E FFECTIVE A PPLICATIONS

S ESSION COVERS What employers look for in job applications How to prepare an effective application Recruitment procedures used by employers – what, when and why Application of the above to your own job applications

A CTIVITY Please discuss: What do you think employers look for when taking on a new employee?

E MPLOYERS LOOK FOR ? Knowledge Experience Qualifications Enthusiasm Voluntary Personality Well presented CV Life Interests Skills Motivation Professional Work Job Sector Commercial Awareness

P REPARATION Start before you put pen to paper: What does the employer require? What skills,qualifications,experience and personal attributes are being asked for? Which of these are more important than others? Examine the job advert, job description and person specification

E XAMPLE P ERSON S PECIFICATION AreaEssentialDesirable Effective CommunicationX An appreciation of effective project managementX Able to use own initiative and work independentlyX An appreciation of marketing and promotionsX Good IT skills (MS Office)X Flexible approach to working hoursX Strong organisational and time management skills X

APPLICATION FORMS – THE BLANK A4 PAGE! F URTHER I NFORMATION – Describe the relevant experience and knowledge you have which meet the person specification for this position together with your reasons for applying. Maximum of 10,000 characters

STARR – S KILLS E XAMPLES Situation - Where were you? Task - What did you have to do? Actions - How did you do it? Results - What were the results? Reflect - What did you learn? Would you do anything differently next time?

BLANK A4 PAGE CONTENT: Follow a logical structure - make it easy to shortlist you by matching the person specification closely. Introduction (You could write this last) –Tie together the points made throughout –State your motivation, attraction to this organisation –A taster of what you can contribute Elaborate providing evidence of your experience using STARR –Match to the skills from the person specification using Power Words Highlight relevant and interesting elements of your degree course. Finally, inject your personality!

PRESENTATION Follow instructions carefully Do a rough copy first Keep neat and tidy Check spelling and grammar

G ROUP T ASK : You are an employer recruiting for a Graduate Management Trainee. Your task is to create a Person Specification for this post. Once you have created the Person Spec. using the template, identify how and when you will assess whether applicants meet the requirements e.g. application form and interview only, or Assessment Centre approach.

EFFECTIVE APPLICATIONS How will you apply what you have learned to your own job applications from now on?

O NLINE R ESOURCES Careers Success Toolkit study/employability-and-careers/advice- support-and-guidance.aspx vice.htmhttp:// vice.htm