by Victoria Bromley
CV, cover letter and interview: here’s our advice for graduates to stand out in the job application process.
Graduate life isn’t easy. While living in the bubble of university, the real world seemed like a far off, distant land (like the real world in The Barbie Movie). Graduating often means wandering aimlessly in search for the right job and straining to reach the first rung of the career ladder. Many of us still live at home, moving back into childhood bedrooms, without the safety of another academic year to reassure us that the next year of our lives is accounted for. Now September is approaching, what happens next?
After you’ve done some research and found a few jobs you want to apply for, reshaping your CV, drafting a cover letter, and preparing for interviews can be very daunting. These aren’t the skills taught at university. So, here are our tips and tricks for acing your application and bagging your first job as a graduate.
CV
There are websites out there which help design your CV but they often come with a cost, and overly fancy and accented CVs are confusing and unnecessary.
Layout: Keep it simple
- At the top you should have your contact information, so name, address, phone number, and email.
- Then write a brief personal statement. Here you want to outline your top achievements relating to the job. Think of this as a mini blurb to your life.
- Bullet point your skills. This could be two columns of four, side by side. Mention soft skills (e.g. time management, attention to detail) and hard skills (e.g. Canva, WordPress)
- List your employment. Mention the job title, company, start date and end date, or write “current” if you’re still in that role. Make sure you arrange them in reverse chronology so you start with your current role and work backwards.
- Next comes experience. List all the roles you may have had outside of your employment. These could be voluntary roles, exec positions for university societies, etc. The order should also be in reverse chronology.
- Lastly, list your education. This will be your degree, A level results, and how many GCSEs you have. Feel free to also list any additional qualifications you hold.
Writing job descriptions: Be precise
Under employment and experience, you want to detail what you did for the job, the skills you acquired, and how you delivered a positive outcome.
Bullet points are the best way to go as you want to keep this clear and precise. Starting your bullet points with an imperative allows you to get to the point and not waste space, such as “Maintain a website and blog on Word Press, from writing book reviews to bookish roundups.” For current roles, make sure verbs are in the present tense, and that previous roles are written in the past tense.
Slot in words from the job description. If the job description mentions WordPress, and you have experience using that software, then make sure you specify how and why you’ve used it in the past.
Use any stats that may be relevant, such as the combined social media following of any accounts you run if you’re applying for a digital marketing role, or how much money you’ve raised for a charity if it’s a sales role.
Design: Nothing too flashy
You can’t go wrong with Times New Roman font.
Underline subheadings, make your job titles bold and italicise company names. You want details to stand out without messing around with colour or boxes.
You don’t need a photograph of yourself, so don’t bother.
Make sure your CV doesn’t go over two pages. Adjust the margins and point size if you need, but don’t go any smaller than size 11 (then 14/12 for subheadings).
Adapt: Change for every application
Always edit your CV with each job application. Switch up the relevant skills and embed the words from the job description. Just make sure to submit the correct version.
Cover Letter
This is where you need to sell yourself and know the job inside and out.
Planning: Make notes
Copy and paste the job description into a Word document, then highlight all the skills, experience and information you need to address in your cover letter. Look out for any software or applications they want a candidate to have experience in, as well as any soft skills like team work or strong communication. Then you can plan out what experience you have that matches the job description.
Who to address: May require research
It’s great when job posts say who they want you to address the covering letter to. But not all of them do. If there is a contact email address provided, you could enquire who to address the cover letter to. This will show your interest and eagerness to get it right. If you can’t find a name to address it to, then “Dear hiring manager” will suffice.
Layout: Organisation is key
- Just like your CV, start your cover letter with a mini introduction to yourself. This should include your current role, why you want the job, and why you are interested in that company. Short and sweet. It should provide a snapshot of everything they need to know immediately before delving into the specifics.
- The main body of the letter should address each skill specified in the job description, the experience you have to match it, how your work has made a difference, and how that experience would equip you to do the job you’re applying for. If the job description is looking for a candidate with organisational and time management skills, then you can group this experience together into one paragraph because they go hand in hand. Be specific with the job description. If the job entails proofreading advanced book copies, then after detailing your editorial experience, specify that these skills would allow you to efficiently and accurately check advanced book copies for errors or grammatical mistakes.
- Then you want to show off your knowledge of the company and why you want to work for them. How does the company’s mission align with your values? Be honest and authentic. What would you bring to their company? Again, use words from the job description. If they want a creative and innovative individual, then use those words, or synonyms, to identify yourself. Make sure to research the company. If they have produced a certain product or service, then briefly discuss your interest in it and why it is successful. You don’t want to overly flatter the company. Never say you’d be “honoured” to work for them, instead you could say you want “to contribute to the growing success of the company”. It’s subtle and effective.
- Sign off with “yours sincerely” or “yours faithfully” depending on if you are addressing them by name.
Proofread: Zero tolerance for errors
Read it through three times at least, get a friend to read over it, reread it the next day. Don’t rush the proofreading process because even a minor error could be the death of your application.
Interview
Congratulations, you’ve got an interview! Now you need to prepare. Interviews are a two way street: the company gets to know more about you and you get to know more about the job. It’s a chance to talk about your success, so enjoy the experience.
Refresh: Reread your application
Read through your application and the job description again. Remind yourself of the key skills they are looking for and how your expereince meets that.
Classic questions: Be prepared
All interviews are different, but always be prepared for these questions…
- What do you know about the company? (Mission, values, ethos, what the company produces, have they won any awards etc)
- Why do you want to work for us? (Hopefully you’ve already done the work in your cover letter so reminding yourself what you put before the interview is helpful)
- What have you been up to this past year? (Employment and experience)
- What would you bring to the team? (Remember the words in the job description of what type of candidate they’re looking for)
Questions: Don’t show up empty handed
Always prepare a few questions ahead of the interview. This is a chance to show your enthusiasm and to get any concerns or queries answered.
Good questions to ask are…
- Opportunities to progress in the company
- Working environments (hybrid working etc)
- Training on the job
- Availability to start
There you have it! The whole application process can be a long winded experience. Never undersell yourself and have confidence in your own abilities.
Good luck for your future job applications, we hope you land your dream role soon.
swim press 