Episode 104: 5 rules for a successful online application

August 20, 2020 Podcast

Hello and welcome to the 104th episode of the Graduate Job Podcast, the UK’s number 1 careers podcast. The days of popping your CV in the post to apply for a graduate job are long gong, which is why you need to make sure that your online application is absolutely top-notch. The industry average is that 75% of people fail at the online application stage! Let that sink in…75%. That is an awful lot of people who aren’t getting over the first hurdle in their application for a graduate job. And an awful lot of wasted time and energy. But today that is going to change, as we are going to go through 5 rules you need to follow to ensure that your online application for a graduate job isn’t wasted, and so that it gets you through to the next stage of the process. We cover why you need to pay particular attention to the job spec, and know exactly what each firm is looking for. We explore why your unique selling points are so crucial and how you can pick out what they might be. We delve into why tailoring your application is so important, and why you shouldn’t expect the online application process to be too easy. We finish by discussing why good spelling and grammar could be the difference between getting through to the next stage or getting your online application put in the proverbial bin. So sit back relax and have a listen safely in the knowledge that you can download a full transcript of the episode today over in the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/onlineapplications.

MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

  • Don’t even think about applying for graduate jobs until you’ve read my free guide, ‘The 5 steps you must take before applying for graduate jobs’. Click here NOW. It will completely change the way you apply for jobs!
  • Why you need to pay particular attention to the job spec, and know exactly what each firm is looking for.
  • Why your unique selling points are so crucial and how you can pick out what they might be
  • Why tailoring your application is so important
  • Why you shouldn’t expect the online application process to be too easy
  • Why good spelling and grammar could be the difference between getting through to the next stage or getting your online application put in the proverbial bin

SELECTED LINKS

Transcript – Episode 104: 5 rules for a successful online application

Announcer: Welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast, your home for weekly information and inspiration to help you get the graduate job of your dreams.

James Curran: Hello and welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast, with your host James Curran. The Graduate Job Podcast is your home for all things related to helping you on your journey to finding that amazing job. Each episode I bring together the best minds in the industry, speaking to leading authors, graduate recruiters and career coaches who bring decades of experience into a byte size show. Put simply, this is the show I wish I had when I graduated.

Hello and welcome to the 104th episode of the Graduate Job Podcast, the UK’s number 1 careers podcast. The days of popping your CV in the post to apply for a graduate job are long gong, which is why you need to make sure that your online application is absolutely top-notch. The industry average is that 75% of people fail at the online application stage! Let that sink in…75%. That is an awful lot of people who aren’t getting over the first hurdle in their application for a graduate job. And an awful lot of wasted time and energy. But today that is going to change, as we are going to go through 5 rules you need to follow to ensure that your online application for a graduate job isn’t wasted, and so that it gets you through to the next stage of the process. So sit back relax and have a listen safely in the knowledge that you can download a full transcript of the episode today over in the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/onlineapplications.

Before we start though let me tell you about my upcoming online course titled ‘How to Get a Graduate Job’ which goes live on the 3rd of September, a week later than originally planned, but I didn’t want to you can’t rush. This course condenses down all my years of experience of coaching people get graduate jobs, my personal experience applying for graduate jobs and then being on the other side of the table and interviewing other people for graduate jobs, and from the 100+ episodes of the podcast, condensing all of that down into one online video course which takes you step by step through everything you need to know, and everything you need to do to get on a graduate scheme.  I take you through 8 modules, from getting ready to apply to online applications, online tests, video interviews, all aspects of the assessment centre, look, if you need to know it, or do it to get a graduate job, it’s in my course. This course is for you if you have been applying to graduate schemes but just not getting any offers and you don’t know why. If you have just graduated and you know that it’s going to be a really competitive job market and you want to make sure you are as prepared as you can be, then this course is definitely for you. If you are serious about getting on a graduate scheme, head to www.howtogetagraduatejob.com where you can get my free guide, The 5 steps you must take before you start applying for graduate jobs’, it will revolutionise how you get ready to start applying for graduate schemes. Ok, lets head over to the interview.

So let’s dive straight into the first rule which is, you need to examine the Job Spec.

