advertiser is really interested in hearing about what you’ve done recently.

By the way… nobody wants to know which nursery school you went to, and they don’t really need to know that you’re married with six kids (who are rocket scientists or florists), two dogs, a budgie and three cats.  They aren’t allowed to ask your age, why would you tell them on your resume?  A ten page resume?  Oh, wow…  perhaps they’ll get to that one tomorrow….

They do want to know that your skill sets are pertinent to the advertised position; that you’ve had relevant industry experience, and/or hold the right qualifications.

Who did you work for?  Where? When?  For how long?  What did you achieve there? What were your responsibilities?

Remember, there are hundreds of job applications sitting on the advertisers desk.  The language you use will quickly convey what sort of person you are so think about ‘wording’.

If you’ve been walk-about for ten months, say so.  If you’ve been retrenched don’t be ashamed of it.  It happens.  Particularly in this day and age.  What matters most is your attitude to the here and now. You might be surprised at what impresses people.

The interview is usually preceded by the evaluation of submitted resumes from interested candidates, then selecting a small number of candidates for interviews. Potential job interview opportunities also include networking events and career fairs. The job interview is considered one of the most useful tools for evaluating potential employees. It also demands significant resources from the employer, yet has been demonstrated to be notoriously unreliable in identifying the optimal person for the job.Hence staffing agencies are commonly used by large companies. An interview also allows the candidate to assess the corporate culture and demands of the job.

Multiple rounds of job interviews may be used where there are many candidates or the job is particularly challenging or desirable. Earlier rounds may involve fewer staff from the employers and will typically be much shorter and less in-depth. A common initial interview form is the phone interview, a job interview conducted over the telephone. This is especially common when the candidates do not live near the employer and has the advantage of keeping costs low for both sides. Once all candidates have been interviewed, the employer typically selects the most desirable candidate and begins the negotiation of a job offer.
Go here to See More Interview Tips

http://www.net-ebooks.com/Job-Interview-Questions-and-Answers-to-Nail-the-Job.html

For More Job,Resume Writing,Cover Page,Questions and Answers and Interview Tips Resources Go Here

Tip of the day:  Why not try reading the job advert first? A couple of times!  You could even try printing it out and underlining the keywords and sentences before you start crafting that all important covering letter.   It’s a good place to start and you’ll find that all the clues to the puzzle you’re trying to solve are there for the finding.

Placing an advert for new staff is generally a time-consuming and thought-provoking task.  One would think that candidates might respect the time and effort that’s been put into the advert and answer the pertinent points one at a time.

There are a lot of applications for each and every single job advertised now.  That’s an understatement.  Surely you’d want your application to be the application that actually gets read?

Consider your covering letter an ‘invitation to view’.  Assume (there’s that word again) that the advertiser is a frantically busy person who will judge your book by its cover.  In fact, if your covering letter doesn’t sell you immediately your application is going to go straight on top of the ‘no’ pile.  So why not take the time and effort to impress the advertiser with one very simple fact… prove to them you’ve actually read their advert.

As an advertiser I want to know that this applicant actually wants to apply for this job.

There is nothing more frustrating than opening an application and finding that the applicant has (and I’m NOT joking, I wish I was):

• the wrong job position in the header
• copied and pasted wording from another application and not made the effort to ‘fit’ the wording to this position
• forwarded a covering letter from a previously ‘sent’ email without getting rid of the fw: in the subject line
• not included their contact details on the covering letter/email
• not addressed the job criteria because they’ve  ‘assumed’ you’ll find all the answers somewhere in their resume
• written a short, curt and sometimes even downright rude covering note – not letter

The question has to be asked!  Do you want the position?  If so, tell the advertiser why you want it and why you’d be the best person for the position. If you sell yourself well enough in your covering letter it will get printed out along with your resume.  Which is the next step towards getting that interview.

We’ll talk about that resume tomorrow.