guide to online applications

8/19/2019 Guide to Online Applications

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/guide-to-online-applications 1/13

CAREERS IN BUSINESS

Careers in Business: Guide to Online

Application Forms



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This guide focuses on the online application forms typically used by large companies to select

candidates for interview as part of the selection process for graduate training and MBA schemes.

There are other “types” of application form that you may encounter if you are applying for jobs within

the public and charity sectors or at smaller companies.

Careers in Business can offer you advice on any type of application form and you can access our

services either by emailing us at [email protected] or by making an appointment to see

a Careers Consultant through https://business-bham-csm.symplicity.com/students/

Contents:

Page2 Introduction: reasons why candidates are rejected

3 Academic requirements

4 Work experience requirements and pre-screen

5 - 7 Company and career motivation questions

7 – 8 Competency based questions

9 CV upload

10 Work permit requirements

11 Resources

12 Appendix: Examples of “action words” to use in application forms

mailto:[email protected]



https://business-bham-csm.symplicity.com/students/







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Think of the graduate recruitment process as a funnel designed to reduce a large number of candidates

at the beginning of the process to a small pool of candidates at the end that the employer can make job

offers to.

A large number of candidates are rejected at the online application stage. This varies but it could be anywhere

between 70 – 90%. Let’s look at the factors that can lead a recruiter to reject a candidate:

Not meeting the academic requirements

Not meeting the work experience requirements

Spelling/grammar mistakes

Poor career motivation

Lack of understanding of the role

Poor examples for competency based questions

Lack of business awareness

Employers who are not able to sponsor visas for non EU International students may also reject

candidates who do not have the permanent right to work in the UK; check first by looking at the

Frequently Asked Questions section of their careers/graduate recruitment site.

If the online form and the tests are together then candidates can also be rejected after failing/not

scoring well on tests.

Sometimes you might meet all the minimum requirements but still get rejected! In a tough job market,

competition is high and if employers receive a high number of quality applications from strong

candidates they can be very selective about who they choose to put through to the next stage.

Online application

+

Tests

First Interview

Assessment Centre

Typical graduateselection process

Note: Spelling/Grammar mistakes:

Careers in Business don’t offer a

spelling/grammar checking service but

Microsoft do



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Academic requirements:

Vary according to the sector: tend to be high for banking and consultancy

In the UK, the minimum undergraduate degree requirement is a 2:1 for the majority of

graduate schemes. Internationally this might be expressed as GPA or overall percentage.The majority of programmes do not require a specific degree subject. Exceptions include

some banking/finance schemes that might ask for a “numerate” degree

In the UK, minimum academic requirements will also include UCAS points and GCSEs. UCAS

points refer to the points scored from A Levels, the UK qualifications required to get into

University. Points for graduate schemes usually start at 280 but will be higher for

competitive areas such as banking, finance and consulting i.e. 300 – 340. If the employer

recruits international students they might ask about your High School (senior/secondary)

certificate/diploma results or University Entrance exam scores.

GCSE requirements (taken aged 16 in the UK) usually refer to English and Maths and it’s

typical for B grades to be asked for. If the employer recruits international students they

might ask about your High School (senior/secondary) certificate/diploma results.

Postgraduate qualifications are not usually part of minimum academic requirements, which

means they are considered a “bonus” by most employers. Exceptions to this include MBA

programmes and quantitative roles in banking. Sometimes function specific schemes in

areas such as marketing and human resource management can ask for qualifications in those

areas.

Note: Employers who welcome applications from international students may have information on their

graduate recruitment website about the overseas qualifications they accept and the grades that are required.

Examples:

www2.kpmgcareers.co.uk/media/files/International_Qualifications_-_Non_European.pdf (there is also an EU

version)

mycareer.deloitte.com/uk/en/student/apply-now/academic-requirements/international-academic-requirements

Some Universities also publish this information, which can provide you with an indication as to how your gradescompare e.g. http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/international/admissions/entry-requirements but please note

that this is only a guideline and you need to check the employer’s website for information about the overseas

qualifications they accept; if they don’t provide this, get our advice.

