Young Kenyan job seekers... A thread on DON'Ts, following my week evaluating job applications at VeryGoodCVs ... I guess no one is telling you these things... So here you go... I welcome other hiring managers to add to these, please...
#IkoKaziKE
#IkoKaziKE
It's "I'm looking for a job" not "Am looking for a job."
The first = "John is looking for a job" while the second = "Is looking for a job". The subject of your sentence is missing when it starts with "Am" and that looks bad esp. if you are applying for a writing job.
The first = "John is looking for a job" while the second = "Is looking for a job". The subject of your sentence is missing when it starts with "Am" and that looks bad esp. if you are applying for a writing job.
Don't write "I'm looking forward to your positive response.". That equals serving someone food and saying, "Make sure you say it's delicious." Presumptuous, right?
Waiting several days to hear back from an employer is not too long. If you must follow up, do it via email, after a week, and be very polite. DON'T whatsapp your potential employer on a number she did not give you and at 10pm 😱. Terrible!!!
DON'T send emails without subject lines. DON'T write subject lines in all capital letters. DON'T just attach your CV to a blank email and expect the recipient to know what you want. Write a short paragraph explaining yourself.
Read the job announcement. If a job announcement says "Use this email to request an evaluation", DON'T waste time writing a cover letter and attaching a C.V. If it says that the job opening is in CV writing, don't ask for an academic writing position.
DON'T send emails asking questions answered in the instructions document you just received. Read the document first and make sure your question is not answered therein.
When you do send emails, write complete and properly punctuated sentences so that you are understood and receive the help you need.
Unless the potential employer is informal with you, do not be informal. "I'll check it out" is too casual. Try "I will work on it and revert as per your instructions".
Read instructions over and over and if confused, ask for clarification. Very few employers will notify you that your application is incomplete. You will simply be disqualified.
Think about what the evaluation given to you is trying to determine about you. If you find yourself not having to showcase some specific and difficult skill, you are probably doing your evaluation wrong.
Deliver on or before the deadline. If you will not manage to deliver on time, inform the employer ahead of time and politely ask for an extension, if possible. You may not get it, but apologies for lateness, after the fact, will often not be considered.
Email is not chat/messenger. Don't just send out a "Hello"and expect an employer to write you back and ask "what's up?" and "who is this?". State what you want clearly, both in the subject line and in the body of the email.
