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Eight Tips To Avoid Application Hardship
By Sid | August 15, 2008
By Aaron Boyce (www.ABworkshopsarethebest.com)
You submitted a fantastic resume with a great cover letter. They call you for an interview and hand you the dreaded application for you to fill out right there, right now. As innocent as this seems, the application process is where employers weed out the weak from the strong, the knowledgeable from the uninformed. Like everything in life, the more you know, the more you will be able to rise above your competition. So here are some tips on filling out that application.
Always bring with you a working pen, filled with black or blue ink. In fact, bring two. This way, you won’t have to ask the front desk person for a pen because your ink ran out.
Bring a copy of your resume with you whenever you anticipate filling out an application. When the application asks for information like work experience, education, dates and details, you’d need not cast your eyes up to the sky in your futile efforts to remember this information. You simply pull out your resume and copy the information practically verbatim.
Be sure to write neatly, clearly, and legibly. No matter how profound the information, your application will have a difficult time being considered if the employer is having a difficult time understanding it. Print your responses; never write in cursive.
Remember, you are being watched. So as you fill out the application, do not slouch in your chair, do not take up the whole table, and do not sigh and complain about having to fill out a stupid application since you already turned in your resume.
Read the application before you begin filling it out. A common mistake that jobseekers make is that they fill out the application before they look it over. What that leads to is the “OOPS” factor, as in, oops, I wrote my name in the wrong place, or oops, I wrote in the gray area.
Write within the space allowed. Plan the size of your text so that you don’t write too large and run out of space or too small and have too much space left. There’s not many things tackier than running out of space and completing your answer on the side of the box.
When completing the experience section, be sure to include your most relevant experience first. Use the language the company used in their help wanted ad, company brochure, website. The more you sound like them, the more you sound like what they are looking for.
If you are one of the thousands of “lucky” people who have barriers, such as felony conviction, termination, or medical induced work stoppage, you might consider including a three paragraph letter explaining your situation with the application. This letter will discuss the particular barrier and how the barrier would not affect your work performance.
In my ABworkshops, we discuss the power of the application and how a strong tie-in with your resume and cover letter will lead you to employment success. Join me on the road to your success.
Aaron Boyce, founder of ABworkshops, travels across the country spreading his message of success through self-motivation and self-awareness. A stutterer since the age of nine, Aaron has overcome the pain of rejection, humiliation, and self-hate to become a powerful, motivational, and dynamic speaker and trainer. You can reach him at: aaron@abworkshops.com; www.abworkshopsarethebest.com; toll-free 1-866-745-6966.
Topics: Job Applications |
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