Applying for a job may seem like a tedious process. As it requires a culmination of factors working in unison to prove you are the right fit.
In an age dominated by the service sector, gaining employment and becoming a white-collar or gold-collar employee may not be as simple as it looks.
The world is in a hiring crunch. I am not saying there are no job offers, they exist.
But, to get those offers requires you to be prepared and equipped with proper tools and strategy, if you want to increase your chances of getting a job.
This blog will help you towards understanding ‘How to Apply for a Job? And, what are the Right Ways to Apply.’
It’s no hidden fact that unemployment and inflation rates are currently at an all-time high. It should be your priority to develop no chink in your armour that could jeopardize your hiring chances.
Step#1 Why Create a Database?
How to apply for a job? This process is not like you get up in the morning and going from one office or company to another pleading to hire you.
It’s about planning, researching, and creating a database of companies in which you have a fair chance of getting a job.
The database needs to have an evaluation of your skill set, interest, and passion. As, it will lead you on the path where you can find an opportunity to learn, grow, and earn some handy experience.
Once your database is complete, you should aim at finding companies that are hiring and prepare to apply at the same.
The process of applying should be paid attention to with full concentration as it will reflect in your email and affect your chances of hiring.
Step#2 Why does a Job Application need to be taken SERIOUSLY?
Consider job applications like a litmus test. To get a job, passing this test becomes a must.
For a good job application, you require to have a well-structured résumé and a promising cover letter.
Most of the time, potential employees take their résumé and cover letter for granted and do not make it up to the mark. They do not check for grammar mistakes, punctuation, and formal tone.
Making it easy for recruiters to sideline their job application on the grounds of casual and insincere attitude.
For example: While writing your résumé you may add glorifying years of work experience and highly prestigious recommendations, but at the top of the paper writing ‘résumé’ as ‘resume’ shows how negligent and irresponsible you can be.
You must keep one thing in mind at every step of applying: it’s you who needs a job! Your poor job application will only make things worse for you and do not even give you the chance to appear for an interview and show your potential.
Step#3 Things to remember while Sending an Email
Email still holds a huge amount of relevance in the corporate world than one can imagine.
It’s your medium of inquiry. Through email you send your job application, you find your chances of getting a job and at the same time build a formal relationship with the recruiter on the other side.
In your email, you need to be polite, humble, and respectful. As it’s a formal mode of communication regarding your job prospects you need to keep it as short and simple as possible.
The chances of you sending an email would either mean the job profile has a vacancy or you are stretching an extra mile to just confirm whether you can work for them or not despite they are not looking to hire currently.
In both situations, it should be able to leave an impression on you, and writing a perfect email by following all the etiquette and guidelines suggested below could make your job a lot easier!
- Use a professional and genuine email id for such purposes.
- Be as specific as possible in your email subject.
- Use formal means of introduction (ex: Dear Ma’am/Sir).
- The language of the email should be professional, formal, and respectful.
- Avoid grammar mistakes and proofread your email.
- In the body of an email avoid using words or phrases like need, please, feel free to respond, hey there, how are you, etc.
- Must add end salutation (Ex: Yours faithfully, Yours Sincerely or Regards).
Step#4 Why WhatsApp is not PROFESSIONAL?
The thumb rule on how to apply for a job is never in the process of recruitment to show your authority and order, you need to be respectful throughout the process.
Nowadays, young millennials and Gen-Z while pursuing jobs forget this thumb rule.
They try to be flashy, upbeat, and informal.
By following such behaviour one can never be on the right path to getting hired.
Now, coming on to the Whatsapp part, at times the head recruiter or HR may try to contact you based on your contact information.
But, it doesn’t give you a right to initiate a conversation by using their number either to Whatsapp or drop a message.
How pertinent your question may be, you should never use their number for resolving your issues.
Thus, it’s better advisable to politely ask for their email id, in case you need to inform or update them concerning something important.
Also read: How to Grow within any Organization: A Step-by-Step Guide
Step#5 How to PREPARE yourself for an INTERVIEW?
Going through proper channels, and submitting the correct email with job applications, may earn you the job interview.
But, the story doesn’t end there.
Cracking that interview is not only the final line waiting to be crossed to earn a job but the most crucial line needed to be crossed in the right way.
Being scheduled for an interview, sometimes, may not be the only thing.
According to the current trends, they may ask you to fill out a form before your interview is scheduled or may call for a group discussion.
You need to be prepared for all kinds of stuff. No step in this process can be deemed as unnecessary as all have significance in their way.
Most of the time candidates applying, may not be serious about filling out the form or speaking in a group discussion, as they may think they have the best résumé, they have graduated or schooled from the top tier educational institutes, and so on.
But, in my experience, nothing matters even if you are a summa cum laude from Harvard.
As the recruiter needs you to speak for yourself rather than your résumé doing all the talking.
At every step, you have to perform with utmost sincerity, dignity, and determination to show how much you need that job.
Now, coming to the interview part, you have to read the room. What I mean is before even coming to the office for it, you must dress in neat formal attire.
Barring your dressing sense, while giving the interview you need to make proper eye contact, reduce unnecessary hand gestures, and stop being fidgety.
At every moment you need to be calm and polite. Even, with the questions you are unable to answer, it’s better to say ‘I don’t know about it, rather blabbering.
Also, you need to stick to a formal tone of communication and at no time you must feel casual by calling your recruiter with informal remarks like ‘dude’, ‘see a man’, and so on.
Furthermore, it’s strictly advisable to put all your communication devices on silent before entering the room.
In this step, you need to understand that it’s your future that is at stake, the more serious and competent you look, the brighter your future is.
Step#6 Why Follow-Up?
Often it happens, that the recruiter’s busy schedule makes them forget about getting the candidates a proper closure concerning their hiring.
It should be your job, to take proper follow-up regarding your job application whether you have been hired or not.
The follow-up should go through proper formal channels of communication referring to email, not WhatsApp or messages.
You must be careful and concerned enough in your email when you ask about your hiring.
After you receive the reply mentioning you get the job, you can’t be too ecstatic, and if it mentions you didn’t get the job you also can’t be rude and disrespectful in your email.
However, most of the time it may happen that you have applied to multiple companies and you received acceptance letters from a couple of them.
You must inform the companies you will not be working with that you have accepted a job somewhere else. It shows professionalism in your behaviour and would help a lot in the longer run.
This step may seem to you less of a concern, as you may ask how it’s the right way and will increase your chances of hiring.
But, you have to make your peace whether you get the job or not, it’s a prerequisite to accept the outcome and react with honour.
This step ensures your character and attitude which you want to pick as an employee.
What more to LEARN?
I believe these steps will help you regarding ‘how to apply for a job’ especially when you are trying to find jobs and struggling with ways to improve your chances.
I would also like to add more to these steps by saying that having a suave and certain attitude while applying for a job may seem fit in movies and TV series.
In the real world, all that matters is your wit, modesty, and humbleness.
Being arrogant and adamant will not land you anywhere rather it would make you shift from one company’s interview room to another.
You may be casual regarding what dinner you will have tonight, or what dress you will wear for a party, but never be casual about your job or the interview.
Once you show the same casualness to the opportunity that’s knocking on your door, mark my words you will never hear that knock a second time.
I wish the job aspirants All the Best in all their future endeavours!
