Job application forms

[Dicky]

Dear Blue-roomers,

 

Having just started going through a rather large pile of applications for a job we recently advertised (which is great to have such a good response to), I am dismayed at prospective employees inability to read the clear instructions on the application form.

 

On the application forms we send out it does state clearly:

 

Please complete the application form thoroughly.

Forms which are not thoroughly completed are not acceptable and you will be discounted from the shortlisting process.

Please do not send CVs by themselves in place of the application form.

 

If you are serious about applying for a job with any prospective employer then when it gets to the section that you write the detail about why you want the job, don't write 'please see attached CV'. This will not get you an interview.

 

Our form also states:

Please demonstrate how you satisfy each point in the order they are listed in the person specification, drawing on your personal and work experience, education and training.

 

This means that we want you to write about how your experience and skills match up to the person specification we have drawn up for the post. So please do this, be concise, be clear and don't just copy and paste sections of the person specification and put the words 'I can ' in front of it to make a sentence!

 

There are too many people out there looking for a small number of jobs at the moment, competition is high, so if you want to get that interview, then please, please, please, read the instructions that go with the application form. Match your skills and experience to what the employer has put in their person specification.

 

This will show whoever is reading the application form that you want to work for them, and the fact that you have put some time and effort into your application form should demonstrate it.

[Jivemaster]

AH! The personnel agency :(

 

I started a new job 12 months ago (outside theatre) and to prove my identity I had to produce some hard ID documents -easy- Passport, driving licence, Pilots licence and RAF service documents. Last week they asked for proof of entitlement to work in the UK!!!

[pritch]

On the plus side, an inability to fill in application forms does make for an easy first sift.

[kerry davies]

Yet another industry figure saying that the qualifications are fine but the level of skills and understanding is abysmal.

 

If someone cannot follow simple instructions when applying for an events technician post how do they expect to actually follow instructions when they are doing the job?

 

Mind you, on seeing the ad I thought; "Oh dear, he'll get every idiot in the valleys applying." Bit like Floyd advertising for "roadies", it's that high profile.

I thought you had apprentices down there. None of them any good for the post?

[Dicky]

 

I thought you had apprentices down there. None of them any good for the post?

 

Hi Kerry,

 

Yes, we are running an apprenticeship scheme, however the 2 people we've had this year didn't apply for this post because they want to work in different areas of the business (stage management and lighting) and this role is more AV/Sound/Computer focussed.

 

I don't mind getting a large number of applications for a post, the more the better as far as I'm concerned, as you get a much wider choice of candidate to eventually fill your vacancy. So long as the applications are of a good quality!

 

Dicky

 

PS We have just advertised for our new apprenticeship scheme, will put a link on the jobs page later today if anyone is interested.

[Bobbsy]

I note that one of my fellow mods has (rightly) pinned this topic for future reference.

 

Everyone in the position of applying for a job should read and understand what is being said here.

 

Your application (and the accompanying letter/CV) are your single chance to get yourself an interview. You will almost certainly be up against a lot of other potential candidates so you owe it to yourself to make the best possible impression.

 

That means:

 

1. 
    
   
2. Following the instructions and giving the information requested in the format requested.
   
3. Being aware of your spelling, punctuation, grammar--and legibility.
   
4. Being concise and factual.
   
5. Telling the truth!
    
   

As the old cliche says: "you don't get a second chance to make a first impression". Any busy manager is going to have a whole stack of job applications on his desk. You owe it to yourself not to give an excuse to put your application in the "no thank you" pile.

[Just Some Bloke]

One other point on a related matter - if I get a CV in my tray with no covering letter then it goes straght in the bin. If you can't be bothered to write a covering letter then why should I be bothered to read your CV? We have a lot of different jobs at our theatre (e.g. technician, FOH, box office, marketing, admin etc.) and you need to at least give me a clue as to which one you're interested in!

 

P.S. ... oh, and letters beginning "I am interested in a job in your company" go further down the pile than letters beginning "I would love the opportunity to work at the Hazlitt Theatre, having attended shows there on many occasions". Seems obvious to me but apparently not so obvious to many people who write in!

[Ross]

On the plus side, an inability to fill in application forms does make for an easy first sift.

 

Can I add an encouraging note about spelling and other basics.

 

Just received an email from someone asking if there was any work for them - their subject heading was "Vacanies" and it went downhill from there!

 

Everyone makes typing mistakes and I am paranoid about leaving one in this post but if you can't find out how to spell "vacancies" in an email about them, you are going to be at a major disadvantage. While spelling isn't a day-to-day part of some of our staff it does call in to question this person's abilities in attention to detail which is obviously a huge part of all our jobs.

 

All the best,

Ross

[Robin D]

I had one only yesterday with

I am fortunate over the last 5 years to hold three very different posts, both of which .......

:unsure:

 

Another had a covering letter with the To: address as a completely different company and addressed to someone completely unknown in the company being applied to?

[jonathanhill]

Can I add an encouraging note about spelling and other basics.

 

(snip) - their subject heading was "Vacanies" and it went downhill from there! (snip)

 

 

It's the applications where they spell "Technician" as "Technicain" that make me want to cry.

[medina]

I had an email this week which said exactly this

 

hi have you got any jobs thanks

 

No name, no subject no attachments

 

needless to say he didnt get any further than my deleted folder

Edited August 23, 2013 by medina

[philmonty]

I am currently recruiting casuals over here in Sheffield.

 

The amount of clearly Copy/Pasted Covering letters is very Funny.....BIN!!

 

Also the amount of applicants who have left there Facebook feeds on public is very funny indeed.

 

Very easy to check candidate suitability these days.

 

 

 

[Bryson]

What people need to know is that we get a LOT of applications for each position. As such, I'm looking for excuses to throw out each application. I have to whittle these things down somehow. Your job, as applicant, is to not give me any excuses to relegate your application to the bin.

 

As such:

• Like the OP said, follow the application instructions to the letter. Regardless of how much that irritates you.
  
• Check your spelling. Then check it again. I had one recently that mispelled the name of the venue.
  
• Don't be super-weird. Your wacky/sexy/boring photos do not belong on your CV.
  
• Also, don't do that thing where you insist on hand delivering the application and you make lots of eye contact when you do. You come across as a bit...intense. (Read: Crazy)
  
• Remember the only things I know about you (or worse, the only things I'm allowed to consider) are what's in the application. Don't assume I know about any of your skills.
  
• While we're on the subject, skills are what I need to know about, not a huge list of every show you've ever worked on. (PS: If you can list every show you've ever worked on on 4 or less sheets of paper, you've not done enough shows to impress me.) Edited highlights only!
  
• Also: CVs should be 1 page. I'll accept two if you're 30 or over. No more, for heavens sake.
  
• Make sure your CV and the Job Titles you claim within are actually true. It's a small business, we know each other, and we can (and do) check. (I did an interview once where an applicant had claimed to production manage a festival...that one of the interview panel - a board member - was the artistic director of. He'd never heard of him...)

[dbuckley]

As such:

• Check your spelling. Then check it again. I had one recently that mispelled the name of the venue.
  

 

Also the amount of applicants who have left there Facebook feeds on public is very funny indeed.

[the kid]

I pruned down 60 casual applications last week, I still think clear works, just be really clear.

 

It does mean I need to rework my CV a LOT, I do find that I have never really had the right style CV because my work has been contract rather than freelance.

 

 

If you are freelance I don't want a 10 page list of everything you have worked on since 15