When job seekers prepare for the job hunt they know what they should have: a resume, cover letter and thank you letter. These are things everybody knows about. And if one can still find a job without a cover letter and thank you note, it is nearly impossible to get a job without a resume or CV. However, having these documents guarantees nothing, except that you have something to send to potential employers. But it is not how many documents you send to employers but what is in the documents. Many people try to send as many applications as possible hoping that one or two will eventually land them an interview. But in order to be more effective job seekers have to concentrate on what kind of information you include into the application documents.
Answering Employers' Questions
Whenever employers or recruiters are given the task to select and hire a professional they have specific criteria based on which they make decisions. To identify whether a candidate is a good match for the position opening they usually have several questions in mind when reviewing your application documents or even talking to you during an interview. Those who don't answer these questions have very little chance to be hired while those who can provide clear answers can get themselves ahead of the competition. The question is what kind of questions hiring authorities keep in mind when reading a resume or cover letter? What things are interviewers concerned about when talking to job candidates?
The first question employers ask themselves when evaluating a candidate is whether one actually can do the job. It might sound too obvious but many job seekers fail to provide a clear indication in their application documents that they are capable of doing the job. It is not about copying the skills requirements or desired qualifications from a job advert and pasting it into your skills section of your CV. It will be much more effective if you would have highlighted the experience where you successfully used the required skills and qualifications. This way you would prove that you have already done the something similar in the past, which means you could do it in the future as well.
Another thing employers are concerned about is whether you will actually perform well. This is usually defined by your former accomplishments and interview talk. If you have demonstrated stability in the past there is some basis to believe you will continue doing the same thing. Ongoing reliability always assumes a strong motivation and is always attractive for employers. Lastly, you have to be prepared to answer the question about your salary expectations. Even if you are a good match, but too expensive to hire most likely you will not get a job. It is important to be fair when evaluating your job requirements. But don't force this question unless you are directly asked about it and always leave room for negotiations.