Some employers have drop down menus in the Education sections of the form where you can select

your home country and then relevant qualifications. Most employers don’t want you to “convert” your

qualifications to UK standards but you could be asked to provide information about the grading scale

used in your country or be asked to submit additional information such as a transcript. The important

message here is follow the application instructions! If you are unsure about how to fill out the

Education section of the form, get our advice. If you are asked for evidence that your qualifications

compare with UK qualifications, then you’ll need to use NARIC. For a fee they will provide you with a

http://www2.kpmgcareers.co.uk/media/files/International_Qualifications_-_Non_European.pdf


http://mycareer.deloitte.com/uk/en/student/apply-now/academic-requirements/international-academic-requirements


http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/international/admissions/entry-requirements








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“Statement of Comparability” but please note that this will only compare the level of your qualification

(i.e. whether your qualification is a degree level qualification) – it doesn’t compare grades see

http://www.ecctis.co.uk/naric/.

Work experience requirements:

Vary according to the sector and employer. Some competitive areas such as Investment Banking

have a preference for relevant experience, although this may depend on the role.

It is not always necessary to have relevant experience; however it is unlikely that you will pass

the online application stage without evidence of skills gained through some kind of work

experience such as volunteering, part-time jobs or internships or extra-curricular activities;

Qualifications alone will not be enough.

To find out whether you meet their minimum requirements, you will simply be asked a series ofquestions where the option will normally be “yes” or “no.” This is normally a “pre-screening” page

before you get to the online form. So, you might get asked something like:

Do you meet the academic requirements of the position that you are applying to?

Yes No

Answering no to these questions will usually mean that you are screened out of the process. Remember

you must answer these questions honestly as employers will often have checks in place to verify your

details.

Once you’ve passed the pre-screen section (and there are many variations on the example shown here)

you’ll get to the form, which typically includes the following sections:

Personal details and application details i.e. the scheme/year of entry

Degree and school education*

Employment history/Work experience*

Additional skills/information e.g. Languages, Academic Prizes,

Extra-curricular activities, Positions of Leadership/Responsibility

References

Equal Opportunities

Questions - can include career/company motivation,

competency based questions

(not all forms have open questions – some recruiters will send you a test

following the submission of your application)

CV/Covering letter upload (sometimes optional)

The sections in bold are usually very straight forward and will contain a series of drop down menus and

boxes for you to fill in. It can be very helpful to have all the information you need ready in advance,

although most systems will allow you save and then return to the application later. Sometimes you’ll

Note: it’s

important that the

information you

provide is accurate as

most employers will

run checks to verify

this* information

should you be offered

a position.

http://www.ecctis.co.uk/naric/





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find that there isn’t a drop down menu option that applies to your education or experience – get our

advice at [email protected] before you continue as failure to fill in the box could result in

rejection!

Note: Sometimes the work experience section will invite you to list your keyachievements/responsibilities under each position. Don’t be tempted just to copy and paste this

information from your CV as the software behind the system will be scanning your form for key words

that match the recruiter’s requirements. It’s much better to thoroughly research the role and the

skills/competencies/attributes they list in their requirements and then tailor your responses accordingly.

OK, you’ve filled out all the sections and have now arrived at the open questions. Examples of each type

of question are as follows:

Company/Firm motivation questions:

Please describe your motivation for wishing to work for us. Include examples of the initiatives you have

taken to learn about us. (4096 characters / 250 words max)

Through your research and in your own words please explain five key reasons why you are interested in

joining this firm. (max 100 words in bullet point format)

As you can see from the wording of these questions, UK recruiters expect you to have done your

research so copying and pasting from their graduate recruitment site is unlikely to impress them. They

may expect you to have gone beyond this basic research and perhaps made the effort to meet them on

campus at a careers fair or presentation or off campus at a national recruitment fair or event at theirown office. If you have made the effort to talk to a recruiter at a careers fair then make sure that you

bear these application questions in mind. If you get talking to a recruiter or even better a current

trainee, then ask some good questions about the working culture, training & development, typical

career path after the training programme has finished, types of projects/placements/clients graduates

get to work on/with. After the fair make some notes! You can also network with employees/graduate

trainees/alumni working at the company you’re applying to using professional networking sites such as

Linkedin; making the time to develop these relationships and talk to people will demonstrate a strong

motivation to work for that company.

