5 tricks to get your job application noticed
By Craig from Jobulo
When applying for a job vacancy one of your number one priorities should be adapting your CV to show you are the best candidate for the vacancy. Today’s job market is so competitive that a small difference like the way you relate a previous job to the one you’re applying for can determine whether you succeed in getting a job interview or not. Do you want to give yourself the best chance of getting that new job? Of course you do. That’s why you absolutely have to revise your CV for each and every job application. A generic, bland CV that you’ve dished out to twenty differing job roles is not the way to lure that prospective employer into believing you are the solution to their staffing issues.
So with this in mind check out Jobulo’s five ways in which you can adapt your CV for job seeking glory:
#1 Tailor Your Personal Statement
Your CV should contain some kind of opening piece about yourself, your work ethic and your aspirations – we call this the Personal Statement. This is an important place to think about tailoring your CV to the job position for which you’re applying. When applying for any job you should look at this section of your CV and think:
“are there any sentences that I could change to more accurately reflect my suitability for this job role?”
Maybe the job application mentions someone who needs to work well within a team environment? Can you tweak your Personal Statement to mention how you thrive when working in a team? This is the kind of thing you should be looking to do to optimise your Personal Statement for the job position.
#2 Analyse Your Work History
This is an absolutely key area of your CV in terms of relating it to your job application. During the hiring process, most employers look for real world examples of candidates demonstrating the skill-sets required to excel in a specific role– and your work history section is exactly the place to mention these examples! Look at the job description and the characteristics the employer is looking for and compare these to your work experience. Ask yourself;
“have you ever demonstrated the qualities the employer is looking for before?”
If you have shown these attributes previously in your career be sure to detail this when writing your work history section. Mentioning key points here and can go a long way to giving you that job interview opportunity.
#3 Make Your Skills Relevant
If you’re using a Jobulo CV design you will find that we incorporate a separate ‘Skills’ section into our templates. This is a place where you can quickly and concisely list your key attributes – whether they have been honed throughout your career, achieved through your education or training or they are simply part of your personality. Listing your skills in this way gives the employer a quick and easy opportunity to summarise you as a candidate and assess whether you are a good fit for their job vacancy. Be mindful of this fact when writing your skills section and constantly think about which skills you have that would be beneficial for this particular job role.
#4 Consider Your Achievements
Do you have any achievements, within your career or outside of work, that might be relevant to the job vacancy you’re applying for? Have you been accredited in a previous job or place of learning in a subject or sector that your new employer would be interested in? If so, be sure to incorporate this into your CV. If an achievement, however small, is relevant to the job position it is always worth mentioning it.
#5 Relate Your Education
Now this may not be possible for all candidates as people’s interests and aspirations change naturally over time. Those that loved maths at school may go on to love working in creative positions that have nothing to do with the finer workings of Pythagoras. However most people can look back at their education and relate it to the job they’re applying for. There may have been a certain aspect of a subject or course that sparked your interest in a specific career. Or you may well have excelled at a certain subject for reasons that would be beneficial to your new prospective employer. Think hard on this one as relating aspects of your education to your job application can greatly improve your chances of being offered an interview.
Top tip: Adapting your CV to a job role isn’t just about one section- you need to take a holistic approach with your document. When writing every section of your CV, check whether you can make it relevant to the job vacancy or the employer you want to impress. Remember, some of these employers see hundreds of CVs, so it’s worth going the extra mile to ensure you stand out.