Examine the Job Spec

Before you start firing off applications to companies you need to spend time looking at what they want from applicants. This is an absolutely crucial step, and helpfully, every company will tell you what they are looking for. So firstly, do you meet the key requirements in terms of grade requirements, visa requirements language requirements etc. I recently had DS Smith on the show and they had 3 key requirements, you needed a 2.1, you were fluent in English and 1other European language, and that you had the right to work in the UK. He said 70% of applicants failed this requirement. 70% of people didn’t have these 3 things they needed. If you apply for a job with a 2.2 when they ask for a 2.1, you aren’t going to get very far. You are just wasting your time. Check what the key criteria are for the graduate schemes you are applying to and if you meet them. If you do have these 3 things, then you need to make sure that you make them nice and prominent in your application, so that you sail through the initial stages.

As well as 3 key requirements DS smith had 6 ‘Key Attributes’ they highlighted in the job spec, they have made it nice and easy for you by highlighting in bold the 6 characteristics that they are particularly looking for.

These were

Collaborative, Innovative, Trustworthy, Willing to Learn, Adaptable, and finally Strategic

For each job spec, it is crucial that you go through and clearly understand exactly what they are looking for. As you do so you need to be thinking of personal examples you have from work, university, school, voluntary activities, sporting, university societies etc, where you have done the things they are looking for. The group project at university that demonstrates how innovative you are, the sporting example which shows your teamwork and leadership skills etc. The inventive way you doubled engagement for your student society etc. Start thinking about how you will demonstrate these competencies throughout the online application, cover letter and CV.

Some of the questions you will be asked will address these directly, but if they don’t it is your job to make sure that you are highlighting and bringing these values and competencies to the fore across your application, whether in the CV, the cover letter, or in the answers in the online application.

For example, in your CV if you are talking about an example where you are working in a team, look to replay the language that has been used here, in the key attributes. Talk about ‘working collaboratively’, talk about ‘delivery’, talk about ‘creative problem solving’. See it as a jigsaw puzzle, they have provided the pieces, it is your job to subtly fit them into place.

As I said, they have told you what they are looking for, it is your job to highlight to them where you have done these things.

Unique Selling Point

The next Rule is on highlighting your USPs. A unique selling point (USP), is a factor that differentiates a product from its competitors. My question to you….what is your USP? What is your unique selling point? What is it that sets you apart? Don’t even try telling me that nothing sets you apart, as I don’t believe you.  When you apply for a graduate job you are the product. You are the product which is trying to stand out from 1000’s of competitors who want the same role, and a CV or online application is one of the tools you will need to use to stand out.


You need to think about the 3 things that differentiate you from the other people applying for this role. Once you have identified these, you then need to make sure that they are prominent in your CV and also throughout all stages of the application.

You may be wondering what do you mean by USP, and how do I find mine? Well, your USP could be your:

There are so many different options and we work through in detail in the How to Get a Graduate Job course in about how you can identify these.

Thinking back to what my USPs were when I was applying for graduate jobs, My first was that I spent a year teaching English in China (big differentiator at the time). My second was my work experience, I was working full time in a graduate job when I was applying for a graduate scheme (differentiator)., so I played that up heavily in my application. The 3rd one was sporting, I’d captained football and cricket teams from a young age through to university so that teamwork and leadership aspect was what I played up as my 3rd USP.  The point of telling you these isn’t to be competitive, or for you to think you need a double first from Cambridge and work experience from the UN to stand out, it’s to get you thinking about your strengths.

Don’t tell me that you haven’t got any, I don’t believe you, everyone has some, you just need to put some thought into what it is that is going to make the recruiter interested in you.

Once you have your 3 USPs nice and clear then the next step after identifying them is to then make sure that they are;

  • Prominent throughout your online application
  • Clear in your CV
  • Consistent in your cover letter
  • That you are mentioning them in each interview.

Tailor your application

You need to Tailor every single application. This is a golden rule! There is no good knowing the job spec, and knowing your 3 USPs, unless…..you then bring them out in the application.

The only way you can do this is if you tailor each and every application which you submit. This is non-negotiable if you want to succeed. You need to tailor each…..and every….single….application.

The temptation might be that you cut and paste an answer for why you want to work for one firm to another, or just to reuse a CV or cover letter, as it’s a firm in the same industry. Nope, nope nope, that won’t work. There is no good going through the process above if you don’t then put it to use by integrating the things you have learnt into the application. And to do this you need to tailor each application. This is why it is vital to focus down on a small number of applications, as you cant put the time and energy into tailoring applications if you are applying to 20 companies at a time.

