Making applications and the internet

Online applications: the benefits What you need to know about online applications Testing online Online applications: the benefits As on-line recruitment grows, the traditional paper form is becoming less important - not just with IT firms or global multi-nationals. Candidates increasingly expect to find online procedures in place as a means of assessing how effectively organisations run both recruitment and their businesses. Recruiters believe that the internet often works better than the traditional method, particularly in terms of speed. ‘Employers are beginning to realise just how frustrating it is for students to fill in a four to five page application form and then wait weeks… Web-based applications can make the whole process far quicker and easier. A response within a day will soon be the standard all employers will need to strive for.’ (National Recruitment Director, KPMG). What is important to remember is that the basic rules of recruitment remain the same – the job still comes through a job advertisement, or through your details being on a database. All the internet does is widen the access and enhance the application procedure for both parties. There are three facets to on-line recruitment – the job site, the corporate site and the database site. The job site is the equivalent to the situations vacant pages of a newspaper with some offering thousands of vacancies globally (Monster, Stepstone, Total Jobs). Once you have decided you are interested in a post, a job site will ask you to send your CV via the internet or fill in an on-line application form. But be sure that the site is established and reliable - there have been examples of sites listing fictitious vacancies, and then forwarding the CVs received, without permission, to hundreds of employers. So ideally the sites you use should have established user protection through password control. The corporate site is bound to be helpful for research prior to making application. Many of those listing vacancies on the site ask you to leave your details there, so they can e-mail you back if interested in taking matters further. The database site is the fastest growing type of site, run by the bigger Internet-based recruiters. They ask candidates to complete an extensive on-line questionnaire that builds a profile of their skills, which is then matched against employers’ requirements. What you need to know about online applications You need to take the usual length of time for form filling - even if the invitation on site is to take 15 minutes to apply. All the usual rules apply – finding out as much as you can about the job and the employer and matching your skills and qualifications to their requirements. Pay attention to the instructions – register by creating a password that you should note so you may return to it later. If you can download the form, do so; print it out in order to work on the draft copies as you would with any form. Follow the usual rules of layout, as many recruiters will print out received forms - don’t forget to check which word processing packages the recruiter can open. Use nouns and power words. ‘A growing number of recruiters such as ourselves now use software packages to automatically scan and sift on-line applications according to key words and buzz phrases’. (Hewlett-Packard). Typically, the key words will relate to the core skills and criteria that the employer is identifying as essential in the future job holder - so take time to identify what they are, and to understand why they are being used. However, be aware that selectors are likely to place inbuilt checks and balances into the procedure, so that technology does not rule ultimately, but simply makes the first stage of recruitment more efficient. A chatty e-mail style is not appropriate - always remember that this is a formal application being made, and have a friend or careers adviser review spelling and content before pressing the submit button. Apply for the job only when interested. Web advertisements have been attracting more candidates who apply without checking if they meet the criteria, resulting in disappointment and time wasting all round. Testing online Expect the online selection process to extend to tests of various kinds also in the future - aptitude tests, self-assessment/personality tests. When this happens, you will have one chance only to answer the question, usually with no going back available; make sure to follow the instruction carefully and set aside sufficient time without distractions around. Ask yourself - What jobs would suit me? and discover Prospects Planner - the careers services career choice programme - which gives good practice in working this way.