Tips for job applications

Covering letters are, in general, comput­er-printed. Your written application should always contain a formal covering letter in which you indicate the job offer that you are apply­ing for. Make sure to include the correct address and name of the contact person.

Your CV must be short, to the point, chronolog­ical and complete. Your personal profile must be adapted to the job offer. No notes should be written on the documents that you send to the employer.

The most common way to apply is to send a typed letter and a CV. For unskilled occupa­tions, the application procedure is usually ver­bal. In cases where the applicant is sent by the public employment services, a standard refer­ence letter is issued - which has to be com­pleted by the prospective employer, stating their final decision - and submitted to the labour office.

If you apply for a vacancy found on the EURES portal, mention the national reference number. Both electronic and written applications should include a covering letter, which should be no longer than one page, to the point and typed. This letter, addressed to the employer or the organisation advertising the post, should con­tain important data not included in the CV. It should always be signed.

Reply as soon as possible to a job announce­ment that interests you, taking into account the criteria mentioned in the advert. You want to attract the employer's interest, and your first contact with them is very important.

If you apply electronically, send a covering let­ter of one page maximum and a structured CV. Do not send your application from your present employer's e-mail box, from an e-mail address with a nickname or by mass mailing.

Fill out the subject of the e-mail with the title of position, for example, and clearly describe the attachments to the e-mail. Send your CV as an attachment.

The procedure for application is described in the job advert, and should be adhered to.

Contacts between the candidate and the employer are usually direct. When send­ing an application (usually electronically), it is very important to personalise it to the specific employer. Only contact the employer in the lan­guage requested in the advertisement. You do not need to be able to cover all the qualifica­tions, but you do need to speak the language suggested in the vacancy. Always write the application and make the contact yourself Doc­uments in a foreign language must be proved to be authentic.

The following are absolutely not acceptable during an application procedure: misspelling of the name and address of the company; errors in the application; being disloyal towards for­mer employers; turning up late for an interview.

'The EURES Adviser gave me infor­mation about doing a greenhouse gardener's course in Denmark and combining it with a Danish language course and work in a Danish farm. I saw it as an interesting opportunity - and a way to develop new skills and knowledge for my future professional life. It broadens your horizons, makes you more independent, builds your self-confidence and expands your per­sonal network.'

Sarunas, jobseeker from Lithuania

In Estonia, it is most common to apply for a job through an online job database. It is advis­able to use an electronic application, and this should be short and specific. Any written appli­cation should be legible, grammatically correct, short and to the point.

In many cases you have to go through more rounds after submitting your CV and appli­cation. These may include a language and a job-suitability test. Finally - if you are suc­cessful - you can expect an invitation to an interview.

Make sure that you fill in the application care­fully; if it is not complete, it might not be taken into consideration. The employer is likely to receive hundreds of applications. Try to stand out positively from the rest.

A covering letter should not be longer than one page. Describe briefly why you would be the best candidate. Name one or two referees, and give their contact information; the employer may be interested in calling them (possibly even before an interview) to ask what kind of employee you are. Remember to sign the letter.

The length of the CV should not exceed two A4 sheets.

Before making a spontaneous application, look at the company's website to see what kind of career opportunities you can expect and how the employer usually hires new staff If there is an electronic application form for spontaneous applications, use it. If not, contact the employer by e-mail or phone. If you make the first con­tact by e-mail, call the company after approx­imately 1 week and ask whether the people in charge of recruitment have received your appli­cation and had time to consider it.

In smaller companies especially, there may not be enough staff to advertise vacancies, handle applications, organise interviews, etc. Therefore, it is worth contacting the employer directly and applying for a post spontaneously.

The CV should consist of one page for young graduates, or two pages maximum for more experienced profiles. A two-page CV is gener­ally organised in six sections.

• Personal details: name, address, phone number (with international code), e-mail. Marital status, age and nationality (if you are a citizen of the European Economic Area) are optional.

• Title: state the general job position sought, possibly with your strengths, for example 'Commercial assistant trilingual: English, French and Spanish'.

• Professional experience: employment history, including dates, position, company name, industry and location, and detailing your responsibilities, tasks and results.

•Training: provide graduation dates and their equivalent in the French educational system.

• Language and IT knowledge: indicate your native language and specify your level of French - reading, written and spoken.

• Other information, often called 'Interests'. Mention if you have lived in France.

