[Stanley Baldwin]

I've wrote on here before about the sheer frustration of putting in so much effort for my Sky application for them to simply reject me and not explain why. It really did hurt because I know in my heart that I gave the best effort that I could have ever given and I still failed.

Basically I've been calling up this 'Plan B' place that I was going to apply for in the event my Sky application failed. Basically this has backfired too because currently they have no assessments in the immediate time, though the vacancies are still open. To be incredibly clear: I am extremely angry at how things are. I put in x amount of effort that is above and beyond that of others, I have never touched drugs, I abhor bullying of any form and most importantly of all, I have a can-do attitude. So why is it so difficult to get something? I'm trying every single day and I'm getting nothing out of it.

If I were a scumbag like some of the characters from my former school, a life of crime would be quite appealing in this scenario. But I wouldn't dare - I've been brought up too well for that.

[firestar101]

A lot of people are feeling the same way. I have been applying for ages too. Getting fed up

[Jin3011]

I feel your pain bud! Especially irritating when you've put your all into online questionnaires only to get rejected. Specsavers rejected me in less than 1 hour after I'd sent my application off O_o.

[wanderlust.xx]

Seems ridiculous. I just got rejected by CHP consulting and BA Pensions and neither really gave me an actual reason. CHP gave me a massive list regarding what could have gone wrong, rather than what actually did. Their first point was 'you might not have achieved the 2:1 min requirement' and I definitely have. So it was obviously just another mass email, but it was disguised as something they put some thought into. I think I'd rather them just send me a 'sorry, unsuccessful' email rather than fake a genuine interest in my quickly binned application.

Anyway, I'm not sure I'm doing things correctly. I've got my CV tweaked for client facing, numerical roles and those are what I've been applying for. The cover letters I've done vary with the business area, so I have different ones for accounting, consulting, etc. Then in each, I normally write a paragraph about why the company interests me. Then I send it off.

This makes applications a little quicker, but I don't know if I should be starting completely from scratch with every application. I feel like that's too much time investment and little output, considering I'm a novice at job searching and I may not be doing each cover letter correctly.

[threeportdrift]

(Original post by wanderlust.xx)
This makes applications a little quicker, but I don't know if I should be starting completely from scratch with every application. I feel like that's too much time investment and little output, considering I'm a novice at job searching and I may not be doing each cover letter correctly.

How much time is it worth investing in the CV that gets you the interview that gets you the job that gets you the career? If you are pitching for highly competitive jobs along the lines of IB and certainly MBB then a tailored application with real research behind it as to what the company is looking for etc is the way to go.

[Norton1]

(Original post by threeportdrift)
How much time is it worth investing in the CV that gets you the interview that gets you the job that gets you the career? If you are pitching for highly competitive jobs along the lines of IB and certainly MBB then a tailored application with real research behind it as to what the company is looking for etc is the way to go.

The thing is that to get even an interview in a highly competitive sector is somewhat random.

If there's 50 "possibles" you might get 5 interviews but it's pretty difficult to identify those. So you need to strike the balance between quality and quantity, and to be honest that probably means not starting every application from scratch.

[threeportdrift]

(Original post by Norton1)
The thing is that to get even an interview in a highly competitive sector is somewhat random.

If there's 50 "possibles" you might get 5 interviews but it's pretty difficult to identify those. So you need to strike the balance between quality and quantity, and to be honest that probably means not starting every application from scratch.

I take your point, and I understand, I've just been through a long and tedious job hunt myself. However, there is a critical difference between what you cut and paste and what you start afresh with. These various companies do not see themselves as all the same ie Sainsbury's think they are different from Tesco who think they are different from Asda etc, McKinsey certainly think they are different from Bain who think they are different from BCG etc. At the very competitive end of the job market (and that end is getting longer and longer until it applies to almost all jobs at the moment) companies need something more than just the facts and figures of an application to make the selection.

So a CV that mentions the specific words of the job advert, and a covering letter which exactly hits the language and tone of the company website is going to stand out over a more generic CV, no matter how many 1sts and A*s it has. So it important to take some time reading the company website, its wiki page, its recruiting paperwork, DVD etc and get a feel for what specifically they are looking for. Then you can go back to a 'standard' CV and tweak the language and skill set to suit the company specifically.

In fact, I wouldn't recommend using a single 'standard' CV, because you will find that your CV writing (and in all this I am including covering letters as well) will improve and develop through a job hunting campaign. If you don't go back and cringe at applications you wrote 2 months ago, you are probably doing it wrong. So write a half decent CV for 1 job, and then use that CV as the basis for job 2. Then use job 2s CV to write the CV for job 3, then job 3's CV for job 4 etc.

Keep copies of all your CVs, and when you get an interview, go back to that CV and covering letter and use it as the basis for the next string of applications, because that was a set you know worked for at least 1 employer.

It's an extremely tough job market out there at the moment, but giving up is the one response that isn't going to help. You have to keep refining and revising your approach to job hunting and making applications, and they will gradually improve and get you more interviews.

[wanderlust.xx]

(Original post by threeportdrift)
How much time is it worth investing in the CV that gets you the interview that gets you the job that gets you the career? If you are pitching for highly competitive jobs along the lines of IB and certainly MBB then a tailored application with real research behind it as to what the company is looking for etc is the way to go.

If by MBB you mean Mortgage Brokerage Business (I hope I got that right!) then I'm not sure if I'm applying to those regions anyway. In general it's usually accountancy/insurance companies.

