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Future Worker

Beginners level

Unit 4: Evaluating job advertisements

AIMS & OBJECTIVES

  1. The purpose of this Unit is to highlight the importance of a strong job profile

  2. The goal of this Unit is to help learners to get to know the importance of creating a strong job profile, through the use of applications.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

LOut3: Use effectively social media applications for your professional enhancement 

LOut4: Apply useful tips so as to make a good first impression as a job candidate.

KEYWORDS

  • Soft skills
  • Intercultural skills
  • CV/Resume
  • Cover letter
  • Social media

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4.1 Introduction

  • Job advertisements can be found from newspapers, billboards and recruiting agencies to online job portals, company websites and social media groups.
  • Many times our desire to find a job can make us apply to every available job opening that looks, more or less, with the job we are looking for. This can cause many problems, since applying for jobs for which we may not be completely qualified, and thus get rejected, can be very demotivating.
  • No matter how excited or sceptic we might be when we fist read a job advertisement that seems interesting, we must always take the necessary time to ready carefully the job ad and evaluate if it really suits us and if we are truly qualified for the post.
  • This Unit offers useful key-points when reviewing job advertisements, facilitating the candidates to apply posts that really suit them and for which they are truly qualified.

4.2Key points when reviewing job posts

According to Recruiter.com (Howard, 2017) and WikiHow, in order to determine whether you should proceed with sending in your resume to a job ad, you should take into account the following:

  • The Company Behind the Ad

Visit the company’s website and the social media profiles, especially the LinkedIn profiles of key-employees. Read the organization’s mission statement or “About Us” page and think if the company shares the same values as you. If not, do not apply, since you won’t be happy working there. Also, consider whether the company hires people like you. What is the culture like? Who are the employees? Can you see yourself fitting in?

  • Duties and Responsibilities

Read carefully the job ad and think if you have previously performed the same kind of job duties or held the same kind of responsibilities? Are you willing to take on the duties and responsibilities mentioned in the ad? If, for example, the ad mentions night shifts and weekend work, would you be happy to work such a schedule.

  • Type of Job, location and benefits

Are you willing to work the type of role being offered, e.g. contract, full-time, part-time)? Do not apply for a part-time job if you need full-time work.

Also identify the job location and do not apply if you are not available to work in that area.

It is also important to check if the job offers medical benefits, compensation package, payed vacations or other benefits and apply only to jobs that meet your needs.

  • Application procedure

Read this section carefully, because the employer may require a variety of documents, such as college transcripts, licenses, certifications, cover letters, residence permit, social security number etc. You have to be sure that you will include all the requested information in your application.

4.3 Useful tips

  • Print the job advertisement so that you can highlight or underline important qualifications. You can also copy and paste the description into a word processor document and highlight lines if you don’t have a printer.
  • Always keep a record of the advertisements you have applied for. If they call you for an interview and you don’t even remember for which post the job is, this will not help you at all, getting prepared properly.
  • An employer can not discriminate based on race, gender, age, religion, pregnancy, citizenship status or nation of birth. If you feel the job description includes discrimination, contact the relevant national Authority to file a complaint of discrimination.

Synopsis

This Unit emphasizes on:

  • the use of tips that can be related to employability 
  • the importance of holding record on your applications
  • the key points of reviewing job posts

List of References

Further Reading

  • Pease, B. & Pease, A. (2006), The Definitive Book of Body Language: The Hidden Meaning Behind People’s Gestures and Expressions. New York: Bantam books.