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Each year, University
Careers Services receive comments from employers about graduates
expressing disappointment with the standard of applications received.
Many are badly informed,
badly written and badly presented, and stand little chance of gaining
the candidate an interview.
Employers suggest that
many graduates have no concept of presenting themselves well on
paper, or of the need to stand out and attract attention. Little
attention is made to maximise the value of qualities and achievements
which candidates have to offer.
So, given this
warning, how can you get it right?
For the past three or
four years, while you have been studying, many of you will have
been encouraged to communicate by writing long words, long sentences
and long paragraphs.
As you begin to think
about applying for a job, remember that employers are busy people
and will be more appreciative of the succinct rather than the verbose,
short words rather than convoluted phraseology, the crisp rather
than the languorous style.
Your aim, when applying
for a course or a job, is to persuade the reader to invite you to
an interview or offer you a place. Most employers pre-select at
the application stage, which means they will decide from the information
you give them, whether or not they will call you for interview.
Your application should
therefore present a 'picture' of you in relation to the job or course
you are applying for.
You should present
your information so that it will attract attention, create interest
and impress the reader.
Be positive, do not misinform,
highlight the good things about yourself, do not assume anything,
explain everything. Give all the relevant information you can and
organise it so that your strongest points, the ones that best fit
the job, stand out.
First impressions count
for a great deal. An employer with hundreds of applications to process
may, as a first step, look over the forms quickly to gain an overall
impression; neatness, careful presentation, legibility (and spelling)
will be important.
Thereafter, the facts
set out in your application will be closely checked. If you lack
certain qualifications or experience which the employer prefers
that you should have, then your application may not progress very
far. So any hints about presentation cannot promise success but
should help you to reduce your chances of rejection at this first
stage.
Applying for a vacancy
will normally involve either completing an application form or sending
a CV. Speculative applications are usually made by sending a letter
and CV.
Q. How many applications
should I make?
A. As many good quality,
well researched and well targeted applications as you can manage
in the time available before closing dates. Last year graduates
made an average of 3-4 applications, which was in almost all cases
seriously insufficient.
This content
is © The University of Hull.
Edited and reproduced with kind permission from John Franks - Head
of Hull University Careers
Service. All Rights Reserved.
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