Employment Guide: How to stand out on an application

When applying for a job, there are many creative ways to stand out among a sea of applicants…. When applying for a job, there are many creative ways to stand out among a sea of applicants. But for Marc Jampole, president of Jampole Communications, Inc., one applicant only made things worse with a not-so-funny attempt at humor.

“Somebody once wrote a news release as the cover letter, and the news release was that this person had just graduated and was staying at home watching TV,” Jampole said.

A potential employer does not want to read about an applicant’s lazy habits, despite their potential comedic value. Although sometimes an applicant’s humor can be a refreshing break from a boring resumé, the cover letter is not the venue.

Barbara Juliussen, the associate director of the Career Development Office, recommended a strongly developed resumé for every candidate. Every application should represent itself in congruence with the prospective employer’s desires.

“Do the work for the reader to demonstrate the match between what the employer is looking for and what the student has to offer,” Juliussen said.

The little things make a big difference — especially on the resumé, Jampole said. Applicants should proofread everything they send into a potential employer and be extra wary of typos and grammatical errors.

Jeffrey Flick, president and CEO of BD&E — a branding and design company, also stressed the importance of a well-written resumé and cover letter.

“I’ve had people e-mailing me looking for a writing position, and they have had bad grammar,” Flick said. “It’s an immediate thing. You can’t be at this level and have typographical errors in your letter.”

But the resumé is just the beginning. After an employer has found an applicant worthy of an interview, a new host of standards emerges. Though each employer differs, one criterion stands out for both Flick and Jampole: professionalism.

“The biggest thing is just showing that you have your act together and that you’re a professional,” Jampole said. “If you do something first-class and classic, you will be in the top 20 percent no matter what.”

Juliussen also recommends certain techniques of etiquette. For instance, applicants should arrive 10 minutes prior to the interview and should be professionally dressed.

“[An employer] expects the candidate to do their research and know everything possible about the company. They also expect the candidate to ask good questions. This demonstrates interest in the employer, and again, the fact that they have done their homework,” Juliussen said.

Certain employers find that blogs are an interesting way for an applicant to be noticed. Jampole once had an applicant who “wrote a lot of really edgy reviews, using really edgy, young language,” he said.

“But it was so creative and so wonderful that this person went to the top of my list,” Jampole said. “If you do it well, I love it.”

For Flick, a blog should contain helpful, relevant information about a candidate. Of course, if the blog makes a bad impression, it could also remove the candidate from consideration.

After the interview, an applicant’s job is still not over: The follow-up has just as much room for error as the resumé and the interview.

“Send a handwritten note, or call for a follow-up. Surprisingly, not a lot of people do that,” Flick said.

A thank-you note gives the applicant an opportunity to catch the employer’s attention, Juliussen said. The applicant should mention something from the interview in the note, she said.

“I recall a recruiter commenting that if he has two candidates of equal ability and one writes a thank-you letter and the other doesn’t, he will always hire the person that wrote a thank-you letter,” Juliussen said.

Jampole agreed.

“After a long time, you see a lot of thank-you notes. I like to see something that sounds sincere. Some people, you can see they’ve taken a little bit of time on the thank-you note,” he said.

Most employers look for a professional attitude, both on and off paper, and an actual interest in the job. Though a candidate’s credentials do play a big role in hiring an employee, employers take many factors into consideration.

“I look for a professional appearance, which basically comes down to knowing how to communicate,” Jampole said.