Submitting job applications: Don't leave things to the last minute

When it comes to writing out your application, especially covering letters and statements addressing the selection criteria there are some important points to remember:

• Be positive about your previous roles - it may be hard to do if you have been laid off / terminated / don't like your supervisor and had to leave, but it's important that you are...positive that is.
• When giving examples always focus on the good, not the bad - although you could be forgiven for thinking the prospective employer wants the down and dirty when they ask you what was your biggest challenge to date. Tip 1: Make sure it is a single BIG problem, not several minor annoyances that you faced. Tip 2: What the prospective employer is looking for is how you handled the situation - crying in the corner is not an acceptable resolution. What was the problem, how did you handle it, what were the positives. Believe me - there is always a positive. Your job as a perfect candidate would be to find it.
• Don't just focus on the job role, but the achievements you made within that role.
• Spell check and grammar - this should not need to be said - however, the amount of times we have received applications from people who did neither, or used SMS speak is frightening. Remember too the homonym problem ... right sounding word, completely wrong context - Imagine going for a bored role ... for instance, where there will be lots of bored meetings. Now the meetings may well be boring, but you are hardly going to get to sit in on them if you get that word wrong.
• Get someone else to edit / proof read. If you don't think you are capable of doing it yourself - and let’s face it, we can be our own worst enemy when it comes to selling ourselves, so entrust this job to someone you trust. But then get a second opinion; we want to ensure we give ourselves the best chance of getting through the written application stage and into the interview.
• Make sure you submit the application in good time.

Follow the instructions, make sure you send / give them exactly what they want and ensure the application gets to the right person in time. Yours may be the best application, but if it arrives the day after closing date you have just wasted your time.

This was first published on the 6th August 2010 in the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine