Business Student / New Graduate Application Documents Employer Survey 2011

Transcription

1 Business Student / New Graduate Application Documents Employer Survey 2011 Alberta School of Business Career Services Dale McNeely Director Ann Paredes Recruitment Assistant 3/29/2011

2 Table of Contents Survey Background... 3 Graph: Type of Industry... 3 The Cover Letter... 4 Graph: Value of Content Area... 4 The Résumé... 5 Graph: Value of Content Information... 5 References... 6 Overall Application Format... 6 Appendix I Employer opinions on the most common mistakes made in application documents... 7 Appendix II Summary of comments by employer on the application documents or processes

3 Survey Background Current Business students and new graduates have sought after information from respondents about how best to prepare their application documents. The Business Student/New Graduate Application Documents survey was made available to approximately 1100 respondents in the Business Career Services database from February 7 to 18, The response rate was approximately 12% (130/1100). These results provide the students assistance in being more prepared and better informed of how to present their applications during their job search. On the employer side, the recruiter s job is made easier by receiving higher quality documents that are styled specifically to the company s requirements. Of all respondents, 98% personally review the applications and make the hiring decisions or recommendations. In terms of the types of businesses, the industries varied greatly, including organizations from both the private and public sector. The following graph shows the quantity of responded respondents in the highly desired industries Type of Industry Please note Accounting, Finance and Marketing have consolidated industries together. Accounting: Chartered Accounting, Public Accounting Finance: Banking, Insurance Marketing: Advertising, Communications, Public Relations, Merchandising, Sales Additional industries in the survey were: (4 respondents each) Distribution, Education, Mining, Real Estate (3 respondents each) Forestry, Health Care, Hospitality, Retail, Technology & Research, Transportation (2 respondents each) Analysis, Construction, Engineering, Third Party Recruiters 3

4 (1 employer each) Entertainment, Food Services, Import/Export, Publishing, Remote Workforce, Retail Grocery, Retailing/Logistics, Software Development, Sports & Recreation, Technical Services, Telecommunications No respondents from the Agriculture, Call Centre, Health & Safety, Law, Pharmaceutical, Secondary Education or Tourism responded to this survey. Within the survey we asked the respondents about each document that goes into an application, specifically the cover letter and résumé. A. The Cover Letter When asked about the length of the cover letter, 45% of the respondents required a full page cover letter. 38% of the respondents needed half a page; and 11% mentioned they only required a very brief letter with basic content. The other 6% did not have a length preference. The next question asked to whom the cover letter should be addressed, if there is no specific contact person stated in the job description or application instructions. Just over half of the respondents at 53% said they would like the candidates to state the company name and job title/number as their beginning statement instead of writing to someone specific. 25% preferred the cover letter to start with To whom it may concern. Next highest in response was an address to the Hiring Manager at 17%; and finally, only 5% required that the letter be addressed to the Human Resources Director. Lastly, we had the respondents rate the necessity of content areas in a cover letter that is important to a business, regardless of industry Specific position cited Value of Content Area Specific company info Tailored skills to fit job Related academic info Relevant work experience Correct spelling and grammar Not required/no value Some value/very valuable 4

5 As summarized by the graph above, the top three areas that had either some value or high value placed on each of the areas needed in a cover letter were; citing the specific position, tailoring skills to fit the job, and correct spelling and grammar by 98% of the respondents. Having specific company information mentioned in a cover letter was highly valued by 89% of the respondents surveyed; the other 11% felt it held no value whatsoever when recruiting. B. The Résumé Although there may be various styles of résumés, respondents interested in Business students preferred one of two formats, or a combination of the two; traditional/chronological, and functional/skills based. The traditional and the combination styles were the most desired, at 76%. Only 9% desired the skillsbased format alone. 14% of respondents had no preference. Similar to the cover letter, we asked the respondents as to the preference of length for a résumé. 63% of the respondents would prefer a two page résumé, while only 8% preferred candidates to condense their qualifications into one page. 9% had no preference, as long as the proper qualifications and skills were provided. Lastly, 20% of the respondents stated it depended on the level of the position a candidate was applying to. Next we asked if the résumé required an objective statement at the top before the rest of the content. There were 22% of the respondents that either required the statement or remained neutral towards it. However, 41% felt that the objective statement was best placed in the cover letter instead of the résumé, while 15% did not want the statement included at all in the application. Lastly, we had the respondents rate the value of candidate information that would be found in a résumé Value of Candidate Information No value Some value/essential 5

6 Based on the results as depicted by the graph, the top four essential sections over 90% of the recruiters considered when looking at applications included: academic information, work experience, computer skills and language skills. Mentioning extracurricular activities was only highly valued by 80% of the respondents; the other 20% believed it had no importance in the recruitment process. References Based on the responses, 47% required two references, while 49% of the respondents required three or more references. Only 4% stated one reference was enough when applying to a position. Overall Application Format Although the content in an application is very important, recruiters also state that the overall appearance must appeal to them as well. 74% agreed that having an application of high quality and well thought out formatting was very valuable, showing attention to detail. A quarter of the responses said basic formatting is helpful but not vital. Only 1 respondent was focused on content and not at all on formatting. 6

7 Appendix I Employer opinions on the most common mistakes made in application documents 1. Spelling and grammatical errors 76 respondents a. Poor grammatical errors b. Excessive spelling mistakes c. Incorrect spelling of: company name, contact name or contact information d. These type of errors show the candidate s lack of attention to detail e. Some recruiters will not consider shortlisting a candidate with these errors because they wonder if the candidate is not paying enough attention when trying to impress the employer, what will happen when there is no longer a need to impress? 2. Incorrect referencing for applications 48 respondents a. Addressing incorrect position title, job number, company name or contact person b. Addressing the incorrect field or industry, i.e. looking forward to an accounting experience despite it being a marketing position c. Using a template for a cover letter and/or résumé i. Not changing company information/contact with each separate application d. Using an objective from a different company s position 3. Inconsistent formatting and missing or poor content in application package 31 respondents a. Difficult to read and identify key areas in résumé b. Using poor font style, making it more difficult for the recruiter to read c. Writing résumé in paragraph format rather than using bullet points d. Lack of graduation/employment dates and specific details for employment history e. Omitting extracurricular activities or relevant volunteer experience f. Being very specific when stating leadership experience, i.e. how many people has the candidate led or managed g. Cover letter and résumé contain conflicting information h. Lack of correct contact information or contact information completely missing i. Not indicating: relocation reasons, availablity for length of work term, enrolment in coop/internship program, community/volunteer experience or GPA j. Application made haphazardly and last minute; disorganized presentation 4. Generalized application 23 respondents a. Submitting untailored documents b. Using the same cover letter for all accounting firms c. Using a generic downloaded template that include sample statements which do not apply to all firms shows a lack of effort and eliminates it from further consideration d. Using copy and paste to create cover letter and résumé e. Having a cover letter that is not personalized f. Using general statements such as I believe I d be a great addition to your team, I have the skills necessary to, or Your company has a great reputation g. Using a general objective statement such as to find a job is obvious and unnecessary h. No clear scope of related experience candidate has gained i. Not including the position and location being applied to; applying to all jobs available instead of selecting one job that is best suited for the candidate s skills 5. Irrelevance of education and experience/skills to position 14 respondents a. Inability to prove how current knowledge, skills and abilities to the role applied for in a structured manner b. Using objective that is unrelated to the company and/or position c. Skills or employment history do not reflect requirements of job 7

8 d. Too much emphasis on job but employment and volunteer experience is unrelated 6. Reliance on brash self promotion rather than clarity of accomplishments or alignment of abilities and position being applied for 11 respondents a. No focus on key accomplishments b. Lacking focus on job or company, emphasizing the self marketing c. Stating outrageous claims but has no supporting evidence or cannot elaborate further d. Overstating academic achievements this is caught in background checks and immediately seen as dishonesty e. Overstating qualifications with flowery language or using unnecessary words where simple ones convey the same message ( utilize instead of use ) f. Cover letter and objectives should be genuine. It is very apparent some candidates word these to suit the needs without complete understanding g. Failure to identify how academics or work experience help meet the requirements 7. Application is too long/wordy or too brief 11 respondents a. Employment history shows short hiring dates, which could be questionable b. Assumption that recruiter will read everything that is written down c. Candidate can be too wordy in terms of stating how great he/she is d. Lots of inconsequential information showing inability to be concise e. Not informative or cannot differentiate between other candidates 8. Lack of initiative in researching about the organization and position 9 respondents a. Cover letter not shoiwng knowledge about the organization candidate is applying to b. Applications from candidates who clearly have not read the position description fully and have nowhere close to the position requirements c. Candidates are excluded if they do not take the time to research and understand the position applied to within the context of the organization d. Sending a cover letter with no reference to the organization. Writing with a sense of what the business does and what they look for demonstrates the enthusiasm about the potential employer e. Not completing due diligence on industry prior to submitting the application f. Obvious lack of background information about organization found in cover letter 9. Missing critical information about the reasons for applying and how you see yourself fitting in the corporate culture/community 9 respondents a. Lack of information regarding suitability to the role, i.e. listing academic achievements on résumé when applying for an HR/Managerial position b. Candidate not selling or marketing oneself through the cover letter c. Not stating skills, experience, and education that can be offered to the company ( I have 3 years experience in customer service working in a fast paced environment ) d. Proof candidate understands requirements by providing information that the posting requires when applying e. State reason for willingness to relocate, if applicable f. Make a business case to provide the recruiter with proof of value that would be brought to the position and the company overall 10. Incomplete application package 8 respondents a. Lack of objective statement in résumé b. Not including requested attachments such as cover letter, transcripts or references c. Failure to follow application directions outlined in job description 11. Poor written and verbal skills 7 respondents a. Over the top sentences, using business jargon, and using the thesaurus 8

