As a young person you’re likely looking for some job application tips and tricks. Look no further! Here are our ‘7 Job Application Tips’ for young job seekers, or those new to the NZ job application process.
1. Follow the instructions in the job advert:
When filling in an application form (either on paper, or online), answer all of the questions honestly. Don’t leave anything blank.
Then, when it comes to submitting a cover letter and C.V, follow the job advert instructions carefully. This means tailoring your C.V to the job you’re applying for, and making mention of values/qualifications/experience that the company has stated are required for the role.
Keep an eye out for any forms that need to be completed, or specific information that’s required.
2. Personalise your C.V:
Address your cover letter to the right person. If you’re not sure who that is, get in touch and find out.
Don’t make assumptions by using gender pronouns. For example: e.g: Dear Sir or Dear Madam.
“Dear Amanda” looks better and has a more personal touch than “To whom it may concern”.
3. Pay attention to detail:
If your C.V or cover letter is full of spelling and grammar mistakes, that’s an automatic red flag.
Some employers will use these errors as a reason to put you on the ‘no’ pile. And save your C.V and cover letter under appropriate file names.
4. Make it clear that you are applying for a specific position:
To give you a real-life example, an organisation received 89 applications for a high-level senior role in a well-known organisation. Of those, only 62 included a cover letter. Straight away there are 27 people struck off the list.
Of that 62, 13 addressed it to the wrong person, and 29 didn’t address it to anyone at all. Even though the advertisement clearly stated who to send applications to.
This means that of the original 89 applicants, only 20 people stated that they were applying for the role and sent it to the right person!
It’s not hard to see how quickly the pool can narrow based purely on following instructions.
5. PDF:
It’s no secret that a document crafted in Microsoft Word can completely scramble your beautiful formatting.
A fail proof way of making sure your C.V and cover letter can be opened looking the way you intended, is to simply save and send it as a PDF file.
6. Contact details:
Letter Writing 101: Your contact details go at the top.
Because how else will an employer reach out to you to offer an interview? And despite how obvious it seems, it’s something that is commonly missed.
At the very least your C.V and cover letter should contain your email address and phone number.
And speaking of email addresses – use appropriate ones!
Getting an application from grooveechick_mm@… or ladiesman69@… is another one of those red flags.
7. Clean up your social media presence:
Finally, over 80% of NZ employers will type your name into the Facebook and Instagram search bars before they make contact with you. HANDY HINT: Profile pictures, and cover photos cannot be made private…
If our ‘7 Job Application Tips’ have you inspired and you need someone to look over your C.V or give you a hand with interview preparation, head on over to our Get Help page, tell us what you need help with, and we’ll get back to you asap!