Analyze the Vacancy
Job ads are usually made up of several sections. There will be general information about the company, details on the desired qualifications of applicants and a description of the responsibilities involved in the role. Carefully read the job ad. so you are familiar with what the employer wants.
Make a List
The next step is to make a list of the preferred skills/qualifications for the ideal candidate for the job. If a job advertisement is well written you might be able to draw up your list from the ad. Extract any of the keywords describing skills, qualities, or experiences which the employer requires.
Get More Information
Sometimes ads for jobs are very short and don't reveal much about the employer's expectations. In these cases look on the company's website, there might be a longer description in the human resources section of their site than in the ad. Another strategy is to search job sites like Indeed.com by the same job title to get a sense of what other employers are looking for in candidates. Also search Google to see descriptions of similar jobs.
Ask for Advice
If you are really motivated by a particular job, interview professionals in the field and ask them what it takes to excel in their job. Check with LinkedIn contacts, and family friends to generate a list of contacts to talk to.
Make a Match
Once you have a list of the qualifications for the job, review each item on the list and try to think of how you might prove that you possess that skill. Write a sentence detailing how you used that skill or exhibited that skill in a work, volunteer or academic role.
Prioritize Your Qualifications in Your Cover Letter
Prioritize the sentences about your qualifications and incorporate in your cover letter. Compose a statement for the beginning of your cover letter which references 2-4 skills which make you an excellent fit for the job. For example, for a bank teller job, you might say "my strong mathematics skills, customer service orientation, attentiveness to detail and ability to work with precision make this job an excellent fit for me." In subsequent paragraphs, you should provide examples of how and where you applied those skills.
Review Your CV
Review your CV and make sure that you have incorporated as many statements about the preferred qualifications for the job as possible. List the highest priority skills at the beginning of your descriptions to get the most attention.
If you have a couple of jobs which are more qualifying than others, and they are not your most recent jobs, develop a lead category towards the top of your CV like "Related Experience". Take a few minutes to update the descriptions of the jobs you've held.
Include Headlines
If you have clusters of experiences which correspond to key qualifications, then use relevant headings and place the related experiences in those sections of the CV. Relevant headings will draw the employer's attention to key qualifications at a glance.
Posted: Saturday 18 August 2018