The Kee to Coaching: Applying for Jobs
Good Afternoon! I've recently gotten the opportunity to be member of a search committee for a job opening on campus. As a young professional, this is my first time sitting on the other end of the table and this opportunity has been extremely helpful for me. As with most recent, college graduates, I have applied to hundreds of jobs. Out of all the jobs that I have applied for, I have probably been granted phone interviews for 5% of them. With having this tremendous opportunity to be on the search committee, I have gained a ton of knowledge that I will be able to take with me in the future. We are currently in the process of narrowing down our list of candidates and determining which ones we will offer phone interviews to. I wanted to document some things that I noticed when evaluating the different candidates.
1. Answer all questions:
- One of my biggest pet peeves when applying for jobs is having to upload my resume, then seconds after, filling in my work experience. It always seemed to me that I was repeating the same information, and that it was a waste of time. On most applications, I would leave this area blank and just refer the committee to my resume. After reviewing a ton of applications this past week, I now realize that leaving application boxes blank, made it seem as if I was disinterested. As silly as it might seem to repeat the same information that was covered in my resume, it does show that you are truly interested in the job.
2. Be knowledgeable about the job description and be on the lookout for key words:
- For this position on campus, we have five search committee members. Each search committee member is given a rubric to grade each candidate on. In the job description, a couple of choice words appear frequently. When discussing the candidates, I realized that applicants who had used these words in their cover letter or resume were graded higher. This may seem like something minor, but using the same terminology that is used in the job description can help set you apart from other candidates. Those words trigger a reaction from the committee members and they will look deeper into your application materials.
3. Be creative with cover letter:
-When reviewing a high volume of applicants, eventually you get tired of reading generic and copied information. The cover letter is your best opportunity to show creativity and to set yourself apart from the competition. As an applicant with less experience and level of education, a creative cover letter can help you stand out.
4. Find a positive way to phrase an employment change:
- Whenever you have a change of employment listed on the application, the committee is going to want to know why. It is never good to bash former bosses or employers. Even if you may have left on poor terms, try to spin it as a positive. When applying for a job, you are being evaluated on everything. Be very positive and detail-oriented, because the slightest mistake could put you out of consideration.
5. Explain gaps in employment:
- Just like you want to explain why you left a job, you also want to be sure to explain gaps of time when you may have been unemployed. It's tough, but when the search committee is looking to shorten the crop of candidates, unexplained periods of unemployment could be a red-flag. Most of the time, this period is filled with internship or volunteer experience. This should be documented within the application.
