Why Are Applications Important, Anyway?
Employers or human resource departments that do extensive, ongoing hiring use applications because each application is the same and interviewers know just where to look on the application to obtain a particular piece of information about a candidate. That’s why completing applications thoroughly and accurately is very important.

Make Sure Your Application is Perfect
Many hiring officials rely heavily on the application in the pre-interviewing phase. Spelling errors and sloppy handwriting results in many job seekers being screened out of initial interviews. Therefore, it’s best if your application is typed. If you must complete an application by hand do it in printing unless your cursive handwriting is very clear and legible. Do not hand in an application that is torn or soiled. This presents an image of someone who doesn’t care about the image they present and can be interpreted by interviewers to mean that you also won’t care about the job you do for the employer.

Take Your Resume and Reference List With You When Completing Applications
When applying for work, be sure to take your resume and reference list with you so that you have your work history and reference contact information available. If you make a mistake, ask for another application and start over unless you can correct the mistake without making the application look messy. At home, make a copy before starting. Then complete the copy and transfer the information you’ve written on it to the original application form. Remember to keep a copy of the completed application to use when you complete applications in the future.

MOST IMPORTANT: Be sure that you have identified the top 5-10 skills required for the job you are applying for. Then throughout your application make sure that the descriptions you give of each job you’ve held highlight skills and experience that match the job you want. For more details on identifying skills go through our first set of workshops: How To Create Resumes That Sell In Seconds.

What Do I Say About Why I Left My Job?
When the application form asks why you left your last job and it’s because you were fired or laid off, it may be to your advantage to state that you were "downsized." This term has a better connotation than being fired or laid off. Other answers that work well to explain why you have left employment include phrases like, "Career Change, Career Growth or To Complete Education."

I’ve Created A Skill-Based Resume But The Application is Chronological

In this instance you have to decide to present your application in chronological order, or to present it based on your skills with a work history that may not be in chronological order. My preference is to complete the application in chronological order but replace weak job titles with the skill headings you’ve used in your resume.

For example, if your title was Cashier (even though you trained and supervised other retail clerks) and you’ve used a skill heading of Retail Sales Management in your resume, then replace your title with the skill heading when completing the application.

$9,000 Salary Increase
The first resume workshop in this site shows how Fran's after resume resulted in a $9,000 salary increase.  Fran wanted a $33,000 Corporate Customer Representative job but her resume created an image of her being at a $20,000 to 24,000 salary level -- that's $9,000 to $13,000 beneath her goal.

What Level Does Your Resume Market You At?
If you are curious to see what level your resume is marketing you at … then be sure to read and use the graphing techniques in my first workshop.  By graphing the job titles used in Fran's resume it's easy to see why her resume failed … and once you understand this … you will understand why the majority of resumes fail.  You'll then understand how to analyze your job titles and see if you are better off using them or replacing them with skill headings that market you more effectively. 

Most People Have Job Titles that Weaken Their Image
I estimate that at least 85% of all job seekers have job titles unrelated to their current career goals … and that they are much better off using skill headings rather than job titles to land higher salaries and double and triple their interview rates.

For example, Fran had been a Directory Operator but in most people's minds that doesn't sound like she's at the level of a Corporate Customer Representative making $33,000 … that's because most people don't view directory operators as providing true customer service.  Most people say that Directory Operator sounds like someone making only $20,000.  However, by using the 12 Questions in my Proven Resumes Series, Fran wrote a new description of her duties as a Directory Operator that described her being selected out of 100 Directory Operators to provide specialized Customer Service to the Governor's Office and Political Dignitaries in the Washington State Capitol … now that information begins to change our image of Fran doesn't it?  That makes her sound much more like someone being able to command $33,000. 

Which sounds like a better match for the $33,000 Corporate Customer Service Representative goal… her old job title of Directory Operator  … or a skill heading like Customer Service Representative to State of Washington Account.  In Fran's actual resume we used the heading of Customer Service Representative but you can see how you can play with skill headings to control and elevate your image … this is one strategy I explain in detail with examples throughout my book, Proven Resumes: Strategies That Have Increased Salaries, and one of the strongest things I can offer you as a resume writer … just in case you don't have the time or patience to write your own.

Going from 0% to 100% Interview Rate
By using skill headings that matched her goal, Fran went from a 0% interview rate to a 100% interview rate -- meaning none of her prior resumes had landed an interview but her new resume landed an interview for each position she applied for.

Click here to learn other ways we improved Fran's resume and landed her a job paying $9,000 more click here to read my first set of resume workshops!  If you've entered my site via this page, be sure to go to my home page for an overview of more than 60 Free Resume & Job Search Workshops that include tons of Resume Tips for 45 Career Fields, Job Search, Electronic Resume, Cover Letter, Interviewing, Networking and Confidence Building strategies. 

The testimonials at the top of this page and throughout my site describe salary increases ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 and more.  Here's one of my most recent ones: