How to stand out on a job application

Alexandra Ronnestrand, Staff Reporter

Job applications are strenuous, daunting and sometimes intimidating.  One if you don’t even get the job.  There are millions applying for the same opportunity.  So how does how stand out on a job application?  Little things can make a resume stand out among the others.  Here is how to stand out on a job application:  

[Employers] take as little as 2.5 seconds to determine whether you make it to the next round, or move it to the trash bin.

— Melanie Haselmeyer, Forbes Magazine

Melanie Haselmayr, a writer for Forbes magazine, has had a great amount of experience with many different jobs in many different countries. Haselmayr decided to offer her expertise to others by offering personalized cover letter writing services.  In her Forbes article, she declares there are five things a person can do to distinguish them away from the herd.

  1. Keep personal information short.  Businesses and employers are more interested in what you have to offer to the company than your family status, your race and other personal information.  Provide basic information such as age, where you’re heading in your life and move on.
  2. Give your reader a good overview of your skills.  The resume is supposed to draw in your potential future employer.  Showcase your skills and assets that you have to offer and make sure you categorize them and list them from order of most importance in specifics with the job.  Each job is different, so cater your resume so.  
  3. Details of professional experience that is only relevant to the job at hand.  Unless it is a career path change, there is no need to describe every job you have had in the past.  Keep it to experience had pertaining to the current job you are applying for.  
  4. Highlight your personal interests.  Employers are becoming increasingly more interested in someone’s personality and character along with the skills he or she can bring.  Incorporate interests of yours that show you while illustrating the kind of person you are.  
  5. Cover letters are important.  According to Melanie Haselmayr, employers “…take as little as 2.5 seconds to determine whether you make it to the next round, or move it to the trash bin.”  Make sure it is flawless and conveys the message you want to deliver.  

Spelling, grammar and other English errors are crucial to have down.  Make sure that the resume and cover letter handed in is free from all errors.  Other things job applicants can do is research the company.  Show interest in what the business is trying to accomplish and past or current moves the business has made.  Make sure the resume is a clear reflection of you: your interests, your skills and your character.