Online Job Application 101 - 10 Tips For Success

Thursday, March 6th, 2008
by George Appiah

The way we apply for jobs is changing. More and more savvy employers are turning to the web these days to do their recruitment. The benefits to these savvy recruiters are enormous: it’s cheaper and sometimes even free, they can have shorter recruitment cycles, and services like JobsInGhana.com give recruiters great tools as well as access to a library of resumes to just pick from, without even placing an ad.

Even though I’m not an HR guy, I’ve been involved in recruitment drives for several small technology firms in Ghana — all of them through the Internet. And I’ve seen some potentially smart Ghanaian professionals do some really dumb things in their applications. On a couple of occasions (when I’ve had too much chocolate!) I’ve had to call applicants and guide them to properly re-submit their applications.

If you’ve been sending online applications but have never gotten any invitations for interviews, perhaps it’s time to sit back and ponder over what pitfalls you’ve been falling into, and how to void them to improve your chances of getting those needed invitations for interview. Here are the ten common pitfalls I’ve seen over the years, along with suggestions on how to avoid them.

1. First and foremost, recognize that it’s the same old job application business. The Internet only facilitates communication, but it doesn’t change any of the established norms and protocols to follow when applying for jobs. Do your homework well, present a professional outlook to your prospective employer, and pray for Mr. & Mrs. Luck to drive by your street.
2. Know that the recruiting manager may not speak any of those cool lolspeak and jargons that you use with your friends. I’ve seen a couple of job applications that go like… “PLZ C MA CV ATTACHED. THNX” — or something similar. I love these a lot, because they are so easy to process. A single click on the DELETE button, and I’m done.
3. Use attachment - don’t just copy and paste your CV! There are so many different email systems out there with varying RTF and HTML rendering capabilities. Some even only support plain text e-mails. Your carefully crafted CV, when pasted directly into the body of your email, my appear as gibberish to the recipient. Save yourself from this.
4. And while we’re on attachments, use standard document formats that most computers can open. Don’t ever assume everyone, like you, uses a PC and Microsoft Office. I’ve even had a graphic designer send me samples of his work in the native Corel Draw format! Send your CV and cover letter in RTF, or better still, PDF. RTF has the highest probability of opening on the recipient’s computer, while PDF will retain all your exquisite formatting.
5. In in addition to the attachment(s), add a carefully written teaser to the body of your e-mail. A recent ad a friend placed online for a web developer got over 100 responses. This is certainly no big deal for a big company with a dedicated HR department. But for a small firm, we certainly couldn’t print out all the 100 CVs and cover letters and sort them out. So we simply picked out the few folks who wrote something interesting in the body of the e-mail itself. Bottomline, recruiters are busy — help them to help you. If you’re lazy like me, simply put a copy of your cover letter in the body of the email, in addition to (not instead of) the attachment.
6. Be available: With newspaper adverts, the adverts have to be submitted at least a week in advance of the publication date, and it’s going to take some time for applications to be received via post. Employers know this, so longer recruitment cycles are the norm. But online, there’s the luxury of immediacy, and it’s not unusual to be called for an Interview a day or two after submitting your applications. So if you’ve gone through the trouble of applying, make yourself available to be contacted for interview.
7. Check your email often. If for some reason you cannot check your mail everyday, indicate this in your application, and ask to be contacted by phone instead. You don’t want to miss your big break.
8. If you don’t have a phone and you need to give someone else’s phone number, make sure the person knows you by the name you have on your CV and cover letter. If your friends call you Esi Jesus, but the name on your application is Sebastiana Ama Dede Wayo, let your friend who’s phone number you’re giving out know this. And pick your contact person carefully — some people are such a bore on the phone!
9. At this time, most Ghanaian companies are simply using the Internet as a bulletin board to post their job adverts, and still require candidates to send applications by regular mail. So it’s not always click-click-send. I wouldn’t bother with such jobs, but then I am not looking for a job. My attitude may be different if I were job-hunting. If you have to apply for such jobs, just make sure your application can get through before the deadline.
10. And finally, don’t overlook the print media. While we’d all love to sit behind our computers at home and apply for jobs, the reality is that most institutions, especially the bigger companies and public institutions, still do their recruitment offline, through the print media. The Daily Graphic, remains the best source of premium jobs in Ghana today.

I hope you find these common sense tips useful in your next online job application. Have you got any tip to add? Share your thoughts using the comments form below. Don’t be shy.