For written applications, make sure that you create a complete file containing your appli­cation letter, CV, a photo and some letters of recommendation. Make sure that there are no spelling mistakes in any of your documents and that your file looks perfect.

The application letter should comprise not more than one page and the CV should be limited to two pages and include the job contents - or you can add a job profile with your skills and exper­tise. The folder style should be appropriate to the function.

If you send your application by e-mail, you are advised to send your covering letter, CV, photo and letters of recommendation all in one document.

Sending a CV with a covering letter is the most typical way to apply, but for blue-collar posi­tions it is often enough to call the employer as an initial step. Larger companies may require candidates to complete an application form (sometimes online).

Applicants should prepare by finding out about the activities and profile of the company and about the position in order to decide if they are really interested and to know what the position is about.

For electronic applications, you should either use the online application form (if there is one), or send (only) the documents requested in the announcement.

Sending a CV and a covering letter is the most common procedure when applying for a job. A CV should never exceed two pages and should be to the point and recently updated. The let­ter should state why you are interested in the vacancy and why you are the right person for the position.

If you apply spontaneously, try to hand your application directly to the person who will be in charge of the selection procedure. This will make a better impression.

The standard application procedure in Italy is to send an up-to-date CV together with a covering letter, by e-mail or regular mail.

With electronic applications, make it clear which job you are applying for and activate the read­ing confirmation option in your e-mail account settings.

In written applications, the layout and the appearance of the covering letter itself are very important. The covering letter should be better structured than an electronic application.

Check the receipt status of your application by a phone call. If your application is of interest to the company, the employer should contact you within a few days. If not, it means that you have not been selected. However, CVs are often stored for a long time, and you might receive a phone call for a job vacancy that you applied for the previous year.

If you are applying spontaneously, your appli­cation must be grammatically correct and well written, but it must also be very motivating.

How else can you capture the attention of an employer for a position that is not vacant?

A CV and covering letter are usually required to support the application. They are usually sent by e-mail or sometimes by post. If you apply for seasonal or unqualified work you can so do by phone, because employers usually pre-se­lect for these kinds of jobs.

Although most Latvian businesses are keen to adapt their processes to west European stand­ards, which (in most cases) are less formal, most Latvian companies are still hierarchical in terms of structure and management culture. This is also true of their attitude to the applica­tion procedure.

Written applications are most common in Liech­tenstein. If you apply by e-mail, use PDF files if possible. Send your complete recruitment file: covering letter, CV with photo, references and letters of recommendation, diploma and other documents that are relevant for the job. Do not forget to include your contact details.

Lithuanian employers usually want to see a written CV before they request an interview with a candidate. Nowadays it is popular to use the Europass CV.

Applications are usually sent by e-mail or by post, depending on the information given in the advert. You must always attach your personal CV with an application letter. Both the appli­cation letter and the CV must be submitted in English, unless it is specified otherwise.

Make sure you include attachments and that these can be opened. Specify clearly which job you are applying for. Avoid using animation or fancy design, especially if the job is a special­ised one and design is not relevant for the post.

When applying spontaneously, specify what role you are interested in. Mention your avail­ability. Add relevant qualifications.

'At the European Job Day in Brus­sels, most of the candidates who vis­ited our stands were graduates in financial services, law, marketing and communications, and tourism. These are areas where we have a short­age of workers in Malta and the event enabled us to put these young

people in touch with local employers with vacancies in these sectors.' Jonathan Brimmer,

EURES Adviser, Malta

For low-paid or unskilled jobs (hotel and cater­ing industry, retail industry), it is common to apply by phone or, increasingly, by e-mail. For other jobs, it is standard to send a covering letter and CV by e-mail or post. Make sure to detail your personal data, work experience and education level truthfully.

Intermediate organisations, which may be employed by a company to fill its vacan­cies, often pre-select candidates and submit selected CVs to the employer.

If you want to apply spontaneously to a com­pany, contact the department or person who can tell you about vacancies. Explain your plans, the job you are looking for and what skills and experience you have. Ask if you can send a covering letter and a CV. If they confirm, you can send a targeted letter to the right person or department This approach can be very effec­tive in the Netherlands for getting you invited for an interview.

Send an application in English (or in a Scandi­navian language if you speak one) with a cov­ering letter and a CV (maximum one page, although CVs for technical candidates might be longer and more detailed).

If sending a spontaneous application, find out the name of an HR representative to send your application to. Write a covering letter (maxi­mum one page) and enclose a CV.

