Applying for jobs after redundancy, can be a little scary. This is especially true, if you have been in the same job for some time. It can be hard enough to get your head around the fact that you no longer have that particular job, let alone have to start thinking about other roles.
In order to move forward with your life, you need to be looking ahead for a job you could have, rather than worry about what you no longer have. The sooner you start looking at, and applying for other jobs, the better.
When applying for jobs after redundancy – Ensure Your First Impressions Count:
- Answer the phone to unknown numbers in a professional manner at all times – Hello, it’s —- speaking, how can I help?
- When collecting an application form directly from the employer, make sure you look smart, act professional and go by yourself
- Photocopy the job application form in case you make a mistake on the original
- To avoid mistakes, write your application answers in rough before transferring them to the application form
- Whilst applying for jobs make sure you answer all questions and don’t leave any gaps
Before applying for any job make sure you have read and understood the full job description and person specification. If you get the details of a job via your local job centre there will usually be only a few lines about what the job entails, for more details you need to visit the company website and/or talk to your potential employer. This is important, as sometimes the employer may be looking for an essential skill that has been omitted from the job centre advert.
If the company requires you to apply for a job using a cover letter and CV, rather than their own application form, this gives you an huge opportunity to explain how your skills and experience matches their job description and person specification, without the confines of having to answer their specific questions.
Cover Letter
- Should always accompany a CV
- Shouldn’t just state I am applying for — role, with no evidence to support why you are the best person for the job
- Should be targeted to each specific application
You must state why you would be the right choice for that role in terms of:
1. Experience
2. Skills
3. Abilities
Recruiters look at the cover letter before your CV, so it is essential to make the employer believe you are the best person for the job at this early stage.
CV
The contents of a curriculum vitae, should always include:
- Personal Statement or Personal Profile
- Employment History
- Experience
- Qualifications And Training
- Hobbies And Interests
- References
As a general rule, point 6 can usually be generic.
Points 4 and 5 can be generic but targeting to the role is better.
Points 1-3 should always be targeted to each individual job that you are applying for.
Your Employment History should include responsibilities and experience you had in previous employment, relative to the position for which you are applying. If however, your most relative experience is not through your previous jobs butthrough voluntary work, work experiences or hobbies, then you can write your examples under a separate heading of Experience.
The main point to remember is, the more you target everything in your cover letter and CV to a specific job role, the more likely you are to get an interview for it.