Lazy candidates cut and paste applications, lazy candidates don’t get past the online application stage. Don’t make this mistake.

Expect it to be painful

The next rule to remember about the online application phase is to expect it to be painful. Online applications can be a real pain in the behind…..and you know why that is the case? Because they are designed to be a real pain in the behind. Companies make them intentionally difficult to complete by giving you lots of different hoops to jump through, answer these 6 different competency questions in 500 words, or in 50 words, or whatever it might be. And do you know why that is the case? Why they make it painful? Because they want to see the applicants who can be bothered, from those that cant. Those that tailor the application, versus those who copy and paste. Those who fill the word count from those that don’t. As Dan Doherty said on episode 103 with Capgemini, ‘If there’s a lack of motivation to apply properly, then we may think you’ve got a lack of motivation to actually want the role’. I.e. if you can’t be bothered to do what we are asking for here, what does that say about you as a candidate, and what you would be like if you ever actually got the job. 

If you are a candidate who really wants it, then you want hurdles, as the more hurdles you have the better, as you will jump them and everyone else won’t, and then it’s easier for you as there will be the fewer people there will be at the next stage.

So embrace the pain and difficulty of this stage. Yes, it might be painful, but it also means other people are quitting. Just keep going.

Spelling and Grammar

And the 5th Golden Rule for you today is Spelling and Grammar. Let’s just get this clear on this with No ifs, no butts. From a spelling and grammar perspective, your online application needs to be perfect.

No spelling mistakes, no typos, no wrong words. The standard needs to be extremely extremely high because the view of a graduate recruiter will be, if you cant get be bothered to get this right on an application, what does it say about what you as a candidate? I’ll tell you what it says, it says you have low standards, you don’t care about your work, poor attention to detail and that your application should be rejected. If you’re like this when you’re trying your hardest, what will it be like when the pressure is off?

So what is the solution? There are 2 solutions.

The first is to download Grammarly. You can get it for PC and Mac, and it is many times better than the inbuilt spell checker on word and it will help you to ensure that your spelling and grammar is on point. But it isn’t a silver bullet, it will pick up a lot of things, but it won’t pick up everything, so it won’t pick up where you have used the wrong words. One that I always type wrong is from and form. So you cant only rely on Grammarly or the spell check function, you need to also use your brain…and other peoples brains to check it properly, which is why Spell checking and proofreading is so important. Now proofreading is a bigger topic than today, it has its own video and handouts in the How to Get a Graduate Job dedicated just to proofreading effectively, but you need to put your time and effort into it. Make sure that you take the time to check it, and that you give it to friends and family to check as well, as 2  or 3 heads or eyes are definitely better than 1.

So there you go, the 5 rules for you to follow to ensure that your online application is top-notch.

1 – Focus on the Job Spec

2 – Highlight your USPs

3 – Tailoring your application

4 – Expect it to be painful

5 – Spelling and Grammar

Follow all of them and you will already be ahead of 90% of other candidates. Now if you are serious about getting a graduate job this year, as in, yes I really am serious about getting a graduate job, then check out my upcoming course How to Get a Graduate Job, launching on the 3rd of September. I mentioned it earlier in the show, its made up of 8 Modules and 23 separate videos, where I take you through every aspect of the graduate recruitment process, from getting your mindset right, to getting ready to apply, all stages of the process through to dealing with offers or coping with rejection. To give you an idea, the module on online applications itself has 5 sections and 6 videos across online application fundamentals, completing online applications and those fiddly annoying competency questions, CVs, cover letters and proofreading. We covered 5 rules today and in the course, I cover an additional 16 secrets and rules that you need to know to get ahead. So if you have decided that this year is your year and you are serious about standing out from the crowd as you apply for a graduate scheme, then head to www.howtogetagraduatejob.com where you can find out more and also get your hands on my free guide, the ‘The 5 steps you must take before applying for graduate jobs’. Right let’s leave it there today, check out the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast/onlineapplications for a full transcript, and www.howtogetagraduatejob.com if you really want to get ahead in search for a graduate scheme. I hope you enjoyed the episode today, but more importantly, I hope you use it and apply it. See you next week.