How to Fill Out a Proper Employment Application
In tough economic times, there are countless people who run into a particular document on what seems like a daily basis: the employment application. And while applying to jobs over and over might make each application feel like the same thing, the truth is that each application needs to suit each employer on a customized, individual level. This is especially important for entrepreneurs and business owners who need to make sure that the employees they hire are the right ones.
If you’re looking for work and aren’t sure that you’ve filled an employment application properly, this article should put to rest any doubts you might have. Here’s how to fill out that employment application form with confidence and total sincerity.
Be Honest – Don’t Embellish
The first thing that prospective employees need to know about employment applications is that they indeed read like contracts. This means that they carry real weight, and that means you don’t want to put any dishonesty down on paper. Not only will this make you an untrustworthy prospect in each employers’ mind, but it will take your focus away from your real-world qualifications.
“But,” you might say, “what if my qualifications simply don’t cut it?” There are a number of options in this case. First, you might want to reconsider the scope of your job hunting process – you may need to develop some more experience in a particular field if you expect to land jobs there. Second, you should do some research on yourself. Dig deep to find the experience and training that you really did have so that when it comes time to fill an employment application, you don’t have to lie.
After all, if an employer follows up on your background and finds out that you haven’t been honest, you can expect that all of the lies you told will add up to nothing when it comes to landing a job.
Be Comprehensive
You’d be amazed at how the quality of your answers are just as important as the quantity of them. If you have one previous position to put down in your experience but are capable of writing at length about your previous duties and responsibilities, you come across as more competent than someone who simply rattles off their job history as if it’s been rotely memorized.
Think about it this way: while you may know that you’re a good worker, your prospective employer doesn’t know that. Showing just how carefully and seriously you take their employment application can serve as a reflection on how seriously you’ll take the position if hired. When you think about things from the employer’s point of view, you see just how important your employment application can be – remember that they’re essentially hiring people blind, without recommendations.
Not only does a comprehensive employment application show how seriously you’ll take their job, but it also gives the employer a more complete view of you as a prospective employee. The better they know you, the more they can trust you with the salary you’re looking for.