Tackling company motivation questions

The objective here is to demonstrate that you fit with their culture, values and are like the people who

work there. You need to show motivation and enthusiasm for the training, development and other

employee initiatives that they provide and for their approach to the business they do/services they

provide. Here’s a structure to use (not applicable for bullet point answers):

First part: Describe what you’re looking for in a company/firm and where this has come from.

Example: I want to work for a company, which has a team-based culture where everyone’s opinion is

valued and new ideas are welcomed. During my internship I really enjoyed working on a team project

where I had the opportunity to contribute my ideas and achieve results.







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Second part: Talk about what you’ve learnt about the company that fits with this and the steps you took

to find out.

Example: At the careers fair on campus, I discussed the culture at X with a current trainee who told me

that graduates get to work across different project teams and are encouraged to share ideas with senior

managers. This motivated me to find out more by attending an evening networking event hosted by X

where I took the opportunity to meet a senior manager. He talked me through the way in which he helpshis trainees to become effective team players and about the incentives on offer to graduates who make

innovative contributions to projects. The case studies that I’ve read demonstrate that encouraging

innovation and ideas makes a positive impact on project outcomes for clients. Shadowing Branch

Managers at my local bank and talking to customers enabled me to see this in practice.

Final part: Conclude with your commitment/desire to build your career at that company.

Example: This has confirmed for me that X is the right place for me to start my career and motivated me

to apply for a graduate programme which will help me to achieve my ambition to manage my own

projects in the future.

Career motivation questions:

Please can you explain your understanding of the business area to which you have applied? Please can

you also describe your reasons for choosing this graduate programme, and your long-term career

aspirations. Please do not use more than 250 words.

Why have you chosen to pursue a career in finance and accounting and what steps have you taken to

confirm your choice of career? Please summarise the main reasons behind this and explain why you think

you are suitable. (250 word limit)

Career motivation is really important to recruiters. They will be investing a lot of money to recruit, train

and develop you, so they’ll want to know that you are committed to completing the 2-3 year

programme and building your career with them.

The fact that the scheme matches your degree major or MSc programme, and that you therefore have

the right qualifications, is unlikely to give you a strong enough answer. Employers will be looking for

evidence that you’ve read around your subject, are interested in industry trends and that you’veundertaken work experience to put the theory into practice and/or talked to professionals already

working in that area to find out more. Remember that you don’t always need to have undertaken

relevant experience, however if, for example, you are applying to a scheme where the work is client

facing, then you could use any customer service experience to demonstrate your enthusiasm for client

facing work.



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Tackling career motivation questions:

Your objective is to demonstrate that you have a clear understanding of the role and that you are

motivated and interested in the role – recruiters will want to know what has led up to the point where

you decided to pursue this career as that will give them confidence that you’re not just applying for

everything. Don’t go all the way back to school though or tell a long story.

Example:

I became interested in finance and accounting as a career when I was elected the Treasurer of a student

society during my undergraduate degree. This role motivated me to apply for an internship at Clement

Dains LLP where I enjoyed visiting clients with experienced auditors and assisting them with various

stages of the audit. I used this opportunity t o improve my knowledge of the client’s business and learn

about their financial challenges; listening to the advice they were given prompted me to undertake my

own research and analysis which meant on the next visit I was able to offer my own suggestions about

how the company could ensure future stability. This experience helped me to realise that I wanted a

career in management accountancy where I could combine accounting skills with the business

management knowledge I’d developed from my degree. During my MSc I have taken the opportunity to

apply my knowledge through participation in a business game sponsored by a manufacturing company

where I contributed ideas to help the team win first prize for financial strategy. I also took the role of

finance manager in a team project and presented complex financial information to students from non-

finance programmes who praised the clarity of my talk. I believe my understanding of what it takes for a

business to succeed, together with experience of working in teams to analyse and solve problems and

present solutions in a clear way will help me build a successful career in management accounting.

Competency based questions:

The values you hold – Describe a time when you have stood up for something that is important to you

and why. (NB this can be in any context whatsoever: work, social, school, family - anything that

demonstrates what you value)

Describe a team that you have had to work in that has been particularly difficult; - What was the

situation? - What actions did you take to alleviate the situation? - What was the outcome of the task as

well as team morale? - If you were faced with this situation again, what would you do differently next

time around? (250 word limit)

Give me a recent example of when you have experienced a set back or disappointment. What was the

situation? How did you feel? What did you do? What happened afterwards? What did you learn? (250

words)

Describe a time when you spotted an opportunity and made it happen.

