ONLINE Job FORMS
Most graduate employers have now embraced the 21st century and have devised fancy online systems for your
job applications. Yes, nowadays for many employers a good old honest CV and covering letter simply won’t cut the mustard. Completing an online
application form can be an arduous process: hours down the line and you’re only
half way through. So we’re here to make the whole process easier and warn you
about the common pitfalls of online application forms.
WHAT ARE
ONLINE APPLICATION FORMS?
Online applications are usually completed through a
company’s website. Most of the time, you’ll have to sign in to create your own
profile and start your application. There’ll usually be a space to put down
your education and employment history and then they’ll give you a number of
questions to answer. These are designed to find out whether you have the
essentials skills for the role. The important thing to remember about online
application forms is that, although the whole process feels very impersonal,
your form is eventually going to be read by a member of the recruitment team
and therefore it simply has to impress!
BEFORE YOU
START FILLING IT OUT…
Get to know the application system, scroll through and read
all the questions first. Roughly plan out how you’re going to answer each one.
After all, you don’t want to repeat yourself.
You might want to draft answers to questions in a Word
document first, so you can use the spell check and save it to your computer.
This is far better than risking losing everything when you lose your internet
connection. Most applications do allow you to save as you go along, but it’s
better to be safe than sorry.
Avoid filling in the form at the last minute; the company’s
server might get overloaded, your application might get held up and you might miss
the deadline.
HOW SHOULD
I ANSWER ONLINE JOB APPLICATION QUESTIONS?
These are tricky little things. Make sure you read the
questions properly and jot down what you think the question is trying to find
out, e.g. what skills are they looking for you to demonstrate?
Your actual writing style should be formal, but don’t lose your personal
voice in clichéd expressions and formulaic business speak. Think of different
ways to structure and formulate your sentences to really show off your writing
style. It should be interesting, but economical.
