The Application or cover letter

The design of your CV should ultimately reflect your personality and your suitability for the job for which you are applying. Your CV Should be typed on a computer using appropriate fonts and style. It is advisable that you keep a copy on a compact disc so that you can always adapt it to each occasion. When applying for a job vacancy, or making a speculative application to company where you would like to work, your CV must always be accompanied by an introductory letter. If you are sending a hard copy of your CV, the letter will be printed out and sent along with the CV. When e-mailing your CV as an attachment, the letter will form the text part accompanying the e-mail. The quality of the letter should be high as it provides an opening shot; it create s the first impression about you. An impression letter can sometimes overcome the odd weakness in a CV; conversely, a poor letter might cause a perfectly good CV to be thrown into the trash can.

Applying for a job

A good CV or Resume should have the following descriptive headings: 1 Name and Address: There should be name, email, telephone and contact address on the CV which should be current and in line with other documents. 2 Career Objective: This is a brief description of your career expectations. 3 Work Experience: Past work with various employers, functions/responsibilities, dates, special projects undertaken. 4 Training: Relevant training attended and dates. 5 Educational Qualifications: Institutions attended with dates, qualifications and awards 6 Membership of professional bodies: Indicate membership of relevant professional associations. 7 Skills: Indicate special skills that may aid the employer's decision about you. 8 Interests: Indicate special hobbies or recreational interests 9 Bio-data: Names, Age and Marital Status 10 Referees: Make mention of people that can give an objective and best appraisal of your abilities.

The packaging of your abilities

The term CV is commonly used in united kingdom, while Resume is widely used in the United State of America and many other parts of the world. They both communicate the same idea about the applicant and are often used interchangeably. However, while a resume tends to be more detailed about the personality of the applicant, a CV tends to focus on just the qualification and job history of an applicant. Resume or CV can be written in Chronological or Functional formats. A combination of the two descriptions is most widely used. 1 Chronological ¡. Lists your work history in reverse chronological order(most recent first) ¡¡. This is the format preferred by many employers. ¡¡¡. Works best for those who have progressed in titles and have a good work history. 2 Functional ¡. Centers around skill areas that relate to the position for which you are applying. ¡¡. Works well for those with limited education, significant employment gaps, lack of work experience, or experience in a different field. This format can be used by both recent graduates and career changers.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

The application procedure for a job will vary depending on how you learnt or got information about the job; it is therefore necessary to plan for various approaches. A job search file should be maintained and it should contain updated documents about you. This ensures a better organization and ability to react to any and all job leads that may come to your attention. Applying for a job is usually done through two major important documents: 1. Resume or Curriculum Vitae(CV) 2.The Application or Cover Letter. RESUME OR CURRICULUM VITAE(CV) Resume or CV is a document that helps you to package yourself for prospective employers. This is a critical aspect of a job search process because it is the first impression you will make to an employer, and there is never a second chance to make a first impression. Your CV or Resume is the packaging of your abilities in the market place. It is the powerful impression you radiate when a prospective employer meets and discusses with you. Your CV should be a concise, factual and attractive document.

Properly document the job search effort

I

It is important that you create a file or journal to record all your job search efforts in such a way that information can be easily retrieved. This will help you in your preparation for an interview. Poor information management has been the bane of most intelligent applicants. A lifetime opportunity can be lost by a careless misrepresentation of information due to poor recording of facts. Always remember that a paper and pen is smarter than the sharpest human mind. This is because it does not forget. Write down all relevant information within the first ten minutes of hearing them. Store important information about opportunities in places you can easily retrieve them. This is not an expensive exercise, it only requires being conscious of your need to track information as they come to you.

Properly document the job search effort

Determine the cost of job search

Searching for a job is a full time job in itself; requiring the use of time and resources. Most people hardly give thoughts to the expenses involved in job search in terms of physical, material emotional and financial resources (transportation, telephone calls, stationery, photocopying, postage, and dressing). The important thing to note here is the effective management of time and resources in the course of your job search.

DETERMINE SOURCES OF YOUR JOB

Seeking is always pre-requisite to discovery. This principle holds true for jobs. However, most people are looking for the right things in the wrong places; thus, the first step in a successful job search is an analysis of the most common sources of employment. The following are the common sources of job prospects: * Applying directly to a company without seeking suggestions or referrals from anyone. This could be based on your investigation of the company's activities. It is surprisingly the most effective source of job prospects. * Advertisement in newspapers, professional journals and magazines * Career offices in Schools * Recriutment agencies * Company's website * Word of mouth from friends, families and mentors * Career Fairs * Social Organisations and Groups * Government Employment Agencies * Networking through professional and social groups. Using every source of information available to you increases your chances of getting a job within a minimum time.

DETERMINE YOUR KIND OF JOB

You will have to determine your kind of job in line with your career objectives in order to impress employers at interviews. Determining your kind of job does not mean that there is a particular job you are most suited for, it only means that you have carefully appraised your interest, values, qualifications, training and experience and match them with various job profiles in various sectors or industries of an economy. You are likely to be suited for a job in more than one industry, but you will have to define yourself appropriately for an employer to understand what you have to offer. For instance, a person may be suited for work in the financial services as well as telecommunications industry depending on the matching of abilities to the required job profile.

Determine your career objectives

I have observed that there are two kinds of job applicants in the job market:- The marketing applicants and the market-driven applicants. The marketing applicant is the person looking for a job everywhere, through everyone and at whatever price. These are applicants that have a uniform resume or CV that is circulated every where. These applicants are working hard at getting a job and are often frustrated after several months or years of waiting without end to get a job. The market-driven applicants on the other hand are those that carefully tailor their application in line with the specific requirements of the job market. They tend to observe the changing trends in an industry, sector or economy and position themselves with requisite skill for emerging opportunities. These applicants are well prepared and are always an empoyer's delight at interviews. These applicants work smart at getting jobs and are often rewarded with several offers. Success and failure at job search begins with this distinction. A market-driven applicant determins his career objective as the beginning of a job search. A career objective is a careful description of what an applicant wants to achieve with the job he is searching for. This is an important part of a winning resume. The employer tends to favor applicants that are focused, organized and pro-active.