How to write a job application

My thoughts on writing a job application

First of all: Do some research. #

What is research?

  • Read the job advertisement and write down important words as motivation
  • Check the company’s website, write some ideas on what their needs and values
  • Do some research on the contact person. This may be on linkedin, the company website or other.

Second: CALL. #

Only about 7/100 pick up the phone to ask about the ad.

Make a script outlining the reason for your call, who you are, what your motivation is, and some questions about the job and the company. The script should be built based on your research, so pepper inn your specific qualifications.

Some ideas on questions you can ask:

  • What are good travel options to the place of work?
  • What is your onboarding process?
  • What technologies are used in the workplace are not listed in the advertisement?

This will make sure you show interest and you may even get some information that you can use in your application that nobody else has.

Most jobs get somewhere between thirty and several hundreds of applications. Who’s application do you think the person you talked to on the phone will prioritise?

Third: Write the best god damn application of your life. #

Use all your keywords in this application and structure it in the following order:

  • Title
  • Motivation
  • Qualifications
  • Personal abilities

Title

  • Stand out. Most people write “Application for job as XYZ at ABC”. Show some imagination.
  • You can write something like “Organised and motivated full-stack developer seeking work in bank systems”, but you can be even more creative.
  • Examples:
    • A childcare worker can write as a title something like “The sweetest music is children’s laughter”.
    • A barista might write something like “Happiness is a coffee cup away”.
    • A video game developer/designer might make a small game or a concept for a game and add it to the application.

but I need to be professional! I need to title it “job application for work as an XYZ!”

  • He/she is sitting with hundreds of applications, do you not think they are aware that this is a job application?

Motivation

  • Why you want the job. What is it with this job that makes you motivated?
  • How the company’s values and needs fit well with your values and what you have to offer.
  • DO NOT write as a motivation that you’re willing to learn and motivated to develop your skills. Write what you can offer the business, not what the business can offer you.

Qualifications

  • Here you write all your qualifications. These can be technical and personal.
  • Examples of technical qualifications:
    • JavaScript
    • Figma
    • Unity
  • Examples of personal qualifications:
    • Good at handling stress
    • Conflict resolution
    • Good at picking up new technologies based on the needs of the project
    • Organised
    • Time management

Person

  • Don’t write about your two pet dogs and your five children and how their freckles align perfectly to form a map to a hidden treasure.
  • Here you outline your personal qualifications again, written in other words like “You can expect in me a great problem solver and team player. I love solving problems and when we have made a goal I won’t stop until I reach it.” etc.

Ending

  • Write that you’re looking forward to the opportunity to come in and give a closer presentation of yourself.
  • Don’t write stuff like “I hope you pick me”. Take it as given that they want to meet you.

I usually just use ChatGPT

  • That’s great, but you HAVE TO make changes to the text. Rewrite the whole text in YOUR LANGUAGE.
  • Ask ChatGPT to rewrite in a tone that better fits you. Be very critical, do not send it just as it is.
  • Feed the application back to ChatGPT and ask it about how to weigh up your strengths in a better way.
  • Ask it to write it shorter.
  • Ask it to act as if it are the recruiter for the listed job (feed it the job listing) and to scrutinise your job application and ask it questions about your application.

What do you want to write in addition?

  • Prior work experience

Prior work experience

  • Put in any work you have done, any personal projects you have done and explain what you have done here and add success stories.
  • Do not explain holes in your work experience