It’s no secret that the job market is flooded with people looking for work. The key for work seekers to getting noticed in this saturated market though, if you want to really distinguish yourself is to ensure every opportunity offered by employers is taken seriously so they know what makes YOU special – there are many ways! In the past few weeks, I have been inundated with emails containing only a CV attachment. No appropriate heading, no text in the email, no introduction or cover letter – just a CV.
A word of advice, if you think that merely sending your CV will get you noticed, you need to think again!
A blank email with a CV attached is never an appealing beginning to any communication or relationship. As the recruiter or employer, my 1st impression is that you don’t really care about this position and makes me assume that you actually just want to put your own mind at ease to be able to say that you have applied for a job. This translates into your commitment to your job (if you were actually to be successful) – will you apply yourself with the same disinterest?
When you see a vacancy that interests you, here are some tips to consider:
1. To begin with, make sure you meet at least 70% of the requirements listed on a job posting. Address the requirements you don’t meet in your cover letter when applying for this position! It will go a long way to demonstrating that you have actually thought this through!
2. Create an excellent resume that demonstrates skills relevant to what they’re looking for by using professional templates or creating one yourself if desired- but don’t just paste over old content from other resumes as it will come off as unprofessional/incomplete.
3. It is important to include a clear subject line when sending out emails so that your reader knows exactly what they are about to read! Make sure you mention the vacancy in the title of the email and do not be generic with titles like CV or Resume.
4. Start by briefly introducing yourself. Please note that this is not the time to tell your entire life history, be brief but specific!
5. Provide a short summary of your skills and how it is relevant to the position.
6. Thank the reader for taking the time to consider your application!
Recruiters are receiving on average over 200 applications when a vacancy is advertised. Scanning through these applications is a very time-consuming job. The more information you can provide in your email, the better chance that recruiters will notice and choose to work with you. Don’t just send them an application without any other clues about who this person might be – tell stories or share anything valuable related specifically to why they should consider YOU!
When you’re serious about making a career change or applying for a job, take some time to ensure that your application reflects professionalism. As an example – when buying anything online; if there’s something about how it looks on a site that doesn’t satisfy us as consumers, we won’t invest in purchasing one of those products no matter what discounts might be offered! The same goes with recruiting – let them see who YOU really ARE otherwise they will move on to the next person!
You might be missing out on a great opportunity if you don’t take this chance to get noticed. The more important it is to you, the more effort you will take to ensure you give it everything you’ve got.
Make it count!
AUTHOR:
Yolandi Nortje, owner of Norco Inc.