Rebecca Corfield - Preparing the Perfect Job Application: Application Forms and Letters Made Easy

Preparing the
perfect job
application

Application forms and
letters made easy

5th edition

Rebecca Corfield

Publishers note

Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and author cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the author.

First published as How You Can Get That Job! in 1992

Reprinted 1994, 1995

Second edition 1999

Third edition 2003

Fourth edition 2007 published as Preparing the Perfect Job Application

Fifth edition 2009

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:

Rebecca Corfield 1992, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2009

ISBN 978 0 7494 5653 5

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Corfield, Rebecca.

Preparing the perfect job application : application forms and letters made easy / Rebecca Corfield -- 5th ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-7494-5653-5

1. Rsums (Employment) 2. Applications for positions. I. Title.

HF5383.C653 2009

650.142--dc22

Typeset by Jean Cussons Typesetting, Diss, Norfolk

Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd

eBook by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong

Contents

What are application forms?

This book is all about application forms: what they are, their purpose and how to fill them in. It is not a glamorous topic. Nor is it a topic that anyone is keen to learn about but for the fact that often an application form is the first hurdle that has to be cleared to get a job. It is the part of the selection process that is seen as the necessary but unpleasant task done in a rush, under protest and without enough preparation and thought. We feel burdened by having to do so much work accurately reporting on our education and employment experience, anxious about the right way to fill in the sections of the form and, overall, highly embarrassed about selling ourselves on paper.

I have seen too many people lose out on the chance of a job for which they were highly suitable because they underestimated the importance of the application form. Even if they understand how vital it is, there are several other traps that people fall into, all too regularly, when completing their forms. Often applicants just do not understand the reasons employers ask the questions they do. If you have ever applied for a job and not been called for an interview, it is likely that your application form sold you short of that opportunity. You can change your luck by finding out more.

Application forms are the most common method used by employers to recruit new staff. An application form is a document, filled in by all applicants to put themselves forward for a particular job. It enables the employer to compare and contrast the candidates. In this way a group can be selected to be invited for interview. This process is often called shortlisting: a longer list of applicants is whittled down to a smaller number or a shorter list.

Application forms can be printed pieces of paper that are sent and delivered by the post. They may be any length between two and eight pages. Increasingly they take the form of an electronic document that is completed and sent via e-mail (electronic mail). Organizations websites can often contain the relevant application form when a vacancy arises, and candidates simply fill it in and return it through the website or by e-mail to the recruiter.

The whole purpose of completing an application form is to impress an employer enough to win yourself a place on the day the interviews take place. You should complete the form after thinking about the position, and you need to try to present your skills and experience in the light of what is required for the job. Often the employer will send out details about the vacancy in the form of a job description and a person specification. A job description is a succinct summary of the main duties and responsibilities of the job, designed to convey to applicants and eventual job-holders the key areas of work. A person specification is an outline of the kind of person that the employer requires for the job. Often a person specification will include both essential attributes for the role and preferred ones.

Example

Position: Finance Manager

Job description

Main duties:

• Running small, busy finance department
• Organizing payroll and monitoring income and expenditure
• Managing team of three finance staff
• Working closely with Director and providing regular reports for management
• Liaising with other departments
• Sorting out suppliers or customers financial queries

Person specification

Essential

• Experience of figure work
• Excellent communication skills
• Well organized and able to work on own initiative
• Computer skills

Preferred

• Management or supervisory experience
• Financial qualifications
• Experience of manufacturing sector

The information available to potential applicants can be extensive. The application pack that you download or receive through the post can contain some or all of the following:

• job description a summary of the duties in the job;
• person specification an outline of the kind of person required;
• guidance for applicants an explanation of how to apply for the post;
• company information details of the organization and its activities;
• application form the form for applying for the job;
• equal opportunities monitoring form data for equalities purposes;
• employment status form concerning your eligibility to work in the country;
• rehabilitation of offenders form requiring information about past convictions.

Receiving this much information, all written in formal business language, can sometimes seem very intimidating. Just deciphering what all the documents are for can be daunting, let alone knowing where to start on filling in the necessary forms. It is important not to be put off though. You cannot get the job without clearing the first big hurdle of applying for it.