Completing application forms

Many employers ask you to fill out application forms on their own forms. Sometimes they may ask for a standard application form to be completed, which the Careers Service will have copies of.

If an employer asks you to fill in an application form do resist the temptation to send your CV as a substitute. Enclose a covering letter with the form, even if it is not specifically asked for. Expect to spend anything from a few hours to a day to complete a form, depending on how familiar you are with them. Even if you are on your tenth form, make sure you don’t cut corners. One simple spelling mistake can rule your application out, so always carefully check it.

The 'give an example when' or 'describe a situation when' type of questions require a lot of thought. You can expect these to turn up on most application forms, so make sure you think of good examples to use.

Some useful resources

• www.prospects.ac.uk
• The AGCAS video 'Looking Good on Paper'. This 21-minute video shows two undergraduates grappling with written applications. It is available from your Careers Service.
• Creating Winning CVs and Applications. This book has two chapters on how to fill in application forms, in particular the less straightforward ones.
  
• Landing Your First Job - another book, which has sections dealing with application forms. Both these books are available from the Careers Service.

Individual help

Remember you can drop in to the careers service to discuss your application forms. A careers adviser will be available to help you.