The number of job applicants has always been greater than the number of jobs available, and this has been the case throughout history. Even though you may be the most qualified and the most talented fit for the vacant position, the company will not hire you until your application is considered, and for this, your application should stand out from amongst the hundreds or even thousands that come in for the same position.
Some of the common mistakes made while sending in the job applications, mistakes that would invariably induce the company to place your application in the shredder are:
1. Typing or grammatical mistakes: Typographical errors, spelling mistakes and faulty grammar are signs of incompetence and carelessness, and most employees reject applications that contain such bloopers. You are marketing yourselves through the application, and just as you would not consider a training school that has spelling mistakes or grammar mistakes on their newspaper advertisement, companies would not consider someone who cannot get the basics right. If some companies do overlook such fundamental mistakes, understand they are desperate to consider anyone who happens to apply, since talent would have shunned them.
2. Illegible fonts or formatting: When you send your application by email or upload the same into the company's website, it is not necessary that the font you use is available in the company's server. Similarly, different versions of MS-Word would make the formatting go awry. You might send the file as an Open Office Document, and since the company would not be having Open Office, they would not be able to open your resume. It is imperative that you use common and popular font like Arial or Times New Roman, and keep formatting size simple and bare minimum. Always save the attachment in the specified format, or if nothing is specified, in MS-Word or PDF format.
You can take more liberties when printing out applications and submitting hard copies, but make sure to use easy to read fonts and font size, and be careful to ensure there are no formatting mistakes. Since there would be many applications, most companies do not waste time trying to decipher unreadable or hard to read applications.
3. Incomplete information, especially unexplained gaps between jobs or applications are sure to place your application in the shredder. If you were unemployed for some time, mention that, and mention what you did during that time. At times, the job advertisement would be specific on what all items are required. This could include photographs, copies of certificates, list of references, and the like. Failure to provide any of the listed items, unless you have provided a good and acceptable reason is likely to put your application on the shredder. In case some of the information asked is not applicable in your case, you should mention that. Finally do not forget to sign and date your application. It is not necessary to sign your resume though.
4. Not providing relevant contact details is another way to ensure your application goes to the shredder. You might otherwise be suited for the job, but since your phone is unreachable, or your email bounces, the company is most likely to move on to the next available candidate rather than waste more time trying to contact you.
5. Many job advertisements would have specific procedures and instructions on how to apply. If you do not follow such instructions to the letter, this shows you are not willing to follow instructions even at this initial stage and this speaks by itself on your work ethics. So how would the company except you to follow instructions once you have the job? One important instruction that many people ignore is the last date for application. Any company worth its salt would shred all applications that have not followed the instructions properly and all applications received after the last date.
6. Providing too much information can at times be counter productive. If your resume is long, there should at least be a summary page highlighting your major achievements and suitable for the job in question. Since there would be hundreds of applications, most application processors would not have the patience to probe your application in depth and fish out the relevant information from the tons of information you have provided.
7. Marking tall claims and using jargon's might make the application look good. However, unless you can walk the talk at the time of interview, or even by corresponding information in the application itself, chances are your application will go to the shredder. Related to this is falsifying information like fake education or experience. While this might get you an interview call, companies do conduct reference checks before giving offers, and when they catch your lies, you would be in trouble.
8. Not mentioning the specific post for which you are applying, or dropping resumes in company without them having advertised for any vacancies only means more work for the company shredder. The HR department, which usually processes the job applications, has many better things to do rather than keep track of unsolicited applications or matching applications received without the post mentioned to any of the available vacancy.
Finally make sure you draft separate applications for each job. Even though the main features would be the same, reword each application based on the job description of the applied post. Similarly, it would be necessary to highlight some parts of your job experience or education qualifications, depending on the job description.