Ten tips for job applications
1 Keep back some leave entitlement. Unless you’re unemployed one of the first problems you’re going to hit when you start applying for jobs is getting the time off work to go to interviews. Excuses like ‘going to the dentist’ can soon start to wear thin.
2 Keep it to yourself. Telling colleagues at work you’re looking for another job can be a fatal mistake. If it finds its way to the boss’s ears it can put paid to any plans for future investment in you. The golden rule is stay tight-lipped.
3 Keep smiling. The job market can at times be a hostile place where doors keep shutting in your face. Don’t let this get to you or you won’t last the course. Remember with job applications the prizes often go to those who can keep going the longest.
4 Be up front. With job applications a lot is taken on trust. Ok, an employer may make a few discreet enquiries before offering someone a job but, on the whole, the assumption is anything you say about yourself in a CV, on an application form or at an interview is the undivided truth. The message? Make sure it is and you won’t have anything to worry about.
5 Grab their attention. The first page of your CV is where you should be telling employers what makes you so special. A bit like a good novel, capture their interest at the start and make sure they keep reading till the end.
6 Get your interviews off to a good start. Research has shown interviewers make their minds up about applicants in the first five minutes. So focus your attention on being there on time, dressed for the part and looking like you’re ready to do business.
7 Be aware of the time frames. Interviews are often arranged in strings with one applicant seen after another and a set period of time allocated to each. So make sure the clock doesn’t beat you before you’ve got your best points across and do this by keeping your answers to questions clear and concise. Answer the question you’ve been asked which will avoid interviewers having to ask you the same question again and waste even more time.
8 Learn from the experience. Treat every job application you make, every interview you attend, as a learning experience and use it to your advantage. See, for example, where you may be trying to achieve the impossible and where, with a few adjustments to your approach, you could see better results for your effort.
9 Don’t bang your head on brick walls. When you’re not having much joy with your job applications there is usually a good reason which, nine times out of ten, can be addressed. So don’t keep inflicting pain on yourself. See where you could be going wrong and take steps to put it right.
10 Don’t waste your energy on negative thoughts. Getting wound up about bad experiences such as bad interviews with bad interviewers is pointless and serves no useful purpose. Learn to put the past behind you and move on.
1 Keep back some leave entitlement. Unless you’re unemployed one of the first problems you’re going to hit when you start applying for jobs is getting the time off work to go to interviews. Excuses like ‘going to the dentist’ can soon start to wear thin.
2 Keep it to yourself. Telling colleagues at work you’re looking for another job can be a fatal mistake. If it finds its way to the boss’s ears it can put paid to any plans for future investment in you. The golden rule is stay tight-lipped.
3 Keep smiling. The job market can at times be a hostile place where doors keep shutting in your face. Don’t let this get to you or you won’t last the course. Remember with job applications the prizes often go to those who can keep going the longest.
4 Be up front. With job applications a lot is taken on trust. Ok, an employer may make a few discreet enquiries before offering someone a job but, on the whole, the assumption is anything you say about yourself in a CV, on an application form or at an interview is the undivided truth. The message? Make sure it is and you won’t have anything to worry about.
5 Grab their attention. The first page of your CV is where you should be telling employers what makes you so special. A bit like a good novel, capture their interest at the start and make sure they keep reading till the end.
6 Get your interviews off to a good start. Research has shown interviewers make their minds up about applicants in the first five minutes. So focus your attention on being there on time, dressed for the part and looking like you’re ready to do business.
7 Be aware of the time frames. Interviews are often arranged in strings with one applicant seen after another and a set period of time allocated to each. So make sure the clock doesn’t beat you before you’ve got your best points across and do this by keeping your answers to questions clear and concise. Answer the question you’ve been asked which will avoid interviewers having to ask you the same question again and waste even more time.
8 Learn from the experience. Treat every job application you make, every interview you attend, as a learning experience and use it to your advantage. See, for example, where you may be trying to achieve the impossible and where, with a few adjustments to your approach, you could see better results for your effort.
9 Don’t bang your head on brick walls. When you’re not having much joy with your job applications there is usually a good reason which, nine times out of ten, can be addressed. So don’t keep inflicting pain on yourself. See where you could be going wrong and take steps to put it right.
10 Don’t waste your energy on negative thoughts. Getting wound up about bad experiences such as bad interviews with bad interviewers is pointless and serves no useful purpose. Learn to put the past behind you and move on.