Applying online

Many employers use the internet when they recruit staff, UCAS use the Apply online system for university applications and some colleges use internet applications.

The process of applying online is very similar to more traditional paper method, so read our section on How to complete a job application. However there will be technical differences. See Internet CV below.

If you can download a copy of the application, you can then write in your answers, and try to ‘get it right’ before you type in your answers on the web.

You may not have the same room to ‘sell yourself’ on the web, so practice short, clear answers before you add information to the actual online form.

As with any application, follow the instructions carefully – lots of people don’t get past the application stage because they don’t follow instructions.

The Internet Application

As more organisations use the internet, recruiters are increasingly asking for application letters and CVs to be sent by e-mail. One of the main reasons for you to create an electronic CV is to enable you to apply for these jobs.

Many online recruiters also have their own forms, which you will be asked to complete, instead of submitting a CV.

Also have a look at our page on Speculative Approaches.

Hints and Tips

Send your CV as an attachment to an e-mail along with your covering letter. However, you must make sure that your attachment is virus free. Most companies will have anti-virus software and firewalls in place. If your application contains a virus, it will not get through their e-mail system and never reach the intended recipient.
Because of the differences between software and settings that you have used and what the recruiter may have, the CV you send could look very different from what you saw on your screen. You can minimise the differences by saving your CV in plain text (Courier font) or if you have Adobe installed, save as a pdf file to ensure it always looks the same and prints out consistently.
The best way for you to ensure that your CV is formatted properly is to call the company to see if they have specific requirements or guidelines.
If you want to see how your CV would look, e-mail it to yourself or several friends who may have different software.

Applications to Recruitment Agencies

Recruitment agencies work differently to employers. They make much more use of technology, so when composing your covering letter, you need to make sure that you use the right ‘keywords’ in your application.

When your job application is received, it will immediately be saved to a computer database, along with your CV.

As soon as recruitment agencies get vacancies from employers they search their candidate database for keywords in the job vacancy, for example:

"electrical engineer", "marine industry", "Microsoft training" etc.

so your job title and any current skills should be included in your cover letter as well as your CV.

You should always write a specific cover letter for the job you have seen advertised if at all possible, even if through an agency, rather than using a standard letter.