Job applications: Make sure you follow the instructions

When you are applying for a position it is ESSENTIAL that you follow the instructions to the letter.

Job application packages are there to help you, so take time to read them thoroughly and highlight the area on how to apply and in particular "what to submit with your application".

Failure to follow their instructions means your application will end up in what we term File 13, or the round receptacle under the desk. If you cannot follow simple instructions will you be able to follow "orders"? It also smacks of a lack of attention to detail....you know - one of THOSE questions the prospective employer always likes answers to. If you don't follow the instructions, you have demonstrated only too well that you don't have what they need.

Sounds harsh?

Not if your life or the life of your colleagues or patients depend upon it. Imagine a science experiment where you think you've added the right combination of chemicals - well it's nearly right... Nearly right is not always good enough.

I have had an ongoing dialogue with a person who seems to have a blind spot with regards to these kinds of instructions. As I have said to him many times, if the prospective employer wants you to hand write the application on purple paper with green ink, then that is exactly what you send them.

    * Follow their instructions as stated in the job application package or advertisement
    * Only send them what they have asked for - nothing else
    * Make sure the application gets to them in plenty of time

This was first published in the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine on the 2nd August 2010