Week 6: Creating strong job applications

Introduction

Developing your career will involve applying for the work you want to do. This might be with your existing employer, with a new employer, voluntary work, short-term contracts or work experience. Whichever option you decide to pursue, you will need to be able to match yourself to the work and the expectations of the employer. This week the focus is on helping you to do that successfully.

The first step is to analyse what is needed for a particular job. In Week 3 you learned how to research the requirements of types of work or employer. The process here is similar, though your focus will be on a specific opportunity. However, you still need to find out what is needed and then present yourself in the best way.

In the first part of this week you will consider how to do this in response to advertised jobs. In the second half of the week, you will create a CV which allows you to respond effectively to more formal opportunities which arise.

Watch Wendy introduce Week 6:

Download this video clip.Video player: sitw_wk6.mp4

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Transcript

Wendy Woolery:

Welcome to Week 6. Last week, we looked at how your personal and work contacts can help you explore opportunities, to progress your career. This week, we’ll look at a specific opportunity and consider employers are looking for in their person specification and job descriptions. You'll also have the opportunity to write a personal statement. And finally, we’ll look at different types of CVs and consider how you can update your social media personal profile.

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By the end of this week, you will be able to:

• review a job advert
• consider what makes a good job application
• explore why it is important to have a current curriculum vitae
• create or update your curriculum vitae (CV).

1 What to look for in job advertisements

Figure 1 Looking at job adverts

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Figure 1 Looking at job adverts

Your analysis should begin with understanding what any job advertisement is telling you.

Below is an advert and sample analysis. It is a general advert for graduates to work in the Scottish Health Service, rather than for a specific job. The advert is for someone who has already graduated from university, but it has been chosen because it contains the kind of information which is useful for demonstrating how close reading can tell you a lot about an employer’s needs.

The bracketed numbers and bold text in the advert indicate points that were considered important to understand, or remember, by the person considering applying for the post. Read the text through first without looking at the notes, then read it again noting what the applicant thought was important.

One way of learning something new is to observe what someone else does. You have seen the way someone analysed a particular advert and, whether or not the job opportunity feels relevant to you or your life, you will have noticed some general things that the person doing the analysis drew out from their reading. Such as, noting the general information about the NHS, the qualification required for the position, the additional training provided and the general skills required.

It doesn’t matter what kind of job advert you are looking at, it is this kind of detail that you need to concentrate on.

1.1 Picking out the details from a job advert

Many employers will supply a job description and a person specification. The job description tells you about the job and the person specification what abilities, qualities and qualifications are required. Job adverts will usually be based on these two documents and present the most important aspects of them.

The job advertisement you’ve already looked at has both these elements, so provides good practice in analysing what is expected of you.

This activity helps you to ‘spot’ useful information in an advert and to interpret what it asks of you.

The next section will provide you with nine key areas to look for in any job advert.

2 The key areas in a job advert

Figure 2 Nine key areas

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Figure 2 Nine key areas

As well as reading between the lines on the specific requirements included in a job advertisement, this will also tell you something about the kind of workplace it might be and whether or not it would suit your interests and needs. To do all this though, it helps to look out for nine key areas. This will give the best chance of matching yourself to an employer’s needs.

In the next section you’ll learn more about the specific language used in job adverts, job descriptions and person specifications and what it means.

3 What do they mean?

View the document ‘Skills that employers want and how they can be developed’ in the Resource pack. This shows the types of skills employers may want, the way they might describe them, and provides an opportunity to illustrate how you might develop these through work, education or your interests. It will also act as a useful tool when completing a job application.

You will see from this that there are four clusters of skills

• self-reliance
• people skills
• general skills
• specialist skills.

The middle column details specific skills or qualities, and lists the words used to describe them. Of course, different employers might mean different things by them. So, ask questions if you can within your network or the named contact for the job advert.

Column 3 gives examples of how you might have already developed or be able to develop some of these generic skills. The examples could act as prompts for you when completing a job advert.

The next activity has some similarities with the approach you took in Week 2 when you considered your experiences, the abilities you developed from them and evidence for these. The next step is to learn to do this in relation to a specific job and the next activity gives you this opportunity.

Once you’ve decided that a job advert is relevant to you, then the next step is to present yourself to the employer for the vacancy. In the next section you consider how to strengthen your new skills with job applications still further.

4 How to present yourself to an employer

Figure 3 Presenting yourself

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Figure 3 Presenting yourself

Many employers are moving towards a competency-based assessment of candidates.

Competencies are a set of knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviours. When you apply for a job an employer will ask for a range of these and you need to show how you can meet these by providing evidence.

The basic idea behind competency-based recruitment is that if you can demonstrate you did something in the past, you can do it in the future.

