Thoughts and ideas on people and technology.
November 4, 2024
The internet has had tutorials for job applications for a while; I remember searching for and reviewing them as part of “Career and Life Management (CALM)” in grade school. But it still never hurts to go back to the basics!
Applications fall into two categories; what I’ll call “human-read” and “machine-read”. Machine-read applications are specifically designed for automated recruitment systems. These systems tend to require specific layouts and formatting, as well as focus on keywords and academic degrees (even if the job doesn’t require them). They don’t read very well for humans though. I’d also argue that you probably don’t want to work for an employer who uses such systems, but that’s a separate topic. Human-read applications are as the name suggests; applications designed for human review. Those are the type we’re going to focus on today.
Our goals with our application are going to be to maximize the chances the receiver (usually a receptionist, HR staff, or recruiter) will pass along our application to the decision maker (usually HR staff or interview panel member) who will shortlist you for an interview, and to convey all the relevant information to the interview panel before your interview. We’re going to do this by creating a cover letter and resume combo that is unique, but also follows a professional format.
Let’s start with the page template we’re going to use for both documents. Start with a blank page. In the header in the upper left corner, list your name, email, and town & province. Make your name 5 to 8 font sizes larger than the rest, and bold if the font needs more pop. In the upper right corner, write yourself a short byline that would make a Madison Avenue advertising executive proud. Workshop it with your friends or family, but don’t worry about spending too much time on it. Mine says “Process management, Results through consistent and conscientious excellence”. The idea is to have your audience say to themselves, “ooo, that sounds professional”, then move on. Make the first line the same font size as your name. Next, add a splash of colour or some basic shapes as a background to the header. Pick a maximum of two colours and a minimalist geometric design. Make sure it’s simple; if it’s too busy it’ll look like a primary school art project. Again, you want your audience say to themselves, “ooo, that looks professional”, then move on. Now go to the first line in the body of the document and type “title”, then go to the third line and type “body”. Make the title font the same size as your name in the header, and change it to the primary colour of your header background. Finally, save two separate copies of this file; one labelled “*your name* resume” and the other labelled “*your name* cover letter”.
Congratulations, the design part is over! If you’re like me, that was the hard part. On to the content! Open the cover letter document. Change the title text to “To:”. Go to the body line and paste in the following. For the listeners, you can find the text to be copied in the written version of this post on our website.
Receiver name Receiver email Receiver title Receiver organization Receiver city, province Submission date Greeting, Paragraph 1: Brief personal introduction and job being applied for. Paragraph 2: Brief professional introduction, framed as how you would be a good fit for the organization. Paragraph 3: Extended professional introduction, framed as how you be a good fit for this specific job. Paragraph 4: Three to four questions you would have for the interview panel if you were chosen to be interviewed. Paragraph 5: Follow-up and interview availability. Sign-off and signature.
Congratulations, you now have your own personalized cover letter template! Simply replace the placeholder and instruction text with the real thing. Five paragraphs may seem like a lot, but if you’re sufficiently brief (as you should be), the whole thing should fit on a single page. If it spills over, rework the paragraph text until it does. Turning to a second page has an ethereal effect that will make your cover letter feel like “too much”. It’s purely emotional and subconscious, but it’s real and to be avoided if you want to make a good first impression, which is your cover letter’s primary purpose!
Save and close, and open the resume. Center the title on the page and change the text to “Executive Summary”. Move to the body and paste the following. Again, for the listeners, you can find the text to be copied in the written version on our website.
First highlighted skill category or character trait paragraph. Two to three sentences. Second highlighted skill category or character trait paragraph. Two to three sentences. Third highlighted skill category or character trait paragraph. Two to three sentences. Bulleted list of three to six specific soft skills. Centered title: Professional or Work Experience (choose one) Employer - City, Province - years worked (i.e. 2015-2020 or 2022-current) Job title Two to three item bulleted list summarizing duties. Can be written long form, but be brief. (copy this as many times as needed) Centered title: Education, Certifications, & Training (remove words that don’t apply to you) Title Certifying or training body name, City, Province (copy this as many times as needed) Centered title: Proficiencies Bulleted list of five to ten specific hard skills. Do not repeat from soft skills above. Centered title: Volunteer & Civic Affiliations (if you have none, use Hobbies) Bulleted list, no more than six items.
Same as the cover letter, replace the placeholder and instruction text with the real thing. The whole resume should fit on two pages. If it spills over, the first thing you can reduce is the number of work experience sections. You don’t need to include your entire work history, but it is best to not leave gaps if you can.
We’re at the final step. The home stretch. You can do it! I believe in you! We’re going to export both documents as PDFs, then print copies, and inspect for errors or issues. “Why the PDFs and printing?” you ask? PDFs are the universal document format (see my previous post on the subject, “What is a PDF?"), and the interview panel will most likely want to print copies for themselves for the interview. Printing a copy for yourself will allow to you make sure everything looks good on paper as well as on a screen. You’re going to take your copy with, as well as a printed copy of the job posting, to use as a reference during your interview. No matter how well you think you know the material, it’s always good to have a reference. Physically referencing these documents during the interview will also help you look prepared and factual. What sounds better, “I thought the job posting said 40 hours per week?...”, or “here, in the second paragraph, the job posting says 40 hours per week”?
Want help with your job application? Or assistance with interviewing potential employees? You can find us as scalebright.ca.
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