There are countless websites that offer job listings, and it is true that many of them offer attractive posts and salaries. However, there are also a ton of people competing with each other to get noticed by said companies. While there is no specific way to reply to a job advertisement, how can one be sure if the tone or language is appropriate to create a good first impression? It is important to note that these companies usually go through their list without properly looking at the resumes, so the reply itself is quite crucial in continuing the conversation.
Long gone are the days of scanning through newspapers, or relying on relatives to refer over their companies for jobs. It is true that the convenience of having all these job opportunities at your fingertips can be quite daunting, and one can make many minute errors without noticing it. However, as the saying goes, practice makes perfect. The usual practice is to reply to their advertisements with a quick email, but there are certain ways that can bump a candidate up and help get their foot into the door faster.
BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR
After giving a succinct introduction, jump right into what you are expecting from the company. Be sure to list helpful information such as salary expectations and working hours, so that they can also determine if you can a suitable fit for the company’s requirements. This will also help them to filter out potential candidates faster, and save on the extra logistical emails requesting the aforementioned information. Otherwise, if they did not list out what they are looking for in candidates exactly, offer to give a brief description of your credentials and what you can do for the company.
AVOID SPELLING AND GRAMMAR ERRORS
Always double check, even triple check, the quality of the replies before sending it out to the companies. This is because once the reply is in the email outbox, it cannot be edited or retracted. As mentioned, such replies are paramount in creating good first impressions, and spelling and/or grammar mistakes are a huge warning sign for the recruiters to skip over your reply. There are multiple online tools that can help vet spelling errors and even grammar blunders, so be sure to put them to good use before hitting that send button.
INCLUDE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION
If the format of the reply does not allow you to include your resume, then either consider including a short blurb of your skillset in your reply itself, or take the initiative to offer to send over the resume via another channel. For example, leave your contact details for them to contact you and lead with something like, “I would be more than happy to send over my resume. Let me know who I can contact for this.” It opens up a conversation with them and encourages them to contact you in order to find out more, just be sure to follow up!