Further information
The quality of your written application is an important factor in determining whether you are shortlisted for an interview.
What to do
There are a number of things you can do to ensure that you produce a top quality application.
- Make it as attractive as possible to look at in terms of layout and quality of copy. There's nothing worse than a badly set out or photocopied application.
- Make it easy for the selection panel to find the important information by careful use of:
- titles and headings
- different font sizes
- bold
- underlining
- white space
- point form rather than long paragraphs.
- Pay particular attention to correct use of grammar, spelling, punctuation and language:
- use plain English and short to medium-length sentences
- avoid using jargon, abbreviations or acronyms (such as HRS), which may be unclear to some or all members of the panel.
- Be brief but precise.
- Be positive:
- focus on what you can do rather than what you can't do
- use positive language
- don't use qualifying statements, for example 'Although I don't have', or 'My experience in .... is limited'.
- Use active rather than passive phrases, such as 'I organised a conference' rather than 'A conference was organised'.
- Let the panel know what your role was. Talk about what you've done and use 'I' statements rather than 'We'.
- Make sure that what you write down is a positive and complete picture of you.
- Proof-read it thoroughly and make any necessary corrections or adjustments.
- Try to look at your application from the reader's point of view and ask yourself whether it:
- creates a good impression
- presents all the relevant information about you
- talks in terms of what you can offer to the job rather than what it can offer you
- demonstrates that you are a strong candidate for the position and worth interviewing.
- Have someone who knows you well proof-read it, both for accuracy and content. They may come up with useful suggestions of things you could add.
- If possible, ask someone who doesn't know you well to proof-read it. As well as checking for accuracy and appearance, they may identify things which are unclear, or ambiguous.
- Before sending the application off, check that all the necessary attachments are included, that you've signed the covering letter if you're sending it in hard copy.
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