Winning Job Applications

Dee Murphy, Career Development Adviser

Overview • CV

• Cover Letter

• Application Forms

CV & Application

Forms

First Step Towards Interview!

Job application forms, whether online or on paper, are the first step to getting on that Shortlist for Interview

How to get started: the physical steps!

1. Create your ‘up to date beginning CV’: doesn’t have to be perfect yet, just get the bones down on paper 2. Next: Improve your CV: language, structure, content, objectives, key achievements, skills etc 3. Source roles & Analyse the job descriptions 4. Consider the Ideal Candidate for each particular role 5. Update and tailor your CV to highlight how you are this Ideal Candidate 6. Create a confident and enthusiastic Cover Letter and objective box that introduces you for this specific role and make them want to read your CV and then meet you!

Ticking Boxes……………..

When assessing an application for a job, recruiters want to know two things:

Do you meet their criteria?

Do you stand out among the other applicants?

Step 1 - Preparation • Get all your basic information together: personal

details, education etc.

• Contact the people you want to use as referees, to get their permission and to confirm their contact details.

• Think about why you want the job.

• Think about what you have to offer and what makes you stand out.

Step 2 – Employer Focus

• Check closing dates; If you submit yours early you may get more attention.

• Read the job description and personal specification to find out what skills and experience they are looking for (Gradireland).

• Research the organisation for more clues about the culture.

Know yourself

What are employers looking for?

The ‘perfect’ applicant

Academic achievement

Transferable skills

Work experience

Drive & motivation

Understands the role

& organisation Knows what they want

Transferable Skills

• Skills developed in one context that can be applied in another

• Developed via:

– Academic studies

– Work experience – paid/voluntary

– Other activities/interests

Matchmaking

• What is the employer looking for?

– Qualifications

– Experience

– Knowledge

– Skills/competencies

• How do you match up – (evidence-based)

• Aside from the basics – what do they really need?

How will you stand out from the crowd?

2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1

Competitive Labour Market

How you can possibly ensure you stand out is becoming more difficult – and you need to take a strategic approach to your career.

Think of yourself in

terms of a

Brand!

Why is your CV so important?

Your CV is important because….

• It’s your sales brochure

• First contact with prospective employer

• It is YOU until the employer meets you

Before you start writing….. • Why do you want this position? • What is required to do this job well?

• What do you have to offer? • How can your support your claims with compelling

evidence? • How can you tailor your CV to the employers needs? • It will be kept on file – You need to create a memorable

impression

What makes a good CV?

The steps to a good CV & Cover Letter

• Structured

• Targeted

• Evidence

• Professional

• Succinct

Three Golden Rules

1. Know what messages you want to convey

2. Highlight what’s most important/relevant for the job

3. Use a format that sells your skills

Characteristics of a Good CV • Good presentation: Business Document • Tailored: focus on specific employer needs • Complete yet concise – 2/3 pages Max • Factual – Evidence based and Honest • Active verbs: Planned, Organised, Researched, Analysed, Presented,

Delivered, Developed • Positive

Format Guidelines • Font size 11 or 12 • Avoid funny fonts

• Avoid and graphics • Avoid abbreviations • Consistency – spacing, indentation etc. • Avoid large blocks of text • Bold for emphasis but don’t overdo • If sending electronically check that it also looks ok

when printed

Sample CV structure

1. Personal details

2. Education

3. Employment History

4. Key skills Profile

5. Achievements / Interests

6. References

1. Personal Details • Name across the top – the employer knows that it’s a curriculum

vitae! • Footnote name on subsequent pages • Keep this section brief & clear • Address, telephone number, e-mail address • Keep the e-mail address professional • Usually don’t need information on age, gender, marital status etc.

Personal Details - Example

Joe Bloggs

13 Park Road, Woodvale, Dublin 22

Tel: 087 XXX XXX

E-mail: joebloggs@hotmail.com

2. Career Objective Summary Header: • Save the reader the hard work: Tell them in two

sentences who you are, what your background is and what you are trying to achieve

• Ex: If applying for a grad role with Accenture’s Mgmt Consulting Arm….A recent UCD graduate of civil engineering seeking a challenging graduate role in management consulting.

