Be the right applicant

Step into the shoes of your employer. Who would you hire? The person who meets your eligibility criteria or any layman who applies for a job? It’s crucial to understand the job specifications before applying for it. Ask yourself one question. Do you qualify? Do you have the degrees and relevant certifications? Do you have the experience? Are you under qualified or over qualified? Once you’ve answered these questions, you can never go wrong with the next company you apply for.

Work on your cover letter

Some don’t send it and some pay the least attention to it. You don’t realize that your cover letter is where you can make the first impression. A letter full of spelling and grammatical mistakes will put off any recruiter. If you are applying online, make sure you space your letter between paragraphs and use a readable font of a reasonable size. Importantly, make sure you answer the one question the recruiter is looking for: how are you best suited for the job. Show qualifications and experience that directly tie in to the job on offer. And always address the recruiter by their second name. Otherwise, ‘Dear sir/madam’ should work.

Customize your resume

One size doesn’t fit all, and this is true of the jobs market as well. This is particularly crucial when you have several qualifications and experiences to write about. No need to have such a laundry list and it’s not necessary to list all your attributes either. All you need to do is take out stuff that doesn’t suit the job and add or keep stuff that is perfect for the job you are applying for. It shows that you have properly researched for the job and it shows you are hard working and dedicated. When you can’t pay attention to customizing your resume, how can you show that you care for the company you are applying for?

Put your best foot forward

We all have our weaknesses. It’s important to talk about your strengths. If you are a fresher, your cover letter and resume can talk about your qualifications, grades and awards won on campus. If you are an experienced person, you could talk about the many milestones you’ve reached in your career before getting down to basics like qualification, experience and so on.

Get the essentials right

Don’t call HR people to ask if they’ve received your resume or ask for directions to their office. You should get that from Google Maps or ask the receptionist. Always give your mobile phone number on the resume, not your landline. Don’t apply for a job that is paying less than what you are currently earning. Stick to the script; don’t expect the company to make an exception for you unless you are ready for a pay cut because it is your dream company. If that is indeed the case, say it in your cover letter to score extra brownie points. Once you do make it to the interview, don’t forget to send a ‘Thank you’ email after it’s over, and perhaps even follow it up with a phone call. Patience, perseverance and good manners always have a market of their own.

Attachments area

Skills Required

Writing emails

You might not realize the power of email until you write that first letter. Many candidates get rejected because of their sloppy writing, lack of attention to detail and the worst of them all, glaring spelling mistakes. One fashion writer was applying to a publication firm, but she wasn’t hired because she didn’t correctly spell some of the brands she had written for. Some rules of writing emails are as follows. Besides spelling and grammar, keep your communication focused on your skills and what you can do for the company. It doesn’t have to be a laundry list of all your skills. To get your foot in the door of the company you seek, get your cover letter right. Be honest, be straight forward but also be courteous and respectful. And once you get hired, you could still get fired if your business communication is up the pole. Here are the rules. Always thank the colleague or superior for the work or feedback they have given. And then, elaborate on why you did what you did, by presenting the issue logically. And if you’ve erred, apologies first. Never bring your personal angst against someone into your emails, video calls or text chats. These can work against you, sooner or later. Keep your opinion to yourself and to your closed ones. Your ideas could be misunderstood and land you in jeopardy.

Dress well and walk with confidence

Your body language can either get your hired or rejected. To gain that poise, it would be great if you work at events and the many exhibition stalls during various trade expos. Talking to strangers, convincing them about the products, managing events backstage will all give you the real-world experience and confidence you need before you graduate and apply for a job. Some candidates make the mistake of going to interviews without ironing their clothes or dressing too informally.

Computer literacy

If you are not conversant with typing and basic computing skills, you are out of luck. By this we mean, the basic Microsoft word, excel and powerpoint presentations. Any computer institute or even YouTube videos should teach you these. Get to know them while you are still in college or soon after you graduate. Even if you’ve learnt the basics at school and college, it helps to go in for a professional course and learn the many ways to use excel because the subject is vast and there are many uses of it that will come in handy when you join a company. These skills aside, what you need are good organisational skills. It’s these virtual bookkeeping skills that will help you when you are recording every conversation with a particular client, department or employee. Documentation and analysis is the backbone of every organisation. If you excel at this, it can make you an asset to the company.

Be knowledgeable

Learn to be diligent in researching everything abbot the company, client or brand that you are working with. This requires you to deep dive into search engines and extract credible information that can be useful for all the work you are doing. You should also get to know what the competitors are up to, so you have a better handle on things when the client asks you about them. You have to be thorough in your job and leave nothing to chance.

Manage your time

It’s easy to get thrown into a job and lose track of time. Here is where it’s important to prioritize your work before you begin your day. Some people come half an hour early to work just to sort out this mess. Clean up your emails, list things in the hierarchy of importance and line up meetings a day in advance and so on. Prioritizing will help you manage time and also teach you discipline and the important of deadlines. When you promise to deliver something, make sure you are either on time or before time to impress your boss.

Gift of the gab

Many people join Toastmasters Club just for this reason. They want to walk and talk with confidence and poise. You may not be grammatically accurate and you may not even be pronouncing things right, but if you convey your message effectively, you are hired. And this goes for telephone conversations as well. Learn to be polite, courteous and helpful all the time. Always try to go the extra mile and your hard work will never go unnoticed.

Good luck!