So, if you come across this it means you have to adopt a particular approach to be successful. Fortunately, there are techniques that greatly increase the chances of success.

Activity 3 will have refreshed your skill in using ‘evidence’ of what you have done in the past to show what you are capable of now. You can now enhance this by learning to use a technique that is very useful for answering competency based questions you might find on an application form.

It is a widely used technique known as ‘STAR’.

When using this technique, you think about a specific piece of experience you want to offer up and describe it in the following way.

• Situation – Think about a specific situation and when it happened.
• Task – Was a task required in that situation and what were you supposed to achieve by completing it?
• Action – What action(s) did you take to complete the task?
• Result – Think about the outcome of the actions you took.

This really helps you to organise your thoughts. However, this technique alone may not keep you entirely on track, so it can be used in combination with another known as ‘RAPPAS’. This translates as:

• Relevant – The skill you put forward needs to be relevant to what is being asked for.
• Action –Include what you actually did (rather than what you might do if in a hypothetical situation), or something you learned.
• Personal – Focus on what you personally did, rather than what other people did or what happened generally. Don’t say what ‘we’ did, say what ‘I’ did.
• Positive – Use a situation with a good outcome, even if everything was not achieved as planned.
• Appropriate – You need to feel comfortable to talk about the situation, so choose examples which would allow this.
• Specific – Give one example, not a mixture of different examples.

It is easier to understand this when you see it in practice, so in the next activity you’ll review someone else’s attempt before trying it with yourself.

Practising with someone else’s example is a good way to get a feel for what works, and what does not. However, it is always better to use your own example, so if you have time you might want to revisit Activity 4 now. This is not essential though because you will revisit the technique in Week 7.

So far this week, you have considered the need to:

• find out about the work and what skills are needed
• make of the most of the main skills you have that are required to do the job and provide examples that show these skills.

Next you need to think about how to complete an application form and make sure you do yourself justice.

5 Completing application forms

Figure 4 Application forms

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Figure 4 Application forms

Making a strong application takes time. Getting it right is important because most candidates are screened out from their application forms. Employers often receive far more applications for a job than they can interview. This means they will read quickly through applications, maybe looking for key words and phrases. It is therefore vital that your form shows you are a clear match to their needs. So think carefully about how you describe your activities and skills to match those you’ve identified from the advert.

This can sometimes apply to voluntary work as well, due to the competition for highly sought after roles. Your objective needs to be to persuade the employer that you are worth interviewing because you seem to be a suitable candidate for the job. Your chance of doing this is higher if you submit an application form which is convincing and interesting.

Often, the information in your application form is all the employer will have about you. Put your best foot forward. Be positive about what you have to offer, and leave them to spot any potential negatives for themselves. Showing that you match their needs is important but remember that good presentation is also vital. Use the guidance below to ensure that your application is the best representation of you.

Application check-list

• You won’t get your application spot on first time, so make some photocopies of the original form for drafts, or save your drafts on a PC.
• Do what the form asks you to do – for example, use block capitals or black ink if these are the requirements. Don’t send a CV unless you are asked for one.
• Make sure that you complete all the sections. If some sections do not seem to apply, write ‘not applicable’.
• If there is insufficient space for factual details, such as dates and addresses of previous employers, add a separate sheet of paper, labelled clearly with all relevant details. Check before doing this, that this is permitted.
• Prioritise what you include. For instance, if there is not enough space to do justice to general interest information, choose those which best illustrate something relevant to the employer.
• Watch out for questions which have more than one element and make sure you respond to each part of the question.
• Avoid unexplained gaps in your employment record. If you have been unemployed, say so, but point out any voluntary work, or other projects, you did during that period.
• Use active word to describe yourself, like 'organised', 'responsible' or 'managed'. These create a more confident and competent impression.
• Finally, remember to compare what you have written with the analysis you did of the skills needed in the job advert.
• Before you send it off, do a last check:
  • Visual impression – is it neat and easy to read?
  • Accuracy – have you put the right information in the right places? Are all your dates right?
  • Spelling and grammar – are there any mistakes you need to correct?

Always keep a copy. It might be some time before the interview, when you will need to reread it.

This section has considered how to best present yourself when a job has been advertised and the recruitment process requires you to complete an application form. Sometimes, however, the employer might ask you to submit a curriculum vitae (CV) rather than an application form.

So, this is the topic for the next section.

6 What is a curriculum vitae and why do I need one?

Figure 5 Curriculum vitae

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Figure 5 Curriculum vitae

The words ‘curriculum vitae’ are Latin and translate as ‘course of life’. In practice a CV has become a brief account of your education, qualifications and previous occupations used in support of a job application. Depending on when you are writing it, you may have more or less to include in it, or you may want to emphasise some things more than others. Even if you already have a CV, it is wise to regularly review and update it, so that the content still fits with your career goals. For instance, if you want to make a change from one career path to another, you might need to emphasise different aspects of your experience.