- What was the situation?

- How did you spot the opportunity?

- How did your experience/skills/offering fit in with what was required overall?

- What feedback did they give you?

- How valuable was your help do you think?

Notice how some questions have sub questions, which are effectively providing you with an answerstructure? This is because the recruiter wants to know specific details about what you did and not a



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general example that is overly descriptive. Even if you’re not provided with this structure, use one as it

will encourage you to be specific and stick to the word limit.

Tackling competency based questions:

Use the S.T.A.R structure:

Situation: One or two sentences outlining the context for the example. E.g. if it’s a team example, set

the context (academic project, student society, part-time job)

Task: One or two sentences about the objective/aim/problem/idea

Action: This should be the main bulk of your answer and provide specific details about what you

did/how you contributed/the ideas, solutions you generated etc…

Result: The outcome. As you can see from the example questions, sometimes you’ll need to “Reflect”

on what you learnt/gained from the experience or review your performance

Example:

Explain how you managed to resolve a difficult problem. What solution did you reach? (max 250 words)

For my MSc project I worked with a local charity to develop and manage a social media campaign to help

donors feel connected to the charity and communities it supports. Before I could begin to set this up I

knew I needed to develop an understanding of the charity and the methods it used to engage donors.

Although the Director was keen for the project to be carried out, he always seemed too busy to meet me

to discuss the existing strategy and my ideas, and three appointments I had made with him were

cancelled at short notice. At this stage, I could have abandoned the project altogether, or asked my

supervisor to intervene, but I tried another tactic and suggested to the Director that I should work-

shadow him for a few days. This allowed me to form an idea of the charity and its work, ask questions as

they arose and hold numerous informal discussions with him on the way to meetings, sites and clients.

This approach gave me the background I needed to begin the project and also allowed me to form a

good working relationship with the Director who was able to see that my social media campaign had the

potential to make a real difference and that I had the passion to deliver the project. The social media

strategy I developed has now been successfully implemented at the charity and significantly increaseddonations.



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CV/Covering letter upload (sometimes optional):

We have a guide to writing an effective CV and covering letter, which provides details about how to

write a good CV and letter. If you’re uploading these documents as part of an online application then

software could be used to parse the information – in other words, the software will analyse the content

of your documents to see how it matches against the requirements of the role. There are some thingswhich can confuse this software, which causes it to miss-read information. Here’s what to avoid and do:

Use standard internet friendly fonts e.g. Arial Using a mixture of fonts or non standard/unusual

fonts

Use bold to create headings Using italics, underlining, graphics, columns, tables

Pay attention to how the recruiter wants the

documents saved

Saving the document as “read only” or in a format

that can’t be read by the system Put your dates on the right hand side and start

with the name of the University (in the Education

section) and the name of company (in the Work

History section)

Putting dates first, unless they advise you to do

this in the CV upload instructions

The language you use is very important as the software will scan for key words that match with what the

recruiter is looking for. It’s important therefore that your use of language is concise, direct and to the

point. So for example, in your letter, avoid writing generic descriptive sentences such as “My CV

highlights the breadth of my experience” as it’s unlikely that the system will be looking for “highlights”or “breadth.”

Instead use concrete nouns and verbs that get at specifics so instead of:

I was responsible for dealing with customers

(It’s unlikely that at system will be looking for “responsible for” and “dealing with.”)

Change it to:

I delivered the best solutions to clients by working with them to resolve their I.T. problems and received

good feedback from managers on my client-focussed approach.

Avoid words like “Developed” “Acquired” “Responsible” “Gained” as these verbs are too vague. Avoid

linking words such as “Moreover” “Additionally” “Therefore” as the system won’t be searching on those.

Take the same approach with the bullet points on your CV: use words from the graduate careers

website and job description and start your bullet points using those words.



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Work permit requirements:

A small number of UK recruiters will sponsor International students and help them get the visarequired for a permanent graduate role. They tend to be large multinational companies or

companies that require specialist skills that are hard to find in the UK labour market. Those that

do sponsor visas often have a deadline for application but our advice is to apply as soon as

possible and not to leave it until this deadline.