Make one application per vacancy or com­pany. If you are applying to a large firm, call or e-mail the recruiter a few days after send­ing your application to ask if they have read your CV and what they think of it, whether they have received many applications, when you can expect a reply, etc.

The most usual application method is to send a CV and covering letter. The employer usually asks for applications to be sent via e-mail or regular mail.

When sending an application electronically, make sure to indicate which vacancy you are applying for, preferably in the subject line. The CV should be typed and should list work expe­rience, skills and education in reverse chrono­logical order. The covering letter should be up to one page and the CV up to two pages long. The Europass CV template is a good example.

It is almost impossible to meet all the require­ments set out in some job adverts. Do not be put off by this; if you meet most of them, do not hesitate to apply. Portuguese employers can be flexible on this matter.

Most applications require a covering letter and a CV (although the letter may be omitted if it is not explicitly requested). Prepare your CV in Portuguese if possible. It should be clear and short (no more than two pages) and adjusted to each application.

When applying by e-mail, include the covering letter directly in the body of the e-mail. Only the CV should be attached. Write short paragraphs, and avoid informal symbols and abbreviations commonly used in e-mail and text messages. If applying by post, the covering letter should be no longer than one A4 side and typed.

Take care to respect deadlines, particularly if you are applying from abroad. And aim to sub­mit your application early, in order to participate from the beginning of the selection process and be sure that the company has not already cho­sen a candidate.

A candidate interested in a job vacancy can apply to the employer directly by sending an e-mail or making a phone call.

The recruiter will decide whether to interview you based on the extent to which your CV matches their requirements. A covering letter is important for highly skilled posts (doctors, engi­neers) and should be no more than two pages long. For jobs that require a low level of quali­fication/education, a letter is not so important.

Employers may organise more than one inter­view, in which case they commonly conduct the first interview by phone. In phone interviews, the recruiter verifies that the information on the CV is authentic and asks for more detailed information about the candidate's skills, abili­ties and professional experience. A phone inter­view lasts approximately 10-15 minutes.

Most job applications comprise a covering let­ter and CV. The letter should make the employer want to invite you for an interview. It should not go into too much detail about experience and qualifications; this is provided in the CV.

Your CV should consist of two or, even better, one A4 sheet. Previous periods of employment should be arranged in reverse chronological order. This also applies to the section that cov­ers your education and training.

An application is usually written in Slovenian, but for workers from other countries, it may be written in another language, most fre­quently English, German or Italian, especially for cross-border positions or when applying for a job in an international company.

If making a spontaneous application, consider the following opening suggestions.

• 'I have been a customer of yours for a long time and I think I know your field of work very well. That is why I would like to join your company.'

• 'Perhaps in the near future you will need a col­league with the experience and abilities that I have. Please allow me to introduce myself'

Go on to list your professional training, employ­ment experience, skills, achievements and knowledge of foreign languages. Explain why you believe you could be useful.

Candidates usually get in touch with the con­tact person for more information about a job before they apply. It is also common to contact the trade union representative for information about salaries.

Always follow the instructions in the job adver­tisement. Electronic application forms are very common. If sending a covering letter and CV by e-mail, do not attach any other documents unless the advert requests this. Computers are available in all public employment services and libraries.

For all written applications, be sure to relate the information to the job you are applying for. The application should be brief, neat and inform­ative. Write dynamic applications tailored to the requirements in the advertisement. Keep it short and relevant: a one-page covering letter and a CV of one to two pages.

Applicants are advised to call the employer to check if they have received the application.

The rule is to follow instructions closely. The employer may provide a phone number or e-mail address for you to obtain more infor­mation about the vacancy. Do not use this first contact as an opportunity to present yourself if this has not been requested.

It is quite common for employers to accept a limited number of applications, and to close the vacancy once that number has been reached, so make sure your application is sent in good time, and always before the closing date.

When completing an application form, be sure to save it and send it in a compatible file for­mat. Include the vacancy reference number and proofread the form carefully. Spell-check the form using a British rather than an American dictionary and pay close attention to grammar and sentence structure.

If the application procedure calls for a CV and a covering letter, keep the letter brief (one side of an A4 paper) and factual. Say why you are writing in the first paragraph; give details of your suitable skills and experience in the sec­ond paragraph; give your availability for an interview in the third paragraph and any other important details about existing commitments; finish with a short sentence to say that you are looking forward to their reply. Try to include key words from the advertisement in your application.