Job applications I

If a student informs us:

I have to prepare documents to apply for a job or internship during the summer or after graduation.

We can say:

It helps to prepare documents specifically for each opportunity that is being applied for.

The student may ask:

Does this mean I have to make a new resume, cover letter, and other business messages for each job application?

We might say:

If you have already developed a resume, cover letter, and other business messages with standard correct English language style and content, it may only be necessarily to change them slightly for each occasion.

The student may wonder:

Why can’t I just send the same documents to save time?

We may reply:

Each job and organization have different specific demands. Your documents will be read by different people, and they will be looking for different things in them.

The student may inquire:

How can I know who will read the documents I will send in an application?

Our answer:

Think about what is being applied for and what the employer needs. If we can fit the documents to these specific requirements, we can make the application more direct and personal, and avoid seeming too general or vague, or give too much information.

The student may next ask:

What types of readers should I design my employment documents for?

We can say:

We can always be sure that people in business have very little time available, so they appreciate getting as much information as possible in very few words. So we should try to make the documents as concentrated as possible, to avoid taking up too much of the reader’s time. 

If the student wonders:

How can I do that?

Our reply:

Always declare the main purpose of the application at the very start of the text, so the reader will know what it is all about. Make sure that essential information is presented in ways that are easy to see and understand.

The student might object:

But I don’t know who will be reading the application I send in.

We can reply:

Since all job advertisements mention a name to send the application to, try Googling the name to see what the person’s responsibilities are in the organization. Is the person we are writing to a director of human resources or advertising director?

The student may ask:

What difference does that make?

We can say:

A human resources director will be interested in hiring someone who represents diversity and creates a good overall image for the office. If we are sending the application to an advertising director, that person will be mainly interested in sales achievements.

If the student says:

What if there is no name or job title associated with the job advertisement?

We might reply:

It can still help to Google the name of the company or organization to find out what its purpose and the goals of its office are. This information can usually be found on an official website under the heading About Us. If possible, try to adapt some of the content of the application document to show you understand and appreciate the goals and direction of the organization you want to be hired by. 

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)