This is some things that I learn after working as an HR and accept lots of application in one day
1. Don’t use cheesy e-mail address, make the one with your name, or at least doesn’t contain anything like; cool, cute, number-one, or anything that satisfied your youth-wannabe-cool-but-plain-ridiculous-for-an-adult Email address
2. Please State the position you’re applying, it takes too much time and energy trying to figure out which position you’re actually applying, especially when your educational background and work experience don’t match. And please don’t put “applying for any position” that’s just plain desperate and a major turn off.
3. Don’t send your application to multiple employees at one time, we can see all the people you sent application to, and it’s like sending an e-mail blast, it’s simpler for you, but for us you’re simply lazy.
4. Make an application letter, at least 2 paragraphs, introduce yourself, the position you’re applying and all information related on why we should hire YOU for that position (education or experience, etc).
5. Put the application in the e-mail, don’t need to put it as an attachment, how hard is it to copy and paste from word file and just change it a bit depend on which company you’re applying to? Make sure you got the right TO and applying FOR, recheck just in case you just use it to apply in another company and there’s still some stuff in it that you need to change before you send it.
6. In your CV please state your education Background CLEARLY, I have bachelor degree from University A, ON WHAT? We’re not a clairvoyant there must be more than 10 majors in that university which one you graduated from? And please limit your education up until high school, we don’t want to know where your kindergarten or worse your playgroup is, find something more useful to make your CV look fuller.
7. Personal data, formal education, informal education and work is experience is obligatory, while the other is optional. But please keep the optional interesting and related to the job you’re applying.
8. Skill is important put any application that you think will be profitable like languages, computer skills etc. Organizational experience sometimes important, it shows how you work in a team, but please limit it to high school only, and you might consider putting knitting club in your CV to show that you’re patient, but if we’re not looking for women crafting club president, we don’t care.
9. If they ask about your current salary and expected remuneration, ANSWER! Don’t waste our time interviewing you and it turns out your expected salary is much higher than what we can offer. You can always put negotiable in your expected salary, that will be our reference too
10. Keep your CV short, 2 page is the maximum, how you should fit everything in one or two page, that’s YOUR problem, too many pages makes us lost interest in reading, especially if we have A LOT of CV we need to read
11. Put you Photo in your CV, don’t put it in separate file, and please, unless you’re applying to become a model, put a standard passport photo. Don’t take from the photos from your profile pics in facebook or friendster, or cropped version from your night out picture, it’s unprofessional and just plain silly.
12. Don’t be too creative, if the position you’re applying is a creative job like design, editor, illustrator etc, be free to create. But if you’re applying for staff jobs, keep the KISS standard, Keep It Simple Stupid, if you use too much “creativity” by using various formats and colors, it might be annoying for the people that read your CV. Maybe they don’t have the same “sophisticated” computer programs as you and your CV just end up plain messy. If you want to make it more stylish convert it to Pdf that way it won’t change and they can read it as you wrote it.
13. Don’t put too many attachment in an application E-mail, CV (important), and if requested your graduation document (certificate & GPA), sometimes they ask for TOEFL/IELTS score, and sometimes your driver license. Just put the things they demanded, don’t put things that they do not ask, no need for you and for them.
14. Put down the phone number you are probably will easiest to receive, mobile phone is more preferable, house phone is okay if you don't have a job and you stay at home most of the time, your current office phone is not recommended, I find it not convenient calling a person to have an interview for a position in my office in her/his current office phone, felt like stealing a bit you know. And if I cant reach you after 3 times I called, I just put your application in the bin, too much work to talk to you while I still have many applicants in line.
15. Make sure you google a bit about the company you’re applying to, so when they call you wont sound stupid. It’s annoying for me to answer applicant that ask the name of company, which position did they apply, which business.
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