Making your Application Stand Out
By Almeera Khalid, G(irls)20
At G(irls)20, we’re often running applications for programs or helping out our friends with job applications. We hear the same thing often: It can be tough speaking about yourself and tying your informal and formal experiences. Worse, the impacts of COVID-19 have bled into networking and coffee chats— making it even more difficult to learn the art of selling yourself. But this is a skill that you can master if you ask yourself the right questions.
I’m here to share with you key points that you should consider in your next application—whether it be for a job or one of our programs.
1. Don’t make the reader connect the dots. You should do it for them.
If I could give one piece of feedback for any application, it would be to include WHY you are applying to the organization and then relate it back to your experience. In your cover letter/job application explain why you are interested in applying to the job/program. For example, because we are a feminist organisation and work within the realms of youth and gender equality, we often see applicants talk about their passions for gender equality and making the world a better place. While this is super important, it doesn’t distinguish you from all the other applicants who are also passionate about youth and gender equality. While that is certainly an importance, your application would be stronger if you related your work experiences to the required assets needed for the position. Demonstrate that you have the experience that would make you a strong candidate for this position. Explain why you are applying for the position not through just saying you’re passionate but by demonstrating that passion through your past work. Even if you lack the formal experience, feel free to tie in your informal/lived experiences to the job requirements. This is what would make applicants stand out as they have demonstrated clearly how they have the necessary experience for the position, and it’s explained why.
2. How are you relating to the job posting?
One way to go about this is to go through the job posting and write out how, when and where you have had the experience regarding your responsibilities. This can range from liaising with stakeholders, coordinating outreach or recruitment campaigns, troubleshooting, facilitating workshops, etc. Each job is different and will ask different things from you. The amount of work you put into it can be a bit time-consuming, bit it’s worth it in the long run because you have now developed a set of answers that can be reused! Something that can also help is grouping your skills sets (i.e., managing people, communications, research)—especially when it comes to your skill sets and areas you’d like to improve on.
3. Your informal experiences count! Talk about them. Technical experiences count too.
Whether you are doing a career change or wanting to learn more about a space, your informal experiences are just as important at your professional ones. Technical skills like planning a conference, an event or conducting research count too! If you were a part of a club or a community organization—where you were able to develop skills relevant to the job posting—talk about it! Explain how your volunteering experience makes you a stronger candidate for the position. A simple rule would be to always tie what you are saying back to the job posting requirements so that you are demonstrating that you have the necessary skills (if not more) to be an excellent candidate for the position.
Applying for jobs and programs in the middle of a pandemic can be exhausting, but with these tips in mind, it will allow you to have a clearer focus of what you bring to the table.
4. Use the STAR method
STAR stands for: situation, task, action and result. This method will help you prepare clear and concise responses Using this method of answering interview questions allows you to provide concrete examples or proof that you possess the experience and skills for the job at hand. It’s simple but quite effective and will help with relaying your messaging to be clear. The differentiator in candidates is how their soft skills align with the culture of the organization. It is no longer just about your achievements/hard skills. Include things like problem-solving, demonstrating team spirit (e.g., that you can be part of a team and contribute), demonstrating agility, club, sports, or volunteer work will help to highlight these soft skills in addition to academic qualifications. There is no rulebook—especially with how prepared we were with the pandemic—so use this to your advantage and share these soft skills.
5. Consistency! Consistency! Consistency!
Believe it or not, nice formatting makes a difference. This should include contact information, dates of employment, the structure of your resume and consistency with fonts and font size. Although this wont take you completely out the running, it will not look good in your favour and you should do everything in your power to have a second pair of eyes review your resume. This level of consistency transcends to following up with your interviewer (once you get that far). Make sure you get your interviewer’s name correct and that you stay into contact with them. And lastly, practice practice practice for your interview!