What belongs in the application? What does a good cover letter look like? How do you stand out from other applicants? Here you will find a comprehensive overview.
An application always needs to be well thought out – an unprepared candidate will quickly lose out. Here’s an overview of all the stages of the application process and tips to help you successfully land your dream job. But you will also find answers to questions about resignation here.
Writing an application: You have your say in the cover letter
You have found a job, that appeals to you? Then let’s get to work on the cover letter.
Tip: You can find sample cover letters on anschreiben.com. You can easily customize this.
Because the cover letter is sometimes the first thing that the personnel officer looks at. Here you can Your personality and motivation on display.
It is important that you do not repeat your curriculum vitae in your cover letter, i.e. that you do not describe the most important stages of your career – this will bore personnel experts. Instead, show why you are exactly the right candidate for the advertised position.
The letter of application includes never more than one page. The following always applies here: as short as possible and as long as necessary. Present yourself rather briefly but memorably.
Checklist for a successful cover letter:
These points absolutely belong in the cover letter:
- Sender with name, address, telephone number, e-mail address
- Recipient’s address with name of company, name of contact person, address
- date
- Subject with reference to the advertised position (z.B. "Application as marketing manager, job advertisement on traumjobportal.de" )
- Address with a specific contact person (e.g.B. "Dear Mr. Muller-Meier")
- short introduction
- Brief description of strengths and knowledge in relation to the advertised position, with example
- Why are you applying to this company in particular?
- Other skills that may be useful for the job
- possibly. References
- When can you start the job? Evtl. State the period of notice
- Salary expectations, if requested in the ad
- final sentence
- Greeting
- Signature (not mandatory for e-mail applications)
- Attachments (in case of e-mail as PDF): CV, references, certificates
The resume – your business card to the job
Tip: On resume.com there are samples with which you can easily create your individual resume.
Clearer and more appealing Resume, also CV (curriculum vitae) is half the battle. Together with the cover letter of your application, this is where you can convince the recruiter the most about you. In Germany a tabular CV is customary.
A resume must be well structured, your professional stations Contain and be clear. Depending on the career level, career stages include, for example, internships, traineeships or trainee positions, permanent positions, freelance work or major projects with self-employed people.
The resume should also include your Education respectively the achieved (university) degree other skills relevant to the job in question, language skills and your Contact details and personal data.
No-go’s in the resume: What you must never do
What you should avoid at all costs in your resume Spelling mistakes. These do not go down well with recruiters and may even get you rejected. Also time gaps are still frowned upon, because HR managers will assume that you are hiding something.
It is better to fill in something wrong? Not a good idea! Because no matter how seductive a "coiffed resume may be: You should always be honest about your career path and your professional skills – even if you are embarrassed by unemployment or a lousy job, for example. Lying is quickly recognized by personnel officers anyway. Here you can read about the CV tricks that HR employees have long since stopped falling for.
On the subject Hobbies many applicants are unsure: Do they belong in the CV or not?? In any case, experts recommend that hobbies should be listed. But not every hobby is suitable for impressing personnel officers. Some are even more deterred. Which hobbies should be included in the resume, and which should not, read here.
What should never be missing: proper certificates and references
In the course of a working life, many documents accumulate – from high school diplomas and university transcripts to internship and job references. But Do you really have to send all certificates with an application, even with 5, 10 or even 20 years of work experience? And is it really necessary to give and prove all references?
Job reference: What you have to pay attention to
After termination, you will receive a reference from your old employer. Although this is obligated to formulate the job reference positively, certain formulations have prevailed that actually convey a negative message. An expert explains what you should look out for in your employer’s reference.
The application photo: DOs and DON’Ts
Application photos are still in high demand with companies. But a picture from the photographer can be quite expensive. That’s why job seekers now also reach for their cell phone camera. Does it really make sense? And are application photos even up to date?
These are the mistakes you should avoid when applying for a job
Most of the time it is not foreseeable whether you are really eligible for a certain job, because of course the selection of the candidates is in the discretion of the personnel managers. Nevertheless: If you avoid these seven errors, you are the Admission ticket to the job interview already a big piece closer
The job interview: Where the wheat is separated from the chaff
You can put as much effort into your application documents as you like – it is only in the interview that the personnel manager will see whether you keep what you promise. So good preparation is essential. With these tips you will sovereign by the job interview.
The dreaded application questions
"Why should we just You set?" and"What are your strengths and weaknesses?" are the classic application questions. But do you know what the personnel manager wants to achieve with it? Here are the answers. Some employers even go beyond this and craftily try to trap applicants. How to respond to difficult application questions. Speaking of nasty questions, could you answer this job application question?
What to avoid in the interview
At job interview you can do a lot correctly, but also a lot incorrectly make: With these mistakes you catapult yourself into the out.
One mistake in particular happens to many applicants – it seems harmless, but often leads to rejection. Find out why it just doesn’t work out.
The first impression counts – what is the perfect outfit?
Dear classic with suit and tie or nevertheless dare something? Many an applicant despairs of this question. How to choose the right outfit.
Convey salary expectations
A popular question among recruiters is about your salary expectations. We have Tips for you, with which you can discuss this tricky topic to your advantage you can use in salary negotiations.