In a perfect world, every job application would get its due consideration. Someone would go through each and make sure that no one’s overlooked.

This is, however, the real world. Welcome.

Here, every position is highly sought after, and no one has the time to sift through thousands of applications. HR is in a perpetual hurry. If your application doesn’t fulfill certain criteria and make a great first impression, sending it in was just a waste of time.

It’s not all gloom and doom though. Getting recognised by recruiters isn’t tough. All you have to do is follow these simple steps.

Do Your Groundwork

Preparation is incredibly important before you send out your applications.

What exactly does the posting say? If there are specific instructions, follow them to the letter or you’re going to get passed over.

Tailor your application to the company you’re applying to. This increases your chances of getting noticed. Mention only the key proficiencies that they’re looking for. No one wants to know that you have pet mice (unless you’re applying to be a mouse handler).

Also,

• Use
• Bullet
• Points

Leverage the Cover Letter

If you thought the cover letter was dead, you’d be far from right. Most recruiters still put a lot of stock by a well-written cover letter.

Don’t simply copy-paste your cover letter for  every job you apply to. Do it right. Research the company and include a line or two about them in the cover letter. Elaborate on how and where you’d fit into the company.

Get to the point quickly and be concise so you don’t lose the reader’s attention.

Use Keywords To Your Advantage

The robot apocalypse has begun.

It’s likely that your application, both cover letter and CV, will be read by a machine. The only way to get through to its cold, silicone heart is to use keywords and use them well.

Lift keywords from the job description, skills that the employer is looking for, and anything else that you think would be relevant enough to draw attention to your application.

Please Proofread!

Does this even need to be said? Sadly, yes.

Typos or grammatical errors could get your application chucked out immediately. Proofread and pay attention to every single word.

Read it from back to front.

No, seriously.

This helps your brain notice things that you would have skipped over otherwise. Once you’ve made sure there are no oversights, run it through a spell and grammar checker, because why not be absolutely sure?

Don’t Be Gimmicky

There are a thousand cringe worthy things that you could do to completely put recruiters off. Some of these include:

• Scented envelopes, ink, or paper
• Unnecessarily garish fonts—NEVER, EVER COMIC SANS!
• No one wants to see your mug. No photos
• Don’t send gifts, no matter how generous you might be feeling
• Tone down the flowery language. Even when applying for writing jobs, getting your point across using simple language shows skill

Job applications are a fairly straightforward business. There’s no need to make it harder on yourself.

Happy hunting!

We’ll need to add references. Both for the info and the images.