Building a professional application form

Hunting for your graduate placement can be a stressful task. Placing your application at the front of the line and attracting the attention of the human resource department is critical.

This is where your graduate application form comes into action. This document showcases your abilities, experiences and education to your potential employers. It’s your shop window before they meet you. It's crucial that you stand out among the many applications that recruiters receive.

Structure

The application form is telling you what the company wants to see, and what is important to them. Read each question and answer it in full, providing examples where possible.

The way you structure your answers indicates how important the application is to you. A well-thought-out application with full sentences and good grammar shows you have taken time to think about the form.

Read and reread your answers (be sure to check checking for typos). Take the time to present your best self – a rushed application will likely have mistakes. With a large number of applications, this can reflect negatively on you and make it less likely that you get invited to interview.

Recognition

Achieving awards at third level is sure to catch the attention of your future employer, so be sure to highlight them. If you have participated in volunteer work or projects, or achieved academic recognition, you must feature them in a prominent location on your CV. This helps employers identify well-rounded applicants who have experience and skills to perform the job.

Use the whole form

Our graduate form has a section asking for any additional information applicants would like to add. If there is something that you wanted to include in the application and there wasn’t a place to insert it, use this section.

Follow the process

A company sets out on their website how the process works. How you follow those instructions shows them how you would behave as an employee – will you follow the instructions well, will you email the right person, will you make the deadline for applications, have you answered all questions? The application process provides you the opportunity to show them how you would conduct yourself in the workplace.

Be professional

Your career will span many years. Remember you may apply for roles in a given company several times throughout your career. If you are not successful on one occasion, know that you may well be successful on the next one. Thank them for their time.

If you are offered a role and decide not to take it, let the company know so they can offer it to someone else – don't delay once you have decided. Again, you might work with this company at another stage and you want to leave a memory of a professional person who did not take the job on this occasion.

Crowe Ireland offer an annual graduate programme. Connect with us and learn how to secure your seat in this year's programme today.