If you're applying for a job alongside 100+ other applicants, it's hard to be sure that your skills and experience alone can secure an offer. Your grandparents might tell you to visit in person to give the CEO a firm handshake and a copy of your CV, but unfortunately, those days are long gone. Here are some realistic ways to make your application stand out among the rest!
Be Fast: If you're the first applicant for a role, the hiring manager will have a better chance to read through your application properly compared to if you're the 84th applicant. Sort job boards by date posted so you can view the newest listings, and ensure you get notified about recent roles relevant to you (like our saved search function!)
Make it personal: Being a good fit for a role goes beyond just having the right skills, who YOU are matters as well! Look into the organisation's values, past work, and whether you've previously had any experience with them (as a customer, client, etc). Showing where your values and personality align with their mission can demonstrate that you'll easily fit within the team and bring a passion for your work when you join.
Include keywords: Looking through applications is a time-consuming job, so sometimes hiring managers skim applications to look for keywords or phrases that highlight essential skills and experience. Run through the key requirements in the job description and find all that apply to you. If they're asking for customer service skills, include a section in your application that includes those words exactly, such as, “Excellent customer service skills from my experience working in retail.” If they’re using software to identify key requirements, the hiring manager will see you've got customer service skills before they even start reading your application.
Back up what you say: We DID just tell you to say: “excellent customer service skills from my experience working in retail”, but this is only half of what you need to do. Anyone can say they are good at something, so to stand out you need to be able to back up what you say, this is where examples come into play. Expand on your point by writing something like: “excellent customer service skills as demonstrated by maintaining a 95%+ customer satisfaction rate”, or any other hard evidence you have up your sleeve. This gives the hiring manager a concrete figure they can compare to other applicants.
With these strategies, you'll have a better chance of getting that much-anticipated phone call to book an interview. Use these tips to crush your next application!
Ask for help – visit your Careers Centre
If you’d like personalised support to develop your CV, we recommend heading to your Careershub or Careers Centre at your tertiary provider.
Your career services team will give you one-on-one support and advice to help you write and develop a tailored CV and cover letter that will give you the best chance of securing an interview to get the job.
You can also find CV and cover letter templates on the Careers.govt website