23 Top Tips For Job Applications and Interviews
We recruit people to join the Fevered Sleep team every year, and have met lots of wonderful people along the way.What we notice every time we recruit is that there are some key skills that help some job applicants to stand out, which not everyone is aware of. We hope these tips help.
Tips for writing applications
Read the guidance notes and job description thoroughly before you begin writing your application.
It's far more effective to write 10 really strong, thoughtful job applications for jobs you'd really like to do than copying and pasting 100.
Spell check your answers and ask someone else to proof them before you submit.
Try not to start a cover letter or email with “Dear Sir/ Madam, I am writing with regards to the role of”. Think of the poor team reading all of the cover letters and try to find out their names and start with something a little more original. It doesn't hurt to start by saying what a fan you are of their company and why.
Don’t talk at length about your personal life or opinion if it is not relevant to the question you have been asked.
Keep answers clear, punchy and short – reading very long winded applications takes time and those shortlisting will run out of steam. We recommend writing tools such as the Hemingway App hemingwayapp.com and grammarly.com
Research the company and try to explain why you would love to work with them. As an employer we’re more likely to take a punt on someone potentially underqualified if you prove real passion for the work.
Non-professional experience counts! If you create your own projects, take part in arts groups and community activities, or you’ve gained experience through your education it’s all relevant.
If asked, give concrete examples of what it is about that role you think you’ll benefit from. Make sure you don’t say that it’s the pay, location or hours you’re attracted to!
“Good time management skills” and “attention to detail” are pretty standard answers that in reality give very little away. Try thinking about or asking the people you’ve been working for what your strongest skills are. You might be great at planning complex projects, finding unexpected creative solutions to problems very quickly, or staying calm and collected under pressure. Descriptive examples will help to strengthen your answer.
This sounds obvious, but read the questions and make sure you answer them fully. A common mistake in the recent submissions was listing past responsibilities but not mentioning the skills required to carry them out as the question had asked you to do.
Tips for interviews
If you feel panicky and your mind goes blank, take a deep breath, a sip of water, ask for the question again and see if you can think of a response in your own time. The interviewer will be feeling nervous too and will want you to do your best so take your time.
Don’t talk at length about your personal life. If you have been asked to think of an example of how you work with others or a scenario then keep it about a work/formal setting if you can. Don’t talk about what your family members/boyfriend/friend did – the interviewer wants to hear about you and what you did in that situation.
Try to stay focused on the specifics of the question – keep coming back to what you have been asked rather than talking about the first thing that comes into your head. Gather your thoughts before answering.
If you don’t know the questions in advance then make sure you have three or four concrete examples of skills/experience you can describe in detail that are relevant to the job. Have these ready either in your mind or written down. Practice describing them with friends before you come to the interview.
Speak slowly and clearly.
Give the interviewer eye contact.
Keep your body language relaxed, if you feel nervous and start to fiddle, place your hands in your lap.
Do your research – check the company website, check out the twitter/Instagram handles and see what has been going on recently so you can refer to this.
If you don’t understand a task you’re given, ask for clarification. If you feel like you’re not doing it quite right, you should still show that you’re making a real effort and trying your very best.
Have an opinion about the kind of work the company is making – do you like it? Why? What is most exciting about it? Which projects caught your eye?
Show that you really want the job. Interviewers want to sense that you are hungry to work for the company and would be passionate about the type of work that they do.
It can be really hard to answer questions about your weaknesses honestly, which is why most people say “I’m a perfectionist”. This is a great opportunity to talk pro-actively about what you're hungry to learn next, especially if there is a gap in your experience which is listed as desirable in the job description.
Keep an element of formality, don’t be too ‘matey’ or ask things like ‘what number interviewee am I’?
Try to show personality in your answers - you want to make the interviewers excited about the prospect of working with you.
Good luck!