Thread by @LilyMegaw

Sharing my reflections on what makes a job application stand out to me, having read 120+ this week (AfC B7-8C)...

Stronger applicants are often internal (note potential bias) and sharing these insights might reveal expectations not known more widely 1/13

Disclaimers - This is one person's view... also some of these tweets will be petty things that I brush aside and don't mark down for, but still think worth avoiding 2/13

Please spellcheck before submitting - the more disappointing applications are ones with misspelled university or course names (!) which is the first thing I see 3/13

Do think about formatting - bullet point lists can be amalgamated into an awkward paragraph by the recruitment system, and are hard work to read and understand

The enter key on your keyboard is your friend - I find easiest to read are c.12 line paras with section headings 4/13

Key words - can you pick these up from the JD and use to signpost/ as section headings? We are looking out for your experience in these areas

EG: Policy, strategy, engagement, stakeholder management, influencing, team work, project management, communications 5/13

Applications that get over the line often refer to the role/team specifically in the personal statement - a generic application is easy to spot, and it's less convincing that you want the role 6/13

Do convey your enthusiasm for the area of work, and your passion for a subject matter/ organisation

Don't talk about your passion without ALSO explaining how your skills and experiences mean you're the right person for the role 7/13

Think about people - how the role will benefit people, how you will work with people to deliver. Everything we do is with people... #coproduction an important part of this

Is there something about this that drives you? Do you have good people skills? Engagement experience? 8/13

Do reflect on your #leadership style and share this alongside how you like to work as part of a team. Don't mistake this for only talking about the HR/process side of management 9/13

Perhaps an obvious one but the biggest no-no: DO write a personal statement, and don't count on your employment history or an emailed CV speaking for itself... and if your statement is far below the max word count, it may not provide enough information 10/13

Petty ones - listing mandatory training your qualifications, and leaving gaps in your employment history in terms of grade/salary/dates 11/13

DO apply for a role if you have a different background and experiences - we want this diversity in our teams! But please make sure you explain how you have transferable skills that are applicable in this new setting (e.g. ops to policy...) 12/13

And importantly - do contact the recruiting manager and have a conversation ahead of applying. This helps you pull out specifically what they're looking for, and ensure this is in your personal statement 13/13

Another for me is ensure the personal statement IS personal, with specific examples of what you’ve done. A bullet point list of skills is just a rewrite of the job description 🤷🏻‍♀️