There isn’t a list of UK recruiters who sponsor visas but the question is often answered in the

“FAQ” section of the company’s graduate recruitment website.

Information about Visas is on the UK Border Agency website at

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/working/tier2/general/

In the personal details section, you may also get questions about your nationality, followed by a

question that assesses your right to work in the UK. Example questions:

Do you require a work permit for permanent employment in the UK?

Are you eligible to work in the EU?

Do you have the right to work in the location you have selected?

Some employers will then have a drop down menu which asks you to confirm your current visa status

e.g. student visa, British Passport holder etc…

You need to answer these questions accurately. If you’re applying to an employer that welcomes

applications from international students they need to know whether they need to support you getting a

work permit. Please bear in mind that even if an employer is licensed to sponsor migrants and appears

on the UK Border agency’s register, this unfortunately doesn’t necessarily mean that they will sponsor

international students for graduate roles. You need to check before you apply by looking on the

graduate careers website and/or emailing or phoning the graduate recruitment team. For advice about

your eligibility to work in the UK, please contact the International Students Advisory Service at

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/studentservices/international/index.aspx

Remember that some multinationals run “International” programmes whereby you might spend

part of your training in the UK and then be sent to an overseas office or your training and placements

could take place in several locations. Example companies/firms offering this include Unilever, Tesco,

KPMG, Schroders, and Standard Chartered Bank. Other companies e.g. Heineken, Diageo run regional

programmes (i.e. European, Africa). Finally remember that business is global: if you start working in one

country, doesn’t mean that you will spend your entire career based there – many employers offer

overseas secondments once you’ve completed training.









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Resources:

If you would like a Careers Consultant to review your application before you send it to the employer,

you can either:

1. Email it to [email protected]

(Please do not send it the night before the deadline!)

2. Book an appointment using https://business-bham-csm.symplicity.com/students/

Careers Network Application Form Guide

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/employability/careers/documents/public/appforms-guide.pdf

Useful websites:

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/job_application_advice.htm

http://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/applications-and-cvs

http://www.selectsimulator.com/

http://www.graddiary.com/ (useful for application deadlines)

http://www.wikijob.co.uk/ (advice from applicants who have been through a selection process)















http://www.graddiary.com/


http://www.wikijob.co.uk/












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Appendix:

Examples of Action Words for use in CVs and Application Forms

Accelerated Demonstrated Introduced Reported

Accomplished Designed Invented Resolved

Achieved Determined Invested RestrictedActivated Developed Investigated Reviewed

Acquired Devised Launched Revised

Addressed Directed Led Revitalised

Administered Discharged Lightened Saved

Advised Disposed Managed Scheduled

Amplified Distributed Maintained Selected

Analysed Diversified Measured Set Up

Anticipated Documented Merged Shaped

Applied Doubled Minimised Simplified

Appraised Edited Modernised Solved

Appropriate Effected Monitored Specified

Approved Eliminated Observed Staffed

Arranged Enacted Obtained Standardised

Assessed Enforced Operated Started

Assimilated Engaged Organised Stimulated

Augmented Enlarged Originated Streamlined

Authorised Established Performed Strengthened

Averted Estimated Persuaded Strengthened

Avoided Evaluated Pioneered Structured

Bought Executed Planned Studied

Built Expanded Positioned SucceededCentralised Expedited Predicted Surpassed

Collaborated Extracted Prepared Supported

Combined Familiarised Presented Superseded

Compiled Forecasted Prevented Supervised

Completed Formed Processed Surveyed

Composed Formulated Procured Taught

Computed Generated Produced Terminated

Conceived Guided Programmed Tested

Concluded Implemented Promoted Tightened

Condensed Improved Proposed Trained

Conducted Improvised Proved Translated

Consolidated Inaugurated Published Treated

Controlled Increased Purchased Trimmed

Converted Initiated Recommend Tripled

Corrected Inspired Redesigned Uncovered

Counselled Installed Reduced Unified

Created Instigated Recruited Unravelled

Cultivated Instructed Regulated Utilised

Decentralised Insured Rejected Unified

Decreased Integrated Related Wrote

Defined Interpreted RenegotiatedDelivered Intervened Reorganised

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