Applications – and what they tell us about you
November 4, 2009 @ How to Manage a Camel - Project Management and Recruitment from mickh
Frustrated by the job application faux pas, we at Arras People think you need some enlightenment on what we expect of job seekers. (Image courtesy Zach Klein @ Flickr)
Everyone recognizes that we are currently experiencing a tough market. Feedback from candidates, reinforced by our own experiences, is that clients’ expectations are raised. I therefore find it unbelievable that candidates are being so blasé about the process of applying for roles
On a daily basis we are seeing capable candidates ruling themselves out of contention by a slapdash and shoddy approach to applying.
Know your place in the market and carefully select the roles you apply for
Desperate times seem to require desperate measures if the quality of applications we receive are any indication. Despite the record number of unemployed people chasing fewer roles, the concept of quantity over quality is perhaps not the best use of applicants’ time. Candidates will often bemoan the 50+ applications per week that they are sending out. When quizzed about success rates the answer will invariably be of low or non-existent response.
I know from talking to candidates in the past that some have written programs that automatically apply for roles if certain keywords are identified. In a similar vein are the candidates who themselves apply for any and all roles that match limited criteria. You have to ask yourselves whether this is a good approach.
Certainly within Arras we quickly recognize ‘serial’ applicants; these are candidates that apply for most positions from £20k Project assistants through to £70k Programme Managers. Candidates who do this are telling us that they do not have a clear idea of what it is they have to offer the market.
Client feedback is to only go forward with candidates who match 90%+ of the requirements. The days of selling transferable skills seem to be very limited at the moment. I feel this is to the detriment of clients as someone coming from a different sector or industry will often add more value than someone ingrained in the ‘sector/industry-think’. The problem is that any benefits will only become apparent in the medium to long-term and crisis tends to focus attention on short-term gains.
The candidates that are successful carefully select the roles they apply for and ensure that they meet all the criteria.
Present your best case for a role
This nicely moves us onto the next area; namely first impressions. The need for a generic CV hosted on a website is obvious to present the widest possible appeal to agencies and companies. However, when applying, take care to ensure that your application matches the requirements of the role.
We have spent a great deal of time pulling together advice on CVs and our approach allows for easy adaptation. We recommend profiles and key achievements in the first part of the CV and these are the key targets for amendment. This makes sense as it is often the first thing that a recruiter will look at when they open the CV on screen. I have adopted the term ‘shop window’ to describe this and for good reason. If the reader likes what they see in the shop window they are more likely to browse the remainder of the CV.
Too many times have candidates called to ask why they have been rejected for a role only for them to declare that the missing skills/experience is buried on page 2, 3 or 4 or not even there!
You have 10-15 seconds to make an impression. I am receiving 50-100 applicants for each role and know before I start that 80% of these will be unsuitable. I therefore need to quickly separate the ‘wheat from the chaff’.
Which would you prefer to be?
Tell us which role you are applying for
Everyday we get several applications for project manager or project support roles. Now being a programme and project management specialist recruitment business, unsurprisingly we always tend to have more than one of these type of roles on the go at any time.
With any of our roles there will always be an AP-xx-xxx type ID which you can use to tell us which role you are applying for. Rather than gaining extra attention the impression you create is one of laziness. If you apply through our website your email browser should automatically create the subject with the role ID.
Check to see what is being asked of you and provide it
I have just completed the review of over 100 applicants for a role and as usual have selected candidates to take forward. My preferred method is to ask candidates to clarify areas such as salary expectations and ability to travel to the role.
I never cease to be amazed by the number of candidates that:
- Have to ask what the rate is;
- Submit a rate significantly higher than that advertised; or
- Quote day rates when the role states a salary.
The final point was of particular note during the current role. I had made a specific mention of this fact within the job ad.
From a recruiter’s perspective, think what you are telling them. You have no attention to detail and lack of perception of your place in the market. Worse, this wastes time and creates a negative perception of you in the eyes of recruiter.
At least a third of people fail to respond to my clarification questions which makes me wonder why they applied in the first place.
Occasionally a cover letter is required and again it is surprising how few people bother to do this.
If you fail to follow simple instructions then you are automatically ruling yourself out of the running for the role.
What you should be doing
The path to your next role can so easily be diverted by a simple lack of care and attention. The number of mistakes I see suggest that if you get the basics right, you automatically improve your chances.
In summary this is what you should be doing:
- Know your place in the market and carefully select the roles you apply for
- Present your best case for a role
- Tell us which role you are applying for
- Check to see what is being asked of you and provide it
Image courtesy Zach Klein @ Flickr and re-used with permission.
Related Posts |
Comments
Got something to say?