The job search takes time and energy and requires patience and activity from the applicant. When applying for a job, it’s good to keep your own values and goals clear in mind — what are your career plans and what kind of job are best suited to? Even if your current goal is just to be employed as quickly as possible, it’s worthwhile to pause to ponder such questions every now and then.

A job application filled with quality and thought and a CV are your trump cards in job search. The job application, whether it’s a traditional letter or an electronic form, and the CV, should clearly indicate to the employer why you should be hired for the position to apply for. So don’t cover up your competence, just market yourself boldly!

CV

A good CV describes in close form the applicant’s key competence clearly and memorably. The CV is good to update before job search and it is good to highlight the aspects of your own skills that are hoped for in the job. It is worth opening up the nature of the job description of the most important past jobs in order to create a clearer picture of what the job has actually held in and what skills it has required and/or taught. While a CV is a very concise package of jobseeker’s skills, it’s good to bring up the persona as well, for example by telling you about your hobbies and what benefits they bring in terms of work. That way, your persona will come out strongly and you’ll be more easily reminiscent. Also, the layout and grammar of résumé are important. They tell the employer about the applicant’s motivation for work. A groomed and right-tongued CV is always better than a slapdash and deviant from the formal style.

Application

The actual job application is a slightly more free set of texts than the résumé, but even when doing so, good formal style and other basic guidelines should be followed. The application for employment shall show, inter alia, the applicant’s basic knowledge (name, email, telephone number, address, etc.), the job assignment being applied for, the applicant’s motivation, personality, background and competence, and the wish and referees, if they are requested separately. As with the CV, the application must also have basic information clearly presented, the appearance should be groomed and flawless, and the applicant’s motivation for the workplace and personality will come forward, nevertheless avoiding excesses.

Some companies like to use a pre-structured electronic application base in their job search. Filling out such an electronic application requires care and activity too. It is worth formatting responses to an application first in a separate document, where text is easier to edit, and from which answers can be easily transferred onto the electronic form. Contently in an electronic application, you should write the same things as you do in a regular job application.

International job seekers and immigrants also need to familiarize themselves with the overall values of working life in the country of destination and the characteristics of the worker that are valued in culture, because not all countries give equal value to the same traits of the worker.

Job interview

A job interview is a very thrilling situation to many people. Only those, whose job application convinces the employer, are selected for the interview, so you’ve already come a long way by the time you get an interview call. In a job interview, you need to convince the interviewer(s) of your competence and experience, as you have described in the job application. In the interview, the interviewer, who usually is the employer, tends to outline your persona, interests and goals. In an interview situation, it is possible for you to demonstrate — and you are expected to demonstrate — with your behavior and responses why exactly you are the best applicant for the job.

The interview will focus on you as an employee and you will certainly be asked about your strengths, development needs, motivation and attitude. To these questions, you should plan answers a little in advance. Your answers are to be clear and close, avoid pointless prattle. Telling concrete examples brings credibility and convinces the interviewer that you are the strongest and the best applicant. You can demonstrate your interest in the workplace and activity in the interview by asking your own questions as well. With good, pertinent questions, you easily get caught in the interviewer’s mind and can, with questions, bring up things that may not otherwise have been asked in the interview. You should invest in your own questions, because they actually have a bigger meaning than many people believe.

During the interview, not only your responses but also your behaviour is under evaluation. So it’s worth arriving at the scene calm, positive and groomed look. Clear speech, good eye contact and posture, and moderate voice use give a good impression. In the case of challenging questions, you can take your time and think before you answer, only a hasty and indifferent mood emerges from rushing.