Out of interest, what approach would you advise graduates to take when it comes to applications? Of course, tailoring is essential, but when it comes to companies that will mass recruit, how can you really catch their attention with a cover letter? Is there such a cover letter for graduates that will make the person reading squeal in delight? If I could just see one of these absolutely incredible cover letters then I might be able to see what my applications should look like.

[threeportdrift]

(Original post by wanderlust.xx)
If by MBB you mean Mortgage Brokerage Business (I hope I got that right!) then I'm not sure if I'm applying to those regions anyway. In general it's usually accountancy/insurance companies.

Out of interest, what approach would you advise graduates to take when it comes to applications? Of course, tailoring is essential, but when it comes to companies that will mass recruit, how can you really catch their attention with a cover letter? Is there such a cover letter for graduates that will make the person reading squeal in delight? If I could just see one of these absolutely incredible cover letters then I might be able to see what my applications should look like.

By MBB I mean McKinsey, Bain and BCG (Boston Consulting Group), the 'Oxbridge' of strategy consulting (which is, to extend the metaphor further, the Russell Group of management consulting).

There is no cover letter example (or I don't have one) because the format is a standard business/formal letter and then the content basically answers 3 questions in this order -

Why do you want to do this sort of work?
Why do you want to do it with this company/organisation?
How would you be good at it?

[Norton1]

(Original post by threeportdrift)
By MBB I mean McKinsey, Bain and BCG (Boston Consulting Group), the 'Oxbridge' of strategy consulting (which is, to extend the metaphor further, the Russell Group of management consulting).

There is no cover letter example (or I don't have one) because the format is a standard business/formal letter and then the content basically answers 3 questions in this order -

Why do you want to do this sort of work?
Why do you want to do it with this company/organisation?
How would you be good at it?

More than a page for a cover letter, yay or nay?

[threeportdrift]

(Original post by Norton1)
More than a page for a cover letter, yay or nay?

Absolutely not. One page CV, one page cover letter.

[Norton1]

(Original post by threeportdrift)
Absolutely not. One page CV, one page cover letter.

I...see. I'm not actually going for jobs well, firstly, at all at the moment and secondly not at the world headquarters of the ADHD movement!

Although I see a one page CV is totally a thing.

[Londonpie72]

I feel your pain I can not tell you a figure of how many rejections I have had. I got to various stages of the application process made some few assessment centres and final stages.

The competition for jobs nowadays is intense.

I only just got a job 2 months ago since graduating university last year and it is not the job I really want but I see it as a stepping stone and now my confidence has increased and now looking for not just a job but a career.

Do not take job rejections to heart give it your best and if unsuccessful learn from the situation and improve for the next application.

It is extremely hard currently but hang on and do not give up.

[threeportdrift]

(Original post by Norton1)
I...see. I'm not actually going for jobs well, firstly, at all at the moment and secondly not at the world headquarters of the ADHD movement!

Although I see a one page CV is totally a thing.

Any job you are applying to is likely to have 100+ CVs to read through, a job which is always additional to the standard role, so it cuts into 'billable hours'. I've seen about 3,500 CVs come through the CV Help forum on TSR. Only about 5 have had enough relevant material to warrant a second page of a CV, none have required a second page of a covering letter.

It's not about an employers inability to engage, its about business efficiency and how much relevant material an applicant actually has to mention. CVs and covering letters are business documents, not works of literature.

[Norton1]

(Original post by threeportdrift)
Any job you are applying to is likely to have 100+ CVs to read through, a job which is always additional to the standard role, so it cuts into 'billable hours'. I've seen about 3,500 CVs come through the CV Help forum on TSR. Only about 5 have had enough relevant material to warrant a second page of a CV, none have required a second page of a covering letter.

It's not about an employers inability to engage, its about business efficiency and how much relevant material an applicant actually has to mention. CVs and covering letters are business documents, not works of literature.

I'd disagree with this, if an employer is getting more than 100 applications for a post they may well have an HR/recruitment department. An integral part of their function is recruitment; rendering the CV and application reading a key part of the job, rather than merely additional.

I have now created a one page CV, and it's very pretty. Not sure I'd send it out, but still. Pretty.

[Luxray]

I feel your pain, its more annoying when you pass the first two stages of an application then get rejected after. I wish they would just give us a chance at an interview. I'm resigning from my job this evening because they paid me below minimum wage and frankly it was an awful and boring job (cold callling). I think I've made the right choice even though I do need money for next year of uni. I'm thinking of looking for unpaid work experience again because at least then I can try getting more experience. I hate this economy, my parents keep saying 'oh XYZ have jobs, why can't you get one?!' ...well they live in London and all got their jobs by knowing people. We live in a northern town where most of our family are down south.

[livefires]

(Original post by Norton1)
I'd disagree with this, if an employer is getting more than 100 applications for a post they may well have an HR/recruitment department. An integral part of their function is recruitment; rendering the CV and application reading a key part of the job, rather than merely additional.

I have now created a one page CV, and it's very pretty. Not sure I'd send it out, but still. Pretty.

I work in HR for a large oil company and I can tell you that while we look at CVs and only pass on a percentage of them to the function managers, we generally don't know the details of what makes a good mechanical technician/scheduler/construction supervisor as there are just too many disciplines being recruited for at any one time. We tend to pass on any CVs that don't have glaring errors and let the managers find what they're looking for. This isn't necessarily always the case but it certainly is for us.