Don’t get lost in the crowd. This guide outlines the best ways to attract attention when submitting a job application in what is becoming a crowded market.
The job market has been thrown into complete chaos by the coronavirus crisis and as we tumble headfirst into a full-blown recession and thousands more lose their jobs by the week, it’s only going to get worse. In this atmosphere, it’s never been more important to stand out with your job application.
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4 ways to stand out when submitting a job application
How exactly can you make a CV and cover later interesting when submitting a job application? Surely it’s just a case of a list of your former jobs, skills and a nice letter telling them about your fondness for dogs and cycling right? Not exactly, as these top tips will hopefully elucidate.
1. Get creative
With so many candidates applying for the same job, it’s always going to be the creative applications that stand out. Put yourself in the shoes of a recruiter who has to read through hundreds of the same applications that are all trying to say essentially the same thing.
Recently, advertisement banner provider, instantprint, received an incredibly unique job application in the form of an applicant sending them a banner of herself sitting on a chair so they could visualise what she would look like sitting in their office. The story was so creative that it received international press attention! And, she ultimately got the job.
2. Be relevant
Tailor your CV so it is relevant to the company and role which you are applying for. Copying and pasting the same cover letter to a thousand different emails is not going to get you anywhere as recruiters can tell when a CV is a ‘stock one’. If you want businesses to take you seriously as a candidate then make them aware that you are serious about this specific job, not just ‘any old job’.
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3. Know your role
Build your knowledge on the role and company before you attend the interview, doing as much research as you can with the resources available. This can mean anything from scanning through the company’s social media feeds and gaining some perspective on their brand identity and company culture, to researching successful job applications for roles at similar companies and ascertaining exactly what it is that made them successful.
4. Communicate your interests.
Being open and enthusiastic about the things that inspire you will make you more relatable to the person who receives your job application. There can be few things in life more soul-destroying than making your way through dozens of applications that read as if they were written under duress.
Make your CVs sing with positivity and excitement and whoever is tasked with reading it is going to be that much more likely to put it on the ‘interested’ pile.
