Application SkillsJenny Keaveney

Careers and Employability Service

7th March 2013

with acknowledgement and thanks to Unilever and the Bank of England

The Application Form Initial Thoughts

Basic do’s and don’ts Work Experience and Extra-Curricular Activities Competency-Based questions

Real Life Examples The Good The Bad The Ridiculous The Hopeless

The Application form

Initial Thoughts: “Its easy”

“I’ll definitely get through this bit”

“My qualifications will impress them enough for me to sail through”

“I don’t need to try that hard”

“I don’t come over very well on paper/online but I know I can impress them at an interview”

The facts Its not easy!!

Academic qualifications are just the first hurdle

You need to impress on paper/online to have a chance of getting an interview

Before you start

Attend presentations and careers fairs –most employers keep a note of students they were impressed by

Make sure you meet the employer’s requirements, e.g. academic achievement, languages or other skills

Review your life - what you have done, when & why. Catalogue your achievements – academic / work experience / social activities / other. Expand on these achievements and the skills and knowledge required for each achievement.

Research the Employer

How to get to the top of the pile in a very competitive market place? Do your homework. Research, Research, Research. (Carl Gilleard, Association of Graduate Recruiters)

Researching employers

Don’t just give a standard answer about your interest in that field: make your answer specific to the employer

What is unique about the employer? What do they offer graduates, placement students or interns?

Don’t just copy and paste information from their website/brochure, include information from resources such as the BBC business pages, directories such as Best Companies to Work For and other news sites (e.g. Reuters/Bloomberg for finance)

Name drop –attend a careers fair or presentation and say how your interest has grown as a result of speaking to xxxx who told you yyyyy

The Application form

BASIC DO’S AND DON’TS

DO….. Research the company, and what it is looking for Answer the questions asked! Perform a spell check Get someone else to proof-read Sell yourself - how did you make a difference? Save your form and complete over a few visits

DON’T.. Copy and paste between forms Lie Leave any gaps

The Application Form

Work Experience and Extra-Curricular Activities All work experience is good work experience! Most experience is good experience! You can categorise into sub-divisions e.g.

– Positions of responsibility (and awards received)– Leisure and hobbies

Use diverse examples, e.g.– Sport– Societies (especially if you sit on a committee)– Travel– Languages– Arts– Personal achievements - what’s important to you??

Use your experience to sell yourself!

The Application form

Work Experience

“My role as a intern at xxx was of the most benefit as I increased my confidence. My team had a high degree of autonomy and it was a demanding working environment where I was often required to work long hours, followed by presentations to senior managers. The role particularly allowed me to experience the many different functions that exist within a business. It was also a great opportunity to experience new cultures”

How? Why? Was this the

main benefit?

But did you have autonomy + demanding

work?

What did you present and how?

And? What did you learn? How has this influenced your career decisions?

How is this relevant?

Why do you want to work for us?

… and why should we interview you?

“I have a genuine interest in advertising, as demonstrated by …”

“my high first-year grades in the xxx element of my degree demonstrate my ability to…”

“I am keen to begin my career learning from the very best in xxxx and your recent award for … illustrates…..

What are Competencies?

“underlying personal characteristics that influence individual performance”…

“behaviours which are linked to personal values”

Competencies are made up of: skills - what you know how to do knowledge - what you know self-image - how you see yourself values - what you think is important habits - things you do without thinking motives - what drives your behaviour

Top 5 competencies that the Top 100 employers look for:

• Teamwork

• Communication

• Problem-solving

• Commercial awareness

• Creativity

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/skillsmenu.htm

Competency Based Questions

“Give us an example when you….”

“What did you do?”

“How did you make a difference?”

“How did you bring others along with you?”

… in other words, you you you!!!!

Competency-based questions

The good:

Throughout my A Levels, I worked part-time with Flora Motley, initially as a sales assistant although after one year I was promoted to Weekend Accounts Manager.

Within my extended duties, which also included bookkeeping and budget plans, one of my principal tasks was to increase the intake of Store Account Card customers, as Head Office was concerned that the branch was under-performing in this area.

To tackle this assignment, I took the initiative to introduce new selling techniques and to increase staff awareness in relation to the account card and our customers' specific needs.

This involved running fortnightly training sessions and monthly meetings to monitor our progress as a branch. I also developed an incentive scheme, which offered prizes or additional paid time off, to reward staff upon completion of continually increasing targets. As a result of this work, the branch's customer account card uptake rose by 45% over the year, and our store's nationwide ranking in this criteria escalated from 40th to 6th position. My efforts received commendation in the Flora Motley Monthly Newsletter.

High performer

The problem

Identified a solution …

… and implemented it

A positive outcome

Competency-based questions

The bad….. The biggest challenge whilst carrying out the assignment was conducting a

financial analysis on the company. I was assigned this task, as I had previous experience in this area as I have carried out two financial and accounting modules during my University degree. I conducted a full ratio analysis on the company, which included analysing Next's Profit and Loss Account and Balance Sheet. I presented the ratios and included details of the company's current financial position, along with an explanation of how the company could improve their position.

The Presentation involved presenting our group's report on Next Plc to the rest of the Marketing group. Our group conducted a Microsoft Powerpoint presentation, to ensure it was conducted in the most efficient and systematic way. Each member presented their individual section, the final section then included contributions by all group members. Our group had practised the presentation on numerous occasions prior to the final presentation, which ensured a smooth running. Each member of the Marketing class was given a feedback form to report their opinions of the presentation. Our group received all positive feedback and were all awarded a 2:1 for the presentation, this contributed towards the final outcome of or Marketing modules.

Apathy- did not put self forward for

task.

No ownership, leadership.

No individual

result.

Competency-based questions

The ridiculous...

Mealtimes are a difficult and challenging time as this is one affair when my friends and I are truly tested in our decision making skills.

There has been more than one occasion where a unified agreement on what to do about dinner has proven to be a problem. I therefore take it upon myself to be the spokesperson for the group. One example would be where two of my friends wanted chicken nuggets and hence wished to go to McDonald’s while three others preferred the Chicken Royale from Burger King as opposed the the McChicken Sandwich one can get at McDonalds. Using my initiative, intuition and lateral thinking I suggested that we all go to KFC instead. My reasoning was that this was that KFC do chicken popcorn and are a far better choice than chicken nuggets. While their Fillet Tower Burgers are a step up from the standard Burger King Chicken Royale as they have a hash brown in them as well. Thus using some originality of thought, a certain degree of diplomacy and a persuasive tongue I convinced them all to join me at KFC.

Does not bring the

group with them.

No recognition of others’ opinions.

Competency-based questions

…and the hopeless ...

I do apologise for not completeing the following sections, i have not had enough time. I graduate in a week and am extremely busy. I hope you will consider this application. Thank You !!!

What Can You Do Now?

Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail…!!

Make a List (consider competencies): Use All Areas of Your Life - sports, clubs, societies Work Experience & Projects Leadership & Teamwork Situations Positions of Responsibilities

Pick the Most Illustrative Examples & Think Them Through

Focus on What You did and why

Further sources of information

Careers and Employability Service booklet -

CVs, Covering Letters and Application Forms

AGCAS DVD Your Job’s On-Line

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applic.htm

Good Luck!

Careers and Employability Service

At the entrance to Keynes driveway

Open 9-5, Monday – Friday

www.kent.ac.uk/ces

careerhelp@kent.ac.uk