UDC PATHS 2013

What You Need to Complete a Job Application Full contact information including your address,

zip code and a phone number where you can be reached

Educational information including dates of graduation

Names and addresses of previous employers Dates of employment References Resume (if you have one)

Bring a pen so you don't need to borrow one to fill out the application.

Know what days/hours you are available to work. Be prepared for a brief on the spot interview. Dress should be, at the least, neat and tidy. Business

casual is usually appropriate. Make sure your hair and fingernails are well groomed. Wear moderate shoes. Make a follow-up call a week or so after you have

applied, if possible, to check on the status of your application.

Craigslist Indeed Idealist (non-profit/community work) Career Builder Monster LinkedIn

Pay attention to job site’s application specifications about whether the resume can be sent as a word document or plain text

Prepare your cover letter in advance and cut and paste it into E-Mail.

Proof read your cover letter. Do not rely on “spell check”. Also make sure the cover letter matches the job description.

Include the title of the position you are applying for in the subject line of the message.

Be sure that your email address/screen name has a professional tone

Send the message to yourself first to test that the formatting works.

Applying For Jobs On Company Websites If you are interested in working for a

particular company, visit their website. Career information is usually listed in the "Careers" or the "About Us" section of the site. Follow the instructions for searching for and applying to jobs online.

Key words in job search are essential. Make a list of words related to the types of jobs you would like to obtain.

Example for Cashier: food service, retail, cashier, service representative, money handling, etc

Copy and paste BLUE link into the send portion of the email message.

Follow instructions for applying for a job via email.

1) Applying to positions we are not qualified for.

Some people have the habit of applying for jobs that they “may” be interested in. Most people who have this habit will then have a tendency to send a short email, along with a generic resume (or no resume at all!). Recruiters can easily identify these types of applicants and will not waste their time reviewing these applications. For these applicants the issue really is: If you are not interested in the position, why bother applying and, if you are indeed interested in the position, why don't you put more effort into it?

2) Lack of professionalism when applying online.

We are much more informal on the Web. Some people push this attitude too far however to the point of using the wrong "tone" when applying for a job. Keep in mind that a certain degree of formalism should remain. At the end of the day, you will be hired for your competence. You don't want anything to distract the employer when reviewing your job application. Being too informal could have a nagging effect on some recruiters and might jeopardize your candidacy.

) Failure to recognize competition. The internet has leveled the playing field by allowing more job seekers to gain access to more job postings. Jobs posted online are accessible to anybody who has an internet connection. With this increased exposure comes increased competition. Yet, many job seekers fail to fully acknowledge this reality. When posting an opening online, an employer can be bombarded with as many as thousands of applications. Knowing that, you should ask yourself what you have done to stand out.

Carter and Doty will keep working on individual resumes

Everyone should be researching jobs for their job search sheet, which is due Thursday afternoon.

Next week: Continuing Job Search Strategies and Cover Letters.