Tip 1
Always make sure you read the advert or job specifications properly look at what skills, qualifications and qualities are desirable, or essential. Can you show you have these from say voluntary experience or working in the home?
Tip 2
Make sure that if you are sending a covering letter with a CV or application you address it to the right individual and make it specific to the job you are hoping to get. Tailor the information in it to the requirements asked for and your best points.
Tip 3
Your Covering Letter and CV should work together. They should be doing the tango not at different ends of the ballroom. You need to tailor your CV also the job you are applying for or to a particular company. Make sure your personal statement is tailored too.
Tip 4
Make sure you don’t simply repeat information in your CV on your covering letter. You should refer however to points in your covering letter you want the person to notice on your CV.
Tip 5
Make sure you take the time to find out important information about the role or company you are applying for. This information will help make your letter more personal to the employer and therefore you are more likely to get on that “yes” pile for interview.
Tip 6
Applications forms are tricky especially if you fill them in on line, as mistakes can easily happen. First print off the application form and read it through carefully. Take your time to fill it in long hand first if need be to make sure you get spellings right and punctuation right. Use a dictionary to help. Then you can type it up on-line or type and print it off to send in the post.
Tip 7
The personal statement on an application form is often a blank space. Make sure you structure this to put in the points mentioned in the job advert or job particulars for example if they say Must have excellent customer service skills you can head up a small paragraph with this as the title. Customer Service Skills: demonstrate by a few examples how you have this.
Tip 8
Get someone else to check through your application, CV or covering letter. Everyone makes silly mistakes so getting someone else to check it help you see these.
Tip 9
Make sure if you are doing a CV or responding to an application you have followed all the instructions to the letter. If you miss something out or don’t include something, they have asked for you are unlikely to get shortlisted.
Tip 10
Practise makes perfect. The more you practise the better you will get and keep your documents in one place so that things are easy to find when you need them. By keeping your CV updated and keep adding to it every time you do something useful if only it is a day’s training or taking up some voluntary work you can really help yourself to be ready when that perfect job comes up.