Activity 5 Assessing the value of CVs

Timing: Allow approximately 5 minutes

This activity will familiarise you with some of the benefits of writing and maintaining a CV.

Watch the following short video clip in which people describe their personal experiences of creating a CV and what they see as the benefits.

Download this video clip.Video player: preparing_a_cv.mp4

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Transcript

Ramesh:

Regarding writing CVs, its been one of those challenging tasks, where you never get 100% perfect, and you keep refining it.

Rachael:

I see many CVs, and the ones that are really good, the ones that always stand out, are the ones that are clear and concise.

Paul:

A potential employer will make that first decision. It's the first impression that they get. It's so very important that a CV is well produced

Rachael:

Bullet points. Get to the point. Say what you want to say. Don't flower it with lots of things that the employer doesn't really want to know about.

Paul:

It doesn't have to be superbly well designed, but it has to be neat, tidy.

Rachael:

Say what your qualifications are. Say what the grades are.

Paul:

The spelling has to be perfect and anything else will not do you justice.

Rachael:

And if you've got the correct qualifications and the correct skills, the employer will be in touch.

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Interactive feature not available in single page view (see it in standard view).

Jot down the main points made, if you find them helpful.

So, now you’ve considered why CVs are useful, let’s look at what you should include, in the next section.

6.1 What should be included in a CV?

Figure 6 CV checklist

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Figure 6 CV checklist

Whether you are updating an existing CV or creating a new one, you need to know what to include and exclude.

Any CV should include:

• your contact details
• a ‘personal profile’, which summarises your main skills and career aims
• your education and qualifications you have gained including dates and grades
• any work experience stating your responsibilities and main achievements
• your main skills
• relevant interests or activities, such as languages, IT or sports captaincy
• your references. Give the names of two people who have agreed to provide a reference, or say that you can provide details on request.

You don’t need to include your nationality (unless you need a work permit), age, marital status or health.

Now you need to understand the different ways in which this information can be presented in a CV. You will explore two types of CVs in the next section.

6.2 The main types of CV and when to use them

Figure 7 Types of CV

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Figure 7 Types of CV

There are different ways of writing a CV and you need to choose the one which works best in your situation and helps you succeed in getting interviews.

Most employers do not specify which kind of CV to use, so it will be your decision to make. However, some job areas do expect a particular kind of CV. So, make sure you find this out before sending yours in. In the next sections you will be introduced to two basic types of CV, the chronological CV and the functional CV.

6.3 Chronological CV

Figure 8 Chronological CV

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Figure 8 Chronological CV

This is the most commonly used form of CV and gives information about your work in date order. It shows where you worked, for how long, the kind of work you did and your main achievements. If you are writing your CV for the first time, this is the most useful type to create.

Have a look at the example of Derek’s CV in the Resource pack. Note that any periods of unemployment are included.

Derek’s example shows some of the advantages this kind of CV offers. For example:

• it shows potential recruiters or employers the story of Derek’s employment so far
• it allows him to highlight key skills and to show progress made
• it is easy to produce.

However, it works less effectively where there are gaps in employment. Derek chose to be clear about his unemployment and to show how he is acquiring new skills.

It can be problematic too, if you have changed jobs very frequently, or had long periods of time out of the workplace. This might need some explanation. It does not need to be done on the CV, but you might send an accompanying letter which gives more information. For instance, had Derek’s period of unemployment been because he had served a short prison sentence, he might have left a gap in his CV, but explained the gap in a covering letter.

The other problem you might have noticed is that it is not easy to pick out key achievements or skills, because they are listed by individual jobs. You will learn later on how to create a strong personal profile statement, which summarises your achievements and skills to help to counter this risk. There are limitations to this type of CV, as it may not convey a sense of you as a person very clearly.

The second type of CV handles this aspect better, as you will see in the next section.

6.4 Functional CVs

Figure 9 Functional CV

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Figure 9 Functional CV

A functional CV is one which focuses on you and your skills, rather than your work history. It allows you to say more about your ability and the things you have achieved in your life. This is because it presents the information according to the type of work you have done and the responsibilities you have had, rather than by individual jobs.

Look at Sandra’s example CV in the Resource pack.

As you can see, this highlights skills rather than job changes. Therefore it can be useful if the job you are applying for is different from those you have done previously. The functional CV allows you to emphasise strengths and skills developed in different situations. For example, Sandra draws attention to the fact that her gap year of travelling helped her to develop better planning skills.

