1. Preparation
It is to prepare carefully for a job application. You need to think about:
- Your own experience, interests, skills and personal qualities;
- The job and organization advertising it.
The key to effective job application is thorough preparation. You need to think and research - yourself and the job.
Start researching yourself thinking about the following areas: experience, interests, skills, personal qualities.
Experience:
Your notes on your experience should certainly include:
- Education
- Any professional training
- Periods of employment (include both part-time job and full-time one)
- Periods in which focused on a particular activity (for example, periods of foreign travels)
- Any voluntary work you have done.
Interests
Things you do in your spare time, when you are not working. They are one of the ways in which your personality can be defined. They also might indicate skills you have which are not currently used at work.
Skills
Make sure to include not only skills related to your trade or profession but also personal ones which may be relevant to a job application, for example:
| Organizing events | training staff | interviewing |
| Chairing meetings | making presentations | supervising |
| Trouble-shooting | meeting the public |
Personal qualities
Here are some qualities.
| Accurate | adaptable | careful |
| Can work under pressure | cooperative | competent |
| Dedicated | energetic | good communicator |
| Good sense of humor | lively | |
| Flexible | friendly | extrovert |
| Independent worker | organized | positive |
| Loyal | practical | self-motivated |
| Thoughtful | sensitive | reliable |
| Self-confident | hard-working | organized |
| Introvert | committed | logical |
The CV
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a curriculum vitae or CV as a brief account of one’s life and career as it required in an application for employment.
Traditionally the CV is a bald recital of basic information.
1. Full name
2. Address and telephone number
3. Age, date and place of birth
4. Nationality
5. Marital status
6. Number of children
7. Dates and places of primary, secondary and higher education
8. Educational qualifications (public examinations taken and grades /degrees achieved).
9. Employment record, including details of each period of employment: company/organization, position held, dates
10. More detailed information about current position held (often including salary)
11. Interests
12. Names of two people who will provide references (often one as character reference and one as a professional/work reference).
Please note: there are many different ways to prepare a CV, depending on the nationality of the company that you are applying to. In some countries or fields the traditional chronological development through education and experience is in favour of setting out personal skills acquired in order to entice prospective employers. There is a current trend in using recruitment consultants, who initiate employees to e-mail CVs direct or advertise themselves on the Internet.
Please study the CV given below and practice to write your own CV as a homework assignment. You can also prepare some CVs in your class group together.
Personal Details
Michael Brown
76, Lower Green Road, Newbery. Berks, RG23 SRT
01892 293479 E-mail: michael. brown @caledonia. net
23d February 1971
British
Divorced
Children (one child, ten years old)
Education
1993-1994 London Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Diploma in Public Relations
1989-1992 University of London
BA (Honours) in Public Relations
1982-1989 Gondersfield High School
German (A), English (B), History (B), Geography(C)
Maths (C)
1976-1982 Primary School, Huyton
Professional Experience
2005 – present Sales Manager: Brown-Petlow, Solihull
Responsible for department of 12 and sales team of
24 representatives
1997-2005 Assistant Sales Manager, Alders & Green, Leicester
1992-1997 Graduate trainee with Myersons-Chemco Ltd.
Skills
IT Office 2000 and Windows NT, Excel, Internet,
Powerpoint
Languages Good standard of German, basic knowledge of
French
Additional Driving license (car), swimming instructor,
Member Solihull Round Table
Interests (Activities) Golf, scuba diving
References Mrs. Mary Hayling Mr. Peter Smithson
23 Orchard Close The Meadows
Graystoke Peterlee
Essex Reading
CM23 8YH RG12 8EV
(phone: 01234 567890) (phone: 04321 098765)
You may prepare your CV in a functional layout. This kind of CV is organized by skills and qualities and the functions you could use as headings might be:
- Presenting the product range;
- Customer care;
- Information technology
- A good sales record in all positions
Under each one you can provide further details of specific experience. You can focus on your strengths to make your CV both a “selling document” and a proof that you can write good English.
One more CV example
Task: Read the CV below and complete it with these headings.
a. Education and training.
b. Main activities and responsibilities.
c. Organizational skills.
d. Personal information.
e. Personal skills.
f. Position held.
g. Subject/occupational skills covered.
h. Technical skills.
i. Title of qualification awarded.
j. Work experience.
| Curriculum Vitae (1)____________________ First nave/Surname Sukvinder Dhal Address 145 New Ferry Road, Queens Bridge, Durham, UK Telephone + (44) 1982 12459 E-mail [email protected] (2)_____________________ Dates 2011 - present (3)_____________________ IT Support Technician (4)_____________________ Provide support to customers of my company’s networking products, both wireless and wired Diagnose problems and suggest solutions. Name and address of employer Agoda Digital Ltd., Garside Industrial Estate, Sunderland, UK (5) _____________________ Dates 2009-2011 (6)____________________ BTEC National Diploma for IT Practitioners (System Support). (7)_____________________ IT technical support, customer service, networking (wireless and wired), hardware installation. Name and type of organization Conglefield Colledge, Cheshire, UK providing education and training Personal skills and competences Mother tongue(s) Hindi (8)______________________ I am a good team player at work. I work well with people from many different backgrounds People find me friendly and easy to work with and I understand other people easily. I enjoy helping customers. (9) _____________________ I often prepare my team’s schedules. When problems happen, I often make useful suggestions; I have good problem-solving skills. I am very organized; this helps me to work efficiently. I enjoy taking responsibly. (10) ____________________ Setting up both wired and wireless networks, including WI-FI. Diagnosing problems in networks. Server administration of both Linux and Windows operating systems |
2. The letter of application
The letter of application can be as important as the CV as it often provides the first direct contact between a candidate and an employer and if this letter is not written well it may make a poor impression. So, the CV accompanying letter is an important selling tool and needs careful thought. It also has a number of purposes:
- It allows you to sell yourself by pointing out key features of your CV:
how your skills and experience fit you for this particular position;
- It gives you the opportunity to include material that is not in CV, especially personal qualities;
- It shows your perspective employer that you know how to write a letter.
The letter of application should follow the general guidelines for all business letters that means it should have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
In the introduction part you should detail the job you are applying for and the circumstances that have led to this (for example, an advertisement, or the recommendation of an agency).
The body of the letter provides you with an opportunity to present yourself to the employer:
- Tell the reader about your present job and why you are looking to move on;
- Explain why you are suitable for this job;
- Emphasize the skills you have which make you particularly suitable for the job;
- List briefly the personal qualities you would bring to it;
- Answer any specific questions posed by the advert or job details.
It is important not to write too much, however. Two, or at most three, short punchy paragraphs are much more effective than two sides of rambling prose.
The conclusion should round the letter off, leaving the reader with a positive image/ It should sum up briefly the selling points made in the body of the letter, mention any items (including the CV) you are inclosing, and express willingness to provide any further information that the reader may want.
