Should you or shouldn't you use an online application? And if you do submit your CV online, how can you get it the attention it deserves?
If You Want the Job…Follow Directions
Employers say that online applications won't go away. More and more employers want candidates to find job openings on company web sites or Internet job boards; they require online applications; they prefer to communicate with potential recruits via e-mail.
Hiring with the aid of technology is a time and money-saving proposition for businesses. It has maximised efficiency in the candidate selection process.
Employers say they can advertise to a wider, more diverse candidate pool (which means you've got more competition than ever before!), find matches for hard-to-fill positions, easily share CVs of qualified candidates with hiring managers, streamline the hiring process, and tighten the timeline between the need for a new employee and the date the employee starts on the job.
Employers add that their company's own online application system is the fastest way to get your CV into the right hands. Your focus should be on making your application unique; to avoid it being swallowed up in the technology abyss.
Typically, applications submitted online go directly into the employer's applicant database. Paper CVs are scanned or keyed into the database (where a scanner or data processor may add errors to your CV).
A hiring manager who needs to fill a position enters keywords to search the database and find the applications of the people who are the best fit for the job. Those results become the candidate pool.
Making a Big Splash in the Candidate Pool
Fourteen Key tips to ensure that your bits and bytes bob to the surface iof the candidate pool.
1. Follow directions. Be careful to enter the correct data in the correct field.
2. Ask for advice on completing the application from a company recruiter or someone in the company.
3. Tailor your application information to the position. Don't copy and paste text from your generic CV.
4. Use key words, buzz words, and industry phraseology. Use the words in the job ad as your model. Employers search on key words when they're looking for people to fill specific positions.
5. Create a skills-inventory section even if the application doesn't require it. You might put this in a comments section.
6. Include numbers and statistics if they are available. (Example: Counted five cash drawers daily; responsible for more than £1,000 per 8-hour shift.)
7. Complete all fields—even those that aren't required.
8. If the company offers an optional assessment test online, take it. (One employer recently admitted that students who don't take the optional assessment test are automatically screened out.)
9. Make sure your CV can hold its own in a very simple format. Fancy bullets, text, italics, and bold do not convert well in an electronic application.
10. If possible, spellcheck and grammar check your application before submitting it. Have an error-free application because this application serves as the employer's first impression of you.
11. Include a strong objective. Ask a career counsellor to help you word your objective.
12. Another use for the comment section: use it to demonstrate that you've done research on the company and the industry.
13. Use quotes from letters of recommendation in your CV or cover letter.
14. Followup your electronic application with a personal e-mail to the recruiter. A follow-up phone call is acceptable if the ad does not say, "No phone calls."
 | Lynn Tulip Career Management Consultant M. 07801 689801 S. margot121 W. http://www.assessment4potential.com |
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