An All Important First Step

The application is the first opportunity you get to promote your skills and qualifications. It's the first company document you will fill out on what could be your new job. What will it convey to your potential new employer about the quality of your work? Many applicants do not understand the importance of the application in the process and take this step very lightly. The application is the only way for the decisions makers to get to know you. They cannot go out to your job and see how you work and what you do. They cannot call your supervisor and co-workers and get them to evaluate your performance. You have to tell them your knowledge, skills, and abilities on your application.

Avoid These Mistakes

Applicants have a tendency to make several common but critical mistakes when filling out an application.

Mistake 1: Writing “See Resume” on the application.

Solution 1: Do not write “See Resume” anywhere on the application. Think of a resume as a reinforcement of qualifications listed on the application.

Mistake 2: Leaving empty sections on the application and not taking advantage of space to write additional knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Solution 2: Answer every question and fill in every section.

Mistake 3: Being unclear when answering questions and forcing the decision maker to make assumptions that may hurt your chances.

Solution 3: Answer all questions clearly and thoroughly. This includes clearly stating your job responsibilities, specific dates for education and work history, special training, curriculums studied, voluntary work or teams, etc. Don't guess at the facts. Do not assume that the decision maker knows anything about a job, etc.

Mistake 4: Forgetting to write phone numbers or addresses.

Solution 4: Always give a daytime phone number and current mailing address. More than one phone number may be helpful.

Make it Count

Your application is your tool to success in the first stage of the selection process. Do not leave anything to be desired by the decision maker. You should not assume the decision maker knows the nature of the company(s) you worked for or the responsibilities of the job(s) you have had. The application should be easily readable and thorough. Remember the application is the first opportunity you get to promote your skills and qualifications; however, if you do a poor job on your application you will not get the second opportunity.