Be selective in job applications

Be selective in job applications. You are selective about most things – from the food you eat, to what time you go to bed, to the variety of drinks you enjoy, to the people you spend time with. Life is about availability, choices and selection. If you did everything at random, or let others make decisions for you, the chances are you would be less happy with the results. Being selective puts you in control of activities that you care about and enjoy.

Not everyone likes your style of music

The music you enjoy is highly personal to your own taste. If someone asks you to sit through an album of Pink Floyd, and you are not into them, the chances are you will politely decline. As a Pink Floyd fan, I cannot understand why anyone would not enjoy their music, but this just goes to show how personal our taste in music is! Time is limited, so you select the music you most like to listen to.

How important is it to be in the right job?  

Both for your happiness and productivity, I would say it is very important to be in the right job. Think about it, if you spend 40 hours a week at work, this adds up to 2080 hours a year. Look at it another way, a quarter of your year may be spent at work.  This is more time than we spend sleeping. Given the amount of time we spend at work, it surely makes sense to do everything we can to be doing a job we enjoy? Not just the type of work, but the type of employer too.

Do not press the panic button

The increased digitisation and automation of the recruitment process makes applying for jobs easier than ever. You can apply for multiple jobs at the click of a button. Recruitment has become all about big numbers. However, this can lead to a false sense of optimism and frustration on the part of applicants. It is as though success will be found in applying for as many jobs as possible. But how many of these jobs would you actually be happy in?

Be selective and spend more time on fewer applications

A better strategy is to spend more time researching and applying for the jobs you would really like to do. Applying for 100s of jobs with the same generic CV can lead to frustration with few interviews. And the interviews you do get you may attend purely out of exasperation. Concentrate on the jobs you really care about and tailor your CV for each one you apply for. Your CV will not only perform better, but you will get yourself a job you enjoy and can put your heart into.

Feel that lightbulb moment

It is vital to read the job description and person specification for every job. Do not just rely on the job advertisement. If you read the job description and can visualise yourself in that role – then you begin to get excited. The person specification then details the criteria the employer will be using to select whom to call to interview. If you see that you meet these requirements too – this is the lightbulb moment and the time to get really excited. Think about how best to approach writing and tailoring your CV and cover letter and giving yourself the maximum chance of securing an interview.

This article is written by Neville Rose, Director of CV Writers. Please do connect with me via LinkedIn.

Check out our CV writing service with details of our packages that include LinkedIn profiles, cover letters and more. You can get things started with a Free CV review. I am also a qualified career counsellor and provide Career Counselling services for people looking to change career paths.