It is generally easier to group skills together and you can use the four skills clusters from ‘Skills that employers want and how they can be developed’ to do this. You might have noticed that this example makes an attempt at that. The disadvantage with this type of CV is that, it is less ‘standard’ than the chronological type. You have to think about how you want to prepare it, to ensure that is it clearly relevant to the job. Any gaps in employment are likely to be less prominent but assume that employers will notice this and you should be prepared to explain them at the interview.

If you already have a CV in the chronological style, you might want to write a second functional one as a way of clarifying what skills you have to offer.

Either of these types of CV would be suitable for making a speculative approach to an organisation or via a network contact, as well as part of a job application, where a CV is required. In this case, though, you would need to tailor it to reflect the specific job.

The place to begin though is to create a basic CV which you can later tailor to different situations. The next section offers some general guidance on how to do this.

6.5 Preparing a CV

Figure 10 CV preparation

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Figure 10 CV preparation

It is very useful to always have a good basic CV to hand. Even if you are not immediately seeking work, you never know when one of your contacts might spot an opportunity and open a door for you. So, you need to have one you can update or tailor quickly.

Your CV both gives facts and creates an impression of the kind of employee you would be. Just like an application form, it needs to be accurate, clearly presented, easy to read, and not too long. Remember though to include brief specific examples that demonstrate your skills and achievements to make your CV persuasive.

Whereas an application form tells you what the employer wants to know, for a CV you have to decide that for yourself. So use your earlier research about the job.

Be concise. Aim for a CV no longer than two sides of A4 paper. This means including only key relevant information. The examples show you how this can be done by the use of headings and bullet points.

Make your CV distinctive by including activities or achievements that may be unconnected to your work but that still demonstrate specific abilities that may interest an employer. You might be relieved at this point to learn that you do not necessarily have to do all the work on CVs yourself. There are online tools which can help. If you would like more information visit the Open University Careers Advisory Service website.

In the next section you’ll get the chance to put into practice everything you’ve learned about CVs this week.

6.6 Bringing your CV to your network

Figure 11 Promoting yourself

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Figure 11 Promoting yourself

With the uptake of social media, such as LinkedIn, by large companies and recruitment agencies to search for potential employees, it is useful to have both a traditional and online CV.

Your final activity for this week is to use a template to help you to create both.

It is a slightly longer activity than others, but you do not need to do it all in one go. Just remember to keep saving the work you do as you go along.

That was your final activity of this week packed with information to help you understand job adverts, and write relevant and solid job applications and CVs. You can check your understanding in this week’s quiz. There was a lot of information to take on board this week, so remember that you can use your notes or go back to the study material, if you want to check an answer.

7 This week’s quiz

Well done, you’ve just completed the last of the activities in this week’s study before the weekly quiz.

8 Summary

You have come a long way since the beginning of the course. Remember the career planning model reproduced here? Well, you are on the brink now of moving into the action phase – you should pat yourself on the back for reaching this stage.

Figure 12 The career planning process

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Diagram showing four stages with arrows pointing clockwise to each stage. The first says ‘Know yourself’, the second says ‘Explore opportunities’, the third says ‘Decide what to do’ and the fourth says ‘Take action’.

Figure 12 The career planning process

This week you have started to bring together ideas about your working life that you can use in a practical way.

Some of you will want to do this almost immediately. Others may still be planning when and how to use the knowledge and skills you have developed in creating applications and CVs. Just remember to be ready for those opportunities which are unexpected, that come at a time which never feels quite right, but might be just the right next step for you.

Next week you will move onto the next stage in the process – the interview. See you there.

You should now feel that you can:

• review a job advert
• consider what makes a good job application
• explore why it is important to have a current curriculum vitae
• create or update your curriculum vitae (CV).

You can now go to Week 7.

References

The Open University (2015) Analysing job advertisements [Online]. Available at http://www2.open.ac.uk/students/careers/applying-for-jobs/analysing-job-advertisements (Accessed 20 May 2015).

Acknowledgements

This course was written by Maria Townsend and Gill Gustar.

Some of the material in this course is based on material originally available on the Open University Careers Advisory Service website.

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated in the acknowledgements section, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence.

The material acknowledged below is Proprietary and used under licence (not subject to Creative Commons Licence). Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit:

Images

Figure 1: Shutterstock © PPILIPPOU

Figure 4: © sampsyseeds/iStockphoto.com

Figure 5: Shutterstock © Brian A Jackson

Figure 6: © pagadesign/iStockphoto.com

Figure 7: Shutterstock © wavebreakmedia

Figure 8: © Kutaytanir/iStockphoto.com

Figure 10: © andresr/Dreamstime.com

Table

Table 1: HECSU/AGCAS (2011) ‘Skills that employers want, how they can be developed’, What Do Graduates Do?, © HECSU/AGCAS.

Every effort has been made to contact copyright owners. If any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

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Week 7