<– This is what happened to 70% of the applications for a junior web designer position that I recently advertised on Bizcommunity.

Over and above the fact that the applicants who’s CVs managed to make it to the recycle bin did so because they didn’t have the necessary skills, weren’t residing in the right province, weren’t junior enough or generally didn’t fit the criteria, there were some common errors made by almost all these applicants that could have cost them the job even if they did meet the criteria.

I am a freelancer, there’s no HR department here, I got seriously frustrated with the quality of applications (not necessarily applicants); so what do you think your chances are when you’re up against hordes of other people applying for the same position at a larger company with an HR squad that doesn’t have insight into the position offered, just a checklist that should include these points:

Learn to read:

Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many applicants miss obvious facts like:

• Position level (junior, mid, senior, etc.)
• Required qualifications
• Area (I received applications from Gauteng for a position in Cape Town)

Read the list of requirements and if there are too many of these that you don’t meet, don’t bother, you’re wasting time and energy.

Keep your CV up to date:

Pay attention to what is asked of you. If only a short CV is required, list only your most recent positions, qualifications and keep it concise.

List positions in a-chronological order (in other words: start with the most recent one first, etc.)

Keep the list of references short and relevant to the position that you are applying for.

Keep your portfolio up to date:

Regularly add new content (if you have) and make even your portfolio as concise as possible (also checking file size in case you might need to email it).

If the job requires that you submit a portfolio, do so … you’d be surprised at the amount of applications I received that only had CVs … in one case, the CV was so well laid out that I actually mailed the applicant and requested that they forward what turned out to be an impressive porfolio; things could have gone very wrong had I been someone working in the HR department of a large agency.

Send portfolio in PDF format (everyone/anyone can open those) … I really don’t have time to unzip large files and wade through a plethora of Powerpoint presentations – make it easy for me please.

Use Google:

Do some research on the company that you are about to apply at – make sure you want to work there, get an impression of their work and if you’ll be able to live up to their standards and/or compliment their style.

If you are handed an assignment to complete as part of the application process, don’t leave sections blank or unanswered, but also don’t try to sound too knowledgeable about fields that you know nothing of … at least show that you have a basic understanding (in other words: that you know how to research where your knowledge is lacking).

Get personal, but not too personal:

Avoid the general “to whom this may concern” greeting, the advertisement for the position should/would have listed a contact person – address your application/message to that person.

DO NOT CC ANYONE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES … unless you are trying to reach more than one person in the same company for the same position, you should never EVER CC multiple recipients from different companies … it’s unprofessional, creates the impression that you are hard-up for a job, might be flagged as spam and only serves to show how little effort you are putting into your application – how much will you put into your job?

That’s it … my short list – pay attention to these and you’ll stand a better chance of creating that vital first impression (at least on my watch) … think I left out anything that is important to you? Then add to this list in the comments section.

Post image courtesy of stock.xchng – image by nkzs