Writing your application
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To learn how to make a good application, follow our guided steps.
- Read the advert and the role profile carefully to help you understand what the role requires
- Consider how your knowledge, skills and experience match the role criteria
- When applying with a CV, make sure you tailor your CV to the job requirements
- Don’t forget to highlight your transferable skills
- Think about the STARR technique when answering the criteria questions
- Prepare some examples to demonstrate how your knowledge, skills and experience will equip you to perform well in the role
- Show your motivation for the role and why it interests you
- Make sure you are aware of the application closing date and allow yourself plenty of time to do a draft application and revisit it before submission. The closing date is always published on the advert
- Review your answers and ensure that you have uploaded any additional information requested before you submit
Should I be using AI tools to make my application?
Using artificial intelligence can be helpful with structure, or initial ideas for you to think through and include. But you need to be aware that the answers it gives are only as good as the questions you ask. These systems have no contextual awareness, they can’t think critically or assess the reliability of information. The AI generated answers are not personal and wouldn’t provide a true picture about you.
You are best placed to sell yourself, you know your experience and skills you have developed over time and knowledge gained via work or school. This helps you to make an application that AI can’t - yours.
Read more about one of our student’s experience using ChatGPT to make a job application from UoN Blogs.