How can you draw the attention of the company in which you wold like to be hired?
What are the most important points of a professional application? What are the most common errors found by the selection consultants of the best international companies?
In order to answer, we have chosen eight points of attention amongst the many mentioned by the recruiters of the world’s most important companies.
Here are the last four. While here, you can find the first four, which we brought to you last week.
#5 – Appearances can be deceptive. Take care of it
As Oscar Wilde writes in The Picture of Dorian Gray: “It is only the shallow people who do not judge by appearances”.
To expect that a selection consultant can sense our incredible potential from a piece of paper of the file that we have sent in as our application could, actually, be further proof of our unsuitability.
So, pay attention to the details, even the most banal. Make your CV fluent and watertight, study it and don’t hesitate, highlight goals reached and numbers obtained.
Read it aloud, give it to some whose judgement you trust to read, asking them to read it as if they were a potential employer.
#6 – The devil’s in the details
As Laszlo Bock, SVP People Operations in Google, wrote in his post The Biggest Mistakes I See on Resumes:
Excluding someone because of a typo is stupid and you’re a horrible person for doing that.
Ok, (a) that’s not a question. And (b), I confess that I do occasionally overlook an error, for example if the person writing the resume isn’t a native English speaker. But (c), from the recruiter’s perspective, if they have a choice between two equally impressive resumes, I think we can agree that the one that says “professional booger” instead of “blogger” is probably not going to get a call.
There’s little to object to here. It is not fastidiousness of the selection consultant, but more the sloppiness on behalf of the person wishing to be chosen.
When in doubt, take note of the above suggestions, or rather, re-read, print off so you can read on paper, and ask for a second opinion from someone you trust.
#7 – Don’t make a “one size fits all” application
There’s no point in hiding; while looking for work we often find ourselves lost in the crowd. There is nothing worse.
It is tempting to send the same CV and same application letter to everyone, very tempting, but it is also pointless, as well as a huge mistake.
An identical CV sent for each position for which you are applying is an early way to ensure you won’t be contacted. It is easy to spot for its lack of focus, and in the best case scenario you won’t stand out compared to those filled out especially for that particular position in that particular company.
Each business is unique, with its own history, its own values. And making the effort to re-write a presentation letter for each is also an excellent test to discover if we really own these values, or if we are merely fish out of water.
#8 – Do not lie
A classic, but still indispensable. So here it is.
Do not try and pump up your CV; a simple check is all that is needed to unmask you and oust you from the competition with dishonour, disqualifying you forever.
It is not just about adding inexistent work experience, or boasting study qualifications that you do not own. Exalting your skills, exaggerating them, or using vague and trite clichés can be just as off-putting.
Be straightforward, clear, simple and above all honest. A handful of numbers is much more impressive than a thousand empty words.
[Bonus track] It didn’t go well? Practice and improve
When you receive a rejection letter, or two months of silence have convinced you that you haven’t been chosen for the position you wanted so badly.
No need to worry, no need to panic. Living rejection as a personal insult will only lead you to belittle yourself and you will come across as doubting yourself in subsequent interviews for other companies.
If anything, rejection can help you to grow and improve, as long as you understand where you went wrong and try to improve. We recommend you read this post by Jenny Foss in The Muse; it will give you some excellent pointers on which to work while waiting for that fateful call.
Feedback from the selection consultant, furthermore, may prove to be a goldmine for your future applications, and denote sincere interest in the position.
Which do you think is the most important point of the eight we have just analysed? What do you think could be the ninth? Share your opinion on #growingleader!
