What Some Managers Look for with a Job Application? Basic Job Application Survival!

EVER WONDER WHY YOU DO NOT GET AN INTERVIEW OR A JOB? MAYBE THIS WILL ANSWER SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS.

To say the least, there are still discrimination that goes on in the work place, so this being said, let us see what actually goes on with the application.

The best way to get hired in from the inside, whether it is from a secretary, a third party, or to volunteer to work to prove yourself. Networking is part of this scheme where a person meets, greets and socialize with people to find out where the jobs are and actually be introduced to the people hiring.

Even with being introduced to the hiring party does not guarantee a job without an application process. The application is the meat of the job process to most jobs. Construction, labor, and farm jobs usually does not come under as much scrutiny as the other types of jobs.

Even though there are laws on the books that prohibit discrimination, the process of discrimination lingers.

An application states the basic facts, such as your name, address, jobs and job history, experience, education and time history. These basic facts contribute whether or not you will be called in for an interview.

Discrimination is still there. There are companies and managers that want a male or female, a young or middle aged person, a Hispanic, a white, a black, a black woman or man, a white woman or man, a teenager, a tall person, a short person, a married or unmarried person, an Indian, a healthy person or not over a certain weight. With the hospitalization and medical costs going through the roof, most companies want a very energetic and active person, without any defects or sicknesses and companies will go through great lengths to get a healthy person. Most of the wants listed above are considered discriminatory by the Federal and State Laws, but it is fact that these practices do happen on a daily basis.

So what is critiqued on the applications? First, on most applications is the name. Most names represent whether this is a male or female. The company that just required the manager to hire two males must look for the names as to being male or female. The Financial Director requiring males to be hired to do all the receiving and carry outs for the store, the manager must also look for the names of males. Repeating, again, this is illegal to discriminate by sex or gender, with the Federal Government, but this does happen.

Where it has a blank for the position applied for, some people put down "ANY", which is sometimes good, but if you are trained in a specialized skill or wanting a specific job, put down that job. Happiness and contentment means a lot when it comes down to satisfaction. If you are trained as a teacher, it might be conceivable to put down in the space, "SUBSTITUTE TEACHER", because you could rub elbows with those in charge of hiring for the next term. Do the research and put down the job that is open and that you are qualified for. Any inside help would be helpful to what is available and desirable.

The date is another hot item. If the date is not right, is not filled in or has been some time, usually about a month, the application usually will go in the not to be interviewed stack.

On most applications, the address will be the next place to be filled in. The address means a lot to many managers and companies. If the address is not in the same city or local that the job is located, there may be complications with a potential employee moving or actually being able to report to work or to an interview. Also, the address may indicate that the person lives in a really bad area and the general rule of some managers is that everyone in that area is not reliable. The telephone number is one of the most important parts of the information that should be recorded. It must be up to date, with minutes available, no crazy answering message and should be answered with a live voice, if possible. An e-mail also should be provided in the case where the phone number could not be put through.

Most of the applications ask what hours you can work. When this is asked, managers look at this and if there are any times that the potential employee can not work, raises red flags and complications for the company and the manager. The company and manager would have to work around the employee's schedule instead of that of the employer's.

The companies and managers look especially at the information about background history, crime and corruption. Some people get caught and have to pay the price. Employers look at this as the person being always corrupt and will not have anything to do with this potentially valuable employee. The back ground checks also bring about interesting facts about the financial ability of the person to have honest and truthful transactions, especially when it comes to bankruptcy.

The person that has bankruptcy or a write off on a debt is now considered a bad risk for any financial transactions. The Credit Score is now being used to determine if a potential employee is reliable enough to be considered for an employee.

List your skills!!!! Make sure that the manager and company see that you are worth hiring. List anything that you have a skill that is related or might be related to the job applying for. The job market is so saturated that any advantage can be the turning point to getting hired.

List your achievments and your goals. Many managers and companies see that you have potential and growth in your life and maybe in the company. Even stating some life experiences could be helpful if the job might see as a potential resource.

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Drug addition questions are now asked on some applications. These questions are to find out if a person takes medical or illegal drugs. Some of the questionnaires are illegal by law, but some companies still ask because of potential damages from accidents involving drugs or to the medical insurance rates increasing because of potential expensive drugs used to treat diseases and sicknesses.

Some applications ask the question whether or not that you would take a drug test before getting hired or a question like this. The drug tests that clinics do can find drugs that have been in your body for days, weeks or even months in some cases. Some of the tests find the over the counter drugs in the body and translates these to illegal drugs, so be sure that if you have been taking any over-the-counter drugs, tell the receptionist.

The medical drugs, whether legal or illegal, have a bearing on the future employment because of medical cost. The companies want to be as profitable as possible and any liability can cut into the bottom line profit. Also, the company does not want any lost time accidents relating to drug use or accidents injuring other employees.

Most applications ask the rate of pay that you had for the jobs in the past and at the present job that you are not working. This can be tricky with most managers. For some managers, making more on the previous jobs means that someone thought that you were worth that much, but if you are looking for a lower paying job might indicate that something is keeping you from attaining a higher paying job, maybe sickness or some other complication.

The economy is making some strains on the potential employees and also on the managers and companies. This seems to be a hiring market, being that the companies pretty much have their pick of the cream of the crop, without paying the big bucks to attain the best.

