By Derek O'Dwyer
If you are currently seeking new or alternative employment, the
most common what of applying for a job is via email. The quality of
email applications is quite frankly very poor and it often means that
the CV does not even get looked at.
If you are not being asked to attend interview, then your CV or your application letter probably sucks and its time to take corrective action.
Here are some guidelines.
1. Reference your Job in the Email Subject Line. Some companies may have more than one position advertised at any point and they often receive all the applications into one email address. By including the Job Reference Number in the Subject Line, your email is easier to find and sort and will not get overlooked.
2. Say something in the body of the email. I received over 100 applications for roles in the past 2 weeks and more than 40 had simply attached a CV with no greeting, note or anything else. They may have been good candidates, but they often get deleted out of frustration.
3. Put your name in the title of the attached CV. Too often they are called MynewCV.doc or december 2008cv.doc or similar. Again this makes it very difficult for the recruiter to sort and file the documents and they may again get deleted.
4. If you are applying for a job that you may not have the exact qualifications for, then your cover note needs to be excellent. Make it brief, relevant and have some carrot for the interview. Remember, the CV and email applications role is to get you to interview.
If you are not good at writing covering letters for Job applications - get some professional help. If you cant spell properly - and believe me - the quality of spelling is dire - get help and do not rely solely on the spell checker.
5. Fonts and Colours - If you are copying and pasting and changing the details on your covering letter, make sure that the font and colour is the same - Sometime, I get applications and there is so much variation, I immediately thing "this person is lazy" and I do not interview. It is your responsibility to stack the odds in your favour.
6. Follow Up - Sometimes a quick follow up email can assist in the process because it demonstrates a certain amount of persistence and willing - don't become a pest but it can lead to a conversation at least.
Next post will include some tips on the interview itself...
If you are not being asked to attend interview, then your CV or your application letter probably sucks and its time to take corrective action.
Here are some guidelines.
1. Reference your Job in the Email Subject Line. Some companies may have more than one position advertised at any point and they often receive all the applications into one email address. By including the Job Reference Number in the Subject Line, your email is easier to find and sort and will not get overlooked.
2. Say something in the body of the email. I received over 100 applications for roles in the past 2 weeks and more than 40 had simply attached a CV with no greeting, note or anything else. They may have been good candidates, but they often get deleted out of frustration.
3. Put your name in the title of the attached CV. Too often they are called MynewCV.doc or december 2008cv.doc or similar. Again this makes it very difficult for the recruiter to sort and file the documents and they may again get deleted.
4. If you are applying for a job that you may not have the exact qualifications for, then your cover note needs to be excellent. Make it brief, relevant and have some carrot for the interview. Remember, the CV and email applications role is to get you to interview.
If you are not good at writing covering letters for Job applications - get some professional help. If you cant spell properly - and believe me - the quality of spelling is dire - get help and do not rely solely on the spell checker.
5. Fonts and Colours - If you are copying and pasting and changing the details on your covering letter, make sure that the font and colour is the same - Sometime, I get applications and there is so much variation, I immediately thing "this person is lazy" and I do not interview. It is your responsibility to stack the odds in your favour.
6. Follow Up - Sometimes a quick follow up email can assist in the process because it demonstrates a certain amount of persistence and willing - don't become a pest but it can lead to a conversation at least.
Next post will include some tips on the interview itself...
Visit http://www.derekodwyer.com
and learn how Derek O'Dwyer helps people like you who are in business
or who plan to start a business. Derek is a business expert, both online
and offline and his specialty is small businesses.
Derek has
worked as a business coach for the past 8 years and has won numerous
local, national and global awards for his achievements with clients.