Do and Dont’s When Applying For a Job
As a person working in Talent, I’ve seen thousands of resumes, portfolios, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. Over time, I’ve noticed a few common patterns in the applications I review. What’s the best way to stand out in the remote job market? Let me share some tips with you that might help.
First, make it short and sweet. If you still play football with your schoolmates, good for you, but it doesn’t have to be on your resume. Keep your resume to the essentials. The same goes for your first message/cover letter.
Your resume is your business card. It’s the first thing a recruiter sees. Make it visually attractive, and keep an eye for typos, formatting, colors, and content. The first thing we see as visual creatures is the design. There are many free design templates you can use. I personally like Canva, they have nice templates, and you can have your CV done in a matter of minutes. If you don’t like to do it, ask a friend or hire somebody on Fiverr to help you out. It is worth it, and it can make a huge difference.
If you’re applying to international companies that are looking for English speakers — use English in your CV. It will be rare for a company to translate your application into English, if they’re looking for English-speaking candidates. The same goes for a portfolio or cover letter. Regarding LinkedIn, if you’re not solely focusing on companies speaking your language, keep it in English, too.
At Pilot, we are currently in the process of hiring a Visual Designer. For creative roles like this, make sure to include a portfolio, if you have one. As a designer, you can use Dribble or Behance. If you’re a content creator (such as a writer and/or marketer), you can have your own website/blog or a simple Notion page (which I’m a fan of). If your portfolio requires a password to access it, make sure to include the password in your application.
A few other recommendations:
- Try to limit how many emojis you use — keep it clean and direct.
- Avoid writing about yourself in the third person: “John is a great engineer. He accomplished many projects in his life. John is also a nice person”. You’re writing about yourself, so again, it’s best to be direct and write in the first person.
- You don’t have to keep the formal letter format they taught you in school. Feel free to just be friendly and professional, and there’s no need to include a physical address in your email.
- If possible, send your resume in PDF format. Other file formats can break your formatting, font, or colors, and might even make the resume not readable.
To sum it up, keep your resume short and only include essential information. It is your business card; make it eye-catching. When applying internationally, always send it in English. Don’t forget to include your portfolio and other helpful links. And most importantly, make it personal. Add something that says, “Hey, this is me.” Be yourself.
Good luck at landing your perfect job!