Personal Profile/Career Objective

• Can be hard to get it right

• Avoid generalisations and/or clichés

• Qualify your statements with evidence

Example Personal Profile 1 Hard-working, committed and ambitious I am

passionate about the environment and aspire to making a difference. I am seeking a role that allows me to grow as a person and achieve my vision for a better future. While the EnviroServe website that I founded has not been as successful as I had hoped I know I have a lot to offer and would relish the opportunity to prove this.

Example Personal Profile 2 Proactive Engineering graduate with over three

years experience in developing creative engineering campaigns. Led an award winning group project which involved creating an innovative water purification system. Ran a successful marketing campaign and was awarded 1st prize at the annual Enterprise Ireland Innovation awards. Invaluable experience gained via summer internship with Atkins Engineering. Seeks a challenging and creative position in a dynamic environment.

3. Education • Reverse Chronological order– most recent first • Second level onwards • Include:

– From/to dates – Qualification – Grade achieved – Name of institution – Location (full address unnecessary) – Relevant subjects/modules – Projects, dissertations, placements if relevant

Education - Example Education Oct 2008 – Jun 2012 MSc Mechanical Engineering (2.1) University College Dublin Modules included Mechanical Engineering Design, Fracture Mechanics, commercial awareness Final year Dissertation: “Negative stereotypes influence graduate career decisions.” Sept 2003 – June 2008 Leaving Certificate (460/600) St. Mary’s Secondary School, Limerick. English (C1), Irish (B2), French (C3), Biology (B1), Maths (A2), Chemistry (B2),

4. Employment History • Reverse chronological order

• Include: – Name and location of employer – Job title – From/to dates – Concise description responsibilities – not a list of all your

duties – Highlight key achievements

• Highlight work experience examples that are most relevant for

the job – you can use separate sections if you wish

Employment History - Example

Sept 2010 – Aug 2011 Commercial Intern, Tesco

• Supervised staff on tills when full-time supervisors were on holiday. This involved developing staff rotas, maintaining cover in line with business needs and dealing with customer complaints.

• Organised a promotion of Fair Trade products and increased sales by 20%.

• Worked as a member of a team with challenging work-related targets to meet monthly.

• I exceeded my targets each month during my three month contract.

• Developed an understanding of the need for close working relationships between all areas within the business such as commercial, HR, finance and logistics for the store to be successful.

)

5. Key Skills Profile • Allows you to demonstrate the transferable skills that

you can bring to the job • Use positive words such as ‘successful’, ‘effective’ and

‘responsible’. • Tailor your Key Skills Profile to each application • Remember to give evidence to support the skills you

are highlighting

Most Important Transferable Skills*

• Verbal communication • Time management • Teamwork • Presentation skills • Ability to multi-task • Managing one’s own learning • Written communication • Planning • IT skills • Decision making • Problem solving • Critical thinking

*As stated by graduate employers (Transferable Skills Project)

Developing Transferable Skills

Transferable Skills

Work

Experience

Academic -Relevance - Results

Extra-curricular Activities

Example • Through routinely working in teams on laboratory, desk and field-based research I

am well-versed in project management • Accustomed to manipulating and presenting various data using a range of ICT

formats

• The complex ‘real-world’ nature of Engineering research has required me to be flexible and adaptable with the confidence and initiative to deal with the unexpected.

• Passionate about conservation of the environment and sustainability as evidenced

in my voluntary work on conservation projects. • Excellent business acumen developed through work in a retail environment and

entrepreneurship.

• I have outstanding language skills (A2 in Leaving Certificate French)

6. Achievements/Interests Don’t neglect this part!! • Opportunity to demonstrate that you are motivated to pursue

other activities and develop new skills • Keep it fairly concise and ideally focused on areas that are in some

way relevant to the job • Be conscious of the impression you are conveying – you may want

to leave the pole-dancing out! • Avoid generalisations – listening to music, going out, movies, the

gym etc.

Achievements/Interests - Example Membership Secretary, UCD Ladies’ Soccer League

Through promotional activities turned a declining membership into a 20% increase in 2009/2010.

Organised social events to develop team spirit and for social purposes.

Have developed my understanding of teamwork and the importance of getting the right person for the right job: we had to reorganise player positions after a bad loss to maximise our strengths and minimise weaknesses.

Chair of the Student French Society

Co-ordinated the Society’s charity fundraising for Temple Street Children’s hospital which raised €100k.

Represent the views of students of French at quarterly student/staff consultative meetings.

Volunteer Assistant Environmental Scientist, Ghana

• Volunteered as an Assistant Environmental Scientist with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), based in Kumasi during the summer of 2010.

• Worked with a team of scientists undertaking field work,

including the collection of soil samples from a range of environments.

7. References • Don’t necessarily have to include references unless

requested • If asked include two references • Try to choose referees who you can trust to give you

a glowing testimonial • BE SURE to get permission before you quote

someone as a reference

Dealbreakers!

• Many CVs are ‘black-balled’ within seconds.

• Take care, and avoid the following simple mistakes…

Dealbreakers!

• Spelling mistakes/typos

• Incorrect grammar

• Txting lang. is nt gr8

• Busy format

• ‘One size fits all’ approach

• Inaccurate information or just plain lying

• Irrelevant information - Not tailored to what employer wants

Remember that spell check can’t do everything......

Extra Circular Activities • At secondary school I was a prefix • In my spare time I enjoy hiding my horse • I am a conscious individual. • I have a desire to work with commuters • Dear Madman • My hobbits include - instead of 'hobbies'

Thorough proofing is essential

Does my cover letter matter?

YES! your cover letter matters because….

Like the CV, your covering letter is there to “make the sale”

Highlights the match between the job specification and your skills and

experience Makes a clear match between the job specification and your

background. Conveys your interest and enthusiasm for the role Demonstrates that you have done your research on the organisation Indicates your ability to write in a business style

Cover letter content • Who you are: Address any gaps, grades

• What you want: Placement, internship, job, voluntary experience etc.

• Why the employer should consider you: Evidence of key strengths (ref the job description)

• Why you want to work for the employer:

why this type of work/ Why this organisation?

Match Make • Analyse the Job Advertisement/placement

description/organisation • Create an ‘ideal candidate’ • Frame yourself as that ‘ideal candidate’ highlighting how

and where you fit the criteria • Be confident that you could be perfect for this job – if you

don’t believe it, they won’t either

Pitfalls • Two common mistakes:

– Writing a covering letter that is little more than a cover note

– Reproducing the content of the CV in letter format.

How not to do it ….

• Applying for job at biscuit company: my life-long love of chocolate biscuits, is the main reason for my interest in the company

• I am seeking challenges that test my mind and body, since the two are usually inseparable.

• I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse.

Application Forms

Usually Contain • Standard biographical information.

• Open-ended questions that give you the chance to highlight your suitability for the job.

Competency Based Questions

• Used to demonstrate a skill required in the job. An example might be:

Think of a time when you have had to influence others to do something they were reluctant to do. What was the situation? How did you do it? What was the outcome? Often there will be a word limit attached to the answer.

• Needs clear, succinct and disciplined answer

• Explain what you did in terms of skills, processes, personal learning etc…

Common Graduate Competencies

• Drive / Achievement Orientation

• Teamwork

• Commercial awareness

• Problem-solving ability

• Analytical thinking

• Initiative

• Flexibility

• Emotional intelligence

Tell me about a time when…..

You achieved a goal

You had to deal with a challenging situation

You to meet a tight deadline

You worked as part of a team

You took the lead

You had to take the initiative to get something done

Step 1 - Drafting • Give yourself enough time: writing a good job application is likely to

take longer than you expect. Draft your answers first, before you start filling in the form.

• Read the application form right through before you write anything. Follow all instructions and answer the questions asked.

• If there is a question that does not apply to you, write ‘not

applicable’ or ‘N/A’ in the appropriate box. This shows that you have considered the question and is better than leaving blanks.

• Make your answers relevant, interesting and personal. Your aim is

to write your own interview invitation, so you want to stand out.

Step 2 – Last Checks • Spell check and proof read your application. If possible, ask a friend or

careers adviser to check it too. • Check that you have included everything you’ve been asked for. • Keep a copy of your application, so you can go over it before the

interview.

• Some online forms allow you to ‘save and return’ but not always!

• Draft in word – copy across

• Watch out for word count/characters • Sign and send!

Contact Information

www.ucd.ie/careers

careers@ucd.ie

Drop in! Career Development Centre, Library Building

01-716 7574