9 b. Poor use of the English language c. Using incomplete sentences and using slang instead of a more mature language d. Being too grandiose recruiter just needs to know candidate is interested and confident but must know limitations 12. Unexplained time gaps in employment history are a red flag 5 respondents 13. Applying to positions where candidates are not fully qualified 5 respondents a. Cover letter should be the main selling point of who the candidate is and what he/she has done, focusing on strengths. It should not be too specific or it may take away from other potential opportunities within the firm 14. Lack of professionalism in applications 4 respondents a. Ensuring provided address is professional b. Lack of perceived sincerity through false information on applciation c. Including negativity in applications, i.e. stating negative aspects about previous employment experience 15. Information in résumé is outdated 3 respondents a. Emphasizing volunteer initiatives that are already outdated b. Have not updated résumé in a long time 16. Not highlighting relevant experience to the job applied for 3 respondents a. Failure to specifically address job requirements with supporting educational examples and related work experience examples b. Not matching skills and education appropriately to the specific role c. No detail in skills acquired or learned in employment history; no highlighting of accomplishments found 17. Failure to follow up after applying 1 respondent 18. Calling the recruiter Sir 1 respondent 19. Unrealistic salary expectations 1 respondent 9

10 Appendix II Summary of comments by employer on the application documents or processes 1. Research the company and integrate it into your cover letter. This shows the recruiter you are resourceful and are willing to pursue the position because of what the company represents. 2. Take time to explain how you would get established in the role to show foresight and initiative. 3. Reference an event that happened in the company or on the website you are applying to, and explain how you see yourself fitting in. Try to make the manager envision you in the company. 4. Contextualize your experiences, education and extracurricular activities clearly link examples to the job qualifications. Use STAR (situation, task, action and result) 5. The document may require expected graduation dates and/or GPA. 6. The reason why a candidate is interested in relocation. 7. Spend time to get to know potential respondents; this ensures that the field you would like to work for is a perfect match for both you and the employer. 8. Follow up on the application; find a way to connect with the hiring organization or the recruiter. Make personal contact. Get yourself noticed and remembered. 9. If a company contacts you via phone, note that the interview begins right away. 10. Keep a record of all companies you have applied to so you are prepared to talk about your application at any point in time. 11. For the CA industry, indicate if you are looking for a small, medium or large sized firm. 12. If you do not have prior work experience, use examples from your education (i.e. project work, group work, major assignments, etc.) 13. Be clear, concise and relevant. 14. Describe past work experiences in your cover letter. Tie the job posting and past work together with specific traits and abilities. The cover letter should sound like your personality. 15. Have the cover letter indicate the best method of contact and the best time of day to do so. 16. The purpose of the cover letter is to get an idea of the candidate s writing style and to help see why the candidate would be a perfect fit for the role. Clearly write why you should be considered for a role you may have never done before. 17. Apply for positions you may not be perfectly qualified for; although not all the skills required may be there, you may be able to learn what you are missing. Other jobs that you may be qualified for may also come up later. 18. Never underestimate the value of volunteer work. It provides opportunities to show examples of leadership and initiative. Managers look for attitude and personality; volunteering can show work ethic and the ability to work with others. 19. It is very helpful when applicants have a strong academic background coupled with meaningful community volunteer experience, and some type of related work experience, even if it is on a voluntary basis. 20. A cover letter is a source of information about the general attitude and objectives of a candidate. A résumé is a source of information that can be verified and cross checked. 21. A rejection should not always be seen as a bad thing. If it is not a good fit, rejection is often a good thing because the employment relationship likely will not have lasted. 10