When putting down the amount that was previously made per year or per hour, be aware that the managers will scrutinize on whether the potential employee will stay with the job or move on when another higher paying job could be attained or whether there will be some reason that the potential employee is taking the lower paying job.

Education is an important part of the information on the application form. With the economy being so bad, there are many with Bachelors and Masters Degrees that are trying to just get their feet into the doors, by lowering themselves to manual labor. Then on the other hand, there are those who have not achieved but a third grade level trying to promote themselves to the engineering level, or to a level that they are not qualified. Many managers and companies require the transcripts from the graduating college to send the transcripts from the college or university to the company directly, because of this reason.

When the manager looks at the education of the potential employee, there should be a relevance to the wording, the information, the experience and the expertise of the potential employee. If the potential employee had a BS in Science, the intelligence level should be higher than that of a person who made it through the eight grade. There should be proper grammar, punctuation and almost flawless spelling if stating you had graduated from a college or university.

This is where the managers find out the age of the potential employee. Age is one of those Federal Government that can not be discriminated against, but managers constantly do this. They want those employees that have some life experience, past the early pregnancy years and not old enough to have the sicknesses and problems of those over 45 years old. Age can be obtained by the ending or graduation year of the high school. Many applications and follow up quizzes have questions relating to the age, the health, the mental status, the honesty and the thought pattern.

This is part of the application that must be filled out with precision and accuracy. Make sure that you start with the most recent job and go backward with the employment process. The manager looks at the past experience, the dates that the person worked, the area, the cities, how long and makes sure that all areas are filled in, especially contact information, like the telephone numbers. The manager almost always looks at the reason for leaving. Please, never, never, never write down, "I will tell you later" or "Personal" or "Problems with management" or " Can't get along with co-workers" or "Too physically Exerting" or "Can't get along with managers" and please do not put down, "I will tell you in the interview!!" Be very careful when putting down a reason for leaving. It would not be advisable not to make any reference to being sick, having any kind of medical problems or anything relating to a disability. Any conflicts that you had in the previous jobs will be looked on as the same reasons you will not be getting the potential job.

IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, DO NOT PUT DOWN, "GOT FIRED".

When filling out the reasons for leaving, the reasons for leaving on a positive status should be filled into this space. Legitimate reasons that the manager looks at include moving, closed, went out of business, owner died, had to have more money, going back to school, to take care of elderly parents and enjoyment and lifelong satisfaction.

The application process begins before you actually put in the application. Networking, research and learning about the company and what it stands for might mean the difference between a healthy, enjoyable, satisfying career or might mean a corrupt, abusive, dishonest, slave-driving relationship with you and the potential employer and company. Ask questions of the present employees and find out how they enjoy the work and how the employer treats them. A little bit of research on your part could make you halt the application process with the company or to dig further into other avenues with the potential company.

If you are encouraged to put in the application, ask for the manager, hiring supervisor or Human Resources when you turn in the application. Make sure that you fill out every space on the application, every thing is neat, the dates and times are accurate, use the best hand writing, make sure that there are not gaps between jobs and be sure that you sign and date the application.

Description is against the Federal and State Laws, but there are still some people, managers and companies that still do not care if they are breaking the law. Some of these have self-made goals and just will not follow the rules. The application and interview process is to provide the manager and company the information of the potential employee, but the manager and the company actually determines the final employee.

The manager and company may be looking for a nice, blond, slender, well built woman when an older,dumpy, overweight, uneducated, pimple-faced woman puts in her application. The manager and company wants a receptionist that greets the customers and potential customers. Maybe they are looking for a nice, well built, beautiful lady for the cosmetic department, but none the less, discrimination continues to thrive. The economy being weak, the hiring manager can have the pick of the most intelligent, most educated and well rounded potential employees available, while at the same time, paying a reduced salary.

The application process gives the manager and company statistics and information to bring people in to interview. The application states enough information to get the manager and company interested enough to think of you as a potential employee. It is hard to prove the discrimination part of being hired, but discrimination happens.

Be honest, but the same goes as not giving TOO MUCH INFORMATION. Sometimes giving too much information would be corrosive to your job search. Only give information relating to the job itself and straight to the point information. Give information that the manager or company is looking for, relating to your experience and background.

A well written, up to date, resume and cover letter should go along with the application, stating the name, address and contact information. There are many formats that a potential employee can use for the resume, so choose one that is relevant to the job.

Meet as many people as your can that works at the potential job. Any insider would be helpful to finding out the hiring manager, the conditions encountered, the pay, the work performed and any advancement that could be obtained.

When the Resume, cover letter and Application has been submitted, a phone call could be what it takes to get the interview and possible job. A drop-by, in person visit also could help, to show that you are still interested in the potential position, but some managers see this as abusive and intrusive, especially when they are very busy, while others see this as very interested potential employees.

In today's world, BOLD would be the word to get WORK. A potential employee has to be bold to get the manager's and company's attention, so what will it take to get noticed and set out above the rest?

If the potential job is what you want to go for, it is either getting it or losing it. What would it take for the manager and company to see you as a great, enthusiastic and potential employee? What would it take to set you apart from thousands of other potential employees?