How to complete a job application – more detailed help

It is important to make sure you have the right application form for the job or course you are applying for. If it is a standard Careers Scotland application form make sure you clearly indicate which company or college you are applying to and for which position or course. If jobs or course reference numbers are required make sure you copy them down accurately.

Personal Details

Complete this section as accurately as possible; for example include the postcode in your address. For dates, for example, your date of birth, follow the advice on the form – dd/mm/yy (11/07/72) or dd/mm/yyyy (11/07/1972).

Qualifications

Even if you did not sit all/any exams, still note the subjects you attended classes for. You may in fact have gained some knowledge/skills which the employer or institution will consider useful. In the grade achieved / expected box – mark DNS (did not sit) for these subjects.

If you can't remember the exact dates when you sat exams, check with your school guidance teacher or college tutor who should be able to help. Normally they are only interested in the month and the year. If you left school or college over three years ago you can just list the year.

Also remember to list modules. Not all employers understand the different levels of modules so, if for example a module has an important equivalent, note in brackets what this is. (N.B.College and University course selectors will understand).

For example, Communications 3 module (Equivalent to English Standard Grade 3).

Employment and Training

All experience matters. Don't just note the formal paid job you may have or have had in the past, note all relevant experience you've gained. The early morning paper round, school organised work experience, any part-time or voluntary work or any training you have done. Some young people for example look after younger brothers or sisters after school. This shows an employer that you are mature and reliable.

Often employers want to know about previous work experience because you may have developed skills that could be useful in their workplace or on the college course. These may be specific to the job or course, or may be transferable skills which are important in all jobs.

Interests and Hobbies

"What do you do in your spare time?" "I enjoy sport and go swimming. I like football".

Don't write one word answers, or answers that sound like thousands of others. The above answers suggest to an employer or course selector that you do nothing special and have no real enthusiasm for anything.

Look below at how a hobby can be developed.

"I go swimming... "

Why: it's fun and you get plenty of exercise
When: most weekends and some evenings
Where: the local pool
How: my friends and I have joined the local swimming club
Easy: front crawl
Hard: I find butterfly stroke tiring
Like: charity swimming races
Dislikes: diving from a high board

Use this simple memory jogger to help boost your answers. Don’t use all the headings highlighted above, just pick a few to help improve your form.

You need to tell employers and course selectors why you enjoy your interests and hobbies and what you get out of them. What skills and abilities have you developed by doing these activities which might be useful for that job or course.

Skills

Make a list of skills you have which will be useful in the job you are applying for. This might include things you have done in school subjects or projects, spare time interests or any kind of experience of work.

Practical - keyboard skills, using tools, fitness (sports).
Organising - planning activities, solving problems.
Dealing with information - investigating and keeping accurate records.
Dealing with people - talking to people, community work, socialising.
Team work - football, school projects.

Disability

If you do not consider yourself to have a disability, write “none”.

However, if you have issues that may affect the type of work, training or study that you will be doing then you should disclose this to the employer or college.

If you are offered the job and you have failed to disclose this information at the application or interview stage then you could face dismissal if any incident occurs at work due to these issues. This section of the form is not designed to discriminate against anyone who has a disability. Instead it is designed to help employers and colleges assess what arrangements need to be made for you at work or in the interview.

It is important to realise that telling the employer about anything that may affect how you do the job does not mean that you will be passed over for an interview. It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against anyone on the grounds of a disability if that person can carry out the duties of the job. Also employers and colleges are required to make "reasonable adjustments" to help a disabled person do their job.

If you have a disability or any health issues that an employer should know about but you do not wish to go into it in detail write "Yes, but I am confident that this will not affect my ability to do the job. I will be happy to discuss this at interview".

Further Information

This section is usually the hardest to complete. What exactly does the employer want to know? Sometimes people leave it out because they just don't know what is meant. This is fatal, as this is the section which employers are really interested in. At this stage on the form the employer can get a better picture of you and your suitability for the job. Quite simply, it is your chance to sell yourself.

In Scotland we tend not to be very good at this. We worry that we might come across as being bigheaded. Put this aside and think for a moment why the employer or college should employ you or offer you a place on the course.

This is your opportunity to show to an employer or college that you possess all the necessary requirements for the job or course you are applying for. That you have the right qualifications, the right skills and abilities, that you have the right set of personal qualities needed.

You may want to cover information not covered elsewhere on the form. For example, why are you particularly interested in this job, company, course or college. You may want to expand on basic information covered elsewhere on the form. For example, which subjects you enjoy and why they would be useful for the job or course you are applying for. What transferable skills your work experience has equipped you with and why they would be useful for this job or course.

Don’t, however, just repeat what you have said in other sections. It must be extra and relevant to your application.

Don’t feel you have to fill up the whole section. If you only have enough information to fill up half the space, leave it at that. If it is good and relevant information it will be more impressive than a page of waffle.

Referees

Most application forms will ask you to nominate at least one, or two referees. These are people who can independently support and/or confirm the information on your application form. They may also add in extra information on how they believe you are suitable for the job or course you have applied for.

You should always ask the permission of anyone you hope to use as a referee and explain to them the position/course you have applied to. This will help them make their reference as relevant as possible to the job or course you are applying for.

Referees fall generally in to three categories:

educational referees (your head teacher or guidance teacher, course leader)
previous employers (which can include work experience and training centre placements)
personal referees (for example, someone who is in a position of responsibility, who knows you well from your leisure activities)

Of the three types of references, educational and previous employers are usually the most important.

References for jobs are not usually taken up until the end of the application process, after you have had a successful interview and you have accepted the job offer. The job offer is usually conditional on your references.