A job application is your formal introduction to a potential employer and a primary marketing tool. A strategically completed application demonstrates your qualifications, skills, and experience, tailored to the specific role you are seeking. This can directly influence your likelihood of securing an interview.
Standard Personal and Contact Information
Every application begins with accurate and professional personal details. Provide your full legal name, a reliable primary phone number, and a current mailing address. Use a professional email format, such as firstname.lastname@email.com, rather than an outdated or unprofessional handle.
Include a URL to your updated LinkedIn profile. Ensure this profile reflects the same work history and skills presented in the application. This consistency across platforms offers a more comprehensive view of your background and reinforces your credibility.
Detailing Your Work Experience
List your employment history in reverse chronological order, with your most recent position at the top. For each role, include the company name, its location, your job title, and the start and end dates of your employment. This framework provides the structure for your accomplishments.
Beneath each position, use bullet points to describe your responsibilities and achievements. Begin each point with an action verb to create a sense of initiative. To make your contributions tangible, quantify them with numbers, percentages, or dollar amounts. For instance, “Increased social media engagement by 25% over six months” is more compelling than “Managed social media accounts.”
If you have gaps in your employment history, address them honestly if the application provides a space to do so. A brief, neutral explanation, such as “Took a planned career break for professional development,” is sufficient. The goal is to present a complete and transparent work history that highlights your value and growth over time, transforming a simple list of duties into a narrative of professional success.
Listing Your Education and Certifications
List your highest degree first. Include the full name of the institution, its city and state, the exact degree you obtained, and your graduation date. If you hold a college degree, it is not necessary to include your high school information.
Beyond your primary degrees, this is the area to showcase additional credentials relevant to the job. Create a distinct subsection for professional certifications, licenses, or specific coursework that aligns with the role’s requirements. This demonstrates a commitment to your field beyond your formal education.
Highlighting Your Relevant Skills
The skills section is a strategic space to make your qualifications easily scannable for recruiters and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). It is helpful to understand the difference between hard skills, which are teachable abilities like software proficiency, and soft skills, which are interpersonal attributes like communication and leadership.
Review the job description to identify the skills the employer is seeking. Mirror the language and keywords used in the posting, as many companies use ATS to filter applications based on these terms. For example, if the job description lists “project management,” use that exact phrase.
For clarity, group your skills into logical categories with subheadings like “Technical Skills,” “Software Proficiencies,” or “Language Skills.” This organization allows a hiring manager to quickly assess how your capabilities align with the job’s needs. This ensures your most relevant abilities are not buried in your work experience.
Answering Application-Specific Questions
When asked, “Why do you want to work here?” provide a thoughtful response that goes beyond surface-level compliments. Research the company’s mission, projects, and culture. Align your career goals and values with what you have learned to show genuine interest in contributing to their organization.
For salary expectations, avoid providing a single number. Research the typical salary for the role in your location and for your experience level. Based on this data, provide a realistic salary range, which demonstrates your research and allows for negotiation.
When asked for your start date, provide a practical timeframe. A standard response is “Two weeks from the date of a formal offer.” This communicates your intent to provide proper notice to a current employer, which reflects professionalism.
Information to Omit or Handle With Care
To protect your privacy and prevent potential bias, do not voluntarily include certain information. Do not offer details about protected characteristics like your age, race, religion, national origin, or marital status. While some applications have voluntary self-identification forms for compliance, this should not be part of the main application.
Be cautious with your salary history. Unless legally required, avoid providing this information, as it can put you at a disadvantage in negotiations. There is a distinction between past earnings (salary history) and future requirements (salary expectations). Focus the conversation on your value moving forward.
Exclude irrelevant personal details like hobbies or personal photographs unless specifically requested. If the form requires a reason for leaving a previous job, keep the explanation brief and neutral. Use a phrase like “Seeking new growth opportunities,” and never make negative comments about former employers.
The Final Review and Submission
Before submitting your application, conduct a final review. Proofread every section for spelling and grammatical errors, as small mistakes can signal a lack of attention to detail. Having a trusted friend or family member read it is also beneficial, as a fresh set of eyes can catch errors you overlooked.
Double-check that you have filled out all required fields and attached the correct, most up-to-date versions of your resume and cover letter. Confirm that the file names are professional (e.g., “FirstName_LastName_Resume.pdf”). Before you click “submit,” save a copy of the completed application for your records. This allows you to reference your exact responses if you are contacted for an interview.