6 Job Hunting Mistakes

Here are 6 job hunting mistakes which job hunters may wish to take note of.

Firstly, trying to be cutesy or clever with your CV.

CV's have a traditional formatting for a reason - because everyone is comfortable with it.

Recruiters & employers find it easy to skim through a lot of CV's.

In short - The traditional format is the unwritten rules.

Trying to be different or smart with your CV won't work.

Why?

Recruiters won't have the time or the inclination to "get" it and work out why you are different and will just toss your CV away.

Job hunting mistake number 2

Not writing with the job you are applying in mind.

Too many people write the same text on application forms and covering letters.

Remember,  getting an interview or not depends on how you address the job description and person specification NOT how well you write.

Your writing could be brilliantly but if it does not address the requirements of the job - it may as well be written in a foreign language.

Provide examples of when you used the skills asked for in previous positions.

Don't say "I can do X, Y or Z" - This is blatant (and boring!) self promotion.

Instead say "In my previous job, I used {whatever skills the job needs} to do XYZ"

Depending on the job you have applied for and what you write may not even make sense and you will have wasted everyone's time...

Job hunting mistake number 3

Sending a boring or plain cover letter. It's generally agreed that sending an unaccompanied CV is a bad thing. One thing that is probably worst is sending a plain cover letter.

What do we mean by plain? Something that includes flowery "business" language but doesn't actually say very much.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for reading my CV and trust that if you have any further questions, you will not hesitate to contact me for further information" is a long winded way of saying not very much.

A much better use of the letter is to point out your key skills on your CV.

Job hunting mistake number 4

Sending the same application form/cv/covering letter for more than one job at the same employer.

Quite often, employers will advertise several vacancies at the same time. (This is for their benefit - not yours...)

The advert will state something like - "apply for more than one job but make it clear which you are applying for"

Sending a large envelope stuffed with several copies of the same form is a bad idea.

It shows you have not thought about each individual job.

It may show that you are very good at copying things.

Job hunting mistake number 5

Unprofessional contact details, colours, fonts and layout.

Having a fun and funky email address to share with your friends is one thing. Passing it on to a prospective employer is another.

Even if you are 10pintsanight@email.com - it's probably not a good selling point...

Stick to plain black & arial font.

Don't use pink or purple with the "comic sans" font.

If you must use a CV template - make sure all the sample data is removed first...

Job hunting mistake number 6

Failure to follow instructions or requests. F

If an application form requests that you use less than 100 words - it's not very smart to use 145. That's not just a few over, it's almost 50% over.

To an employer, it says that you are bad at planning and can't say things concisely & succinctly.. If you are requested to take certain items to an interview, do so.  In itself, that may be part of the test - can you follow simple instructions...

This short article was brought to you by Sharp End Training. A Sheffield based online training & assessment company. We can be contacted via http://www.sharp-end-training.co.uk

The author, Jonathan Senior is a Chartered Manager and member of the Chartered Institute. He has extensive experience of training & management in all types of business.