Role Application Tips

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We are all from time to time, prospective employees or contractors, throwing our hat in the ring for a potential opportunity.  Therefore my meanderings this month are aimed at providing some feedback and tips to maximise the potential for your CV and role application to be 'top of the email list' on the recruiters (or similar) desktop.  There is no doubt that it is a candidates market, with job ads and role vacancies still at historical highs.  There is also little doubt that in the main, the recruitment industry can do better when it comes to managing candidate applications, feedback and the selection process in general.  aCE talentNET certainly strives to be different in this regard, having very clear service standards for both clients AND candidates.  However, from our experience over the years in reviewing thousands of candidate/consultant/contractor applications I am constantly amazed and frustrated by a number of recurring practices from role-seekers.  The following identifies a few tips to help guide you when you next find yourself putting your CV out there for that next golden opportunity.

1. Always provide a covering covering letter or paragraph identifying why you are interested in the role and broadly summarise your skills and experience relevant to the specifics of the job ad or opportunity.  This allows the reviewer to quickly understand what you have to offer and why you are a good fit for the role.  It helps provide a summary of your career experience and what you seek to get out of this new opportunity.  I often receive emails with just a CV attached, no summarising comment, letter, paragraph or anything.  It does not make for a great start!
2. Provide a comment on availability / notice period - particularly for contract opportunities.  Many consultants will apply for roles but have very limited availability.  That said, don't be afraid to seek further information about a role if it is listed as full-time.  Many employers in today's market are flexible and will consider part-time (say 4 days pwk) for the right candidate.  Also if the contract is for an immediate start and is for a relatively short time period, if you need to give 4 weeks notice to your current employer, then your chance of success in proceeding to a shortlist is not high and you may be wasting yours and the reviewers time.  Think too about the location of the role, you would not believe how many people interstate applications I get for short-term contracts.  In most instances the clients WILL NOT pay travel, expenses etc for contract opportunities. 
3. Don't enter the process if you are not comfortable with the advertised salary / daily rate range - it is rarely a good idea to head down the selection path on the basis that you will be able to negotiate a higher salary / daily rate at offer stage.  Be very clear upfront about your expectations and if there is no room for movement towards your expectations then let the opportunity pass.  It is a small world after all.
4. Ensure you have an up-to-date Professional CV - you would be surprised how many times I advise applicants that they do not meet the pre-requisite role requirements for XYZ reasons, only to then be told they have done this but it's not in their CV.  We are not mind-readers, if it's applicable, then put it in the CV!  Also, ensure your CV identifies what you have done NOT what you can do!   A note too to Independent Consultants/Contractors - ensure your CV provides brief details about ALL the projects, deliverables, responsibilities you have been involved.  I see many CVs that simply state they have run their own Consulting business specialising in particular areas, but have NO detail about what they have done in this capacity.
5. Be flexible - even if the diary is full!  If you are serious about a particular job opportunity and are lucky enough to secure an interview, don't mess it up at this point.  Bend over backwards to fit in with the client when it comes to interview dates, times and locations.  It's not always easy, but many applicants fail to move forward in the process by being inflexible and revealing unnecessary information, Eg: "I can't make that time as I am meeting my friends for lunch / drinks after work".  Yes, you would be surprised how often I hear things like this!
6. Be prepared and dress appropriately - should be a given I know, but alas, not.  Particularly for you Gen X's and Y's, clients still like potential employees to be well groomed, polite, genuinely interested in people/job role and 'in the moment' during an interview.  It's not rocket science, so I won't say anymore.
7. Follow Up - immediately following an interview contact the recruiter to get feedback re your performance and any next steps.  Never be scared to ask for feedback (you should get it as a matter of course, but I know that this is often not the case) as this is how we learn and apply to future client meetings.  BUT if you get feedback that you don't agree with, don't get defensive, sit with it, think about it and if you wish to discuss further do it after a good sleep.  Often we don't like to hear how we could have done better but no-one's perfect... we're all human after all.

I hope the above helps... many of you reading this will think these all quite obvious points.  But I'm here to tell you I see these mistakes being made daily and not just be the younger generation.  The majority of applicants for aCE roles would be aged 30+ so it seems we all have something to learn.

Deirdre Gruiters     aCE  talent NET | Corporate Talent Agent  Mmgt AIMM engaging Talent to drive organisational development results in business p: +61 3 85037598 | f: +61 3 9889 5314   w: www.acetalentnet.com.au |   b: acetalentnet.com.au/blog

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