Finding a Job: The Application

by Lee Hudspeth
(This article appears in The Naked PC #5.26, December 12, 2002)

** 02. Finding a Job: The Application (by Lee Hudspeth)

This marks the beginning of a series I'm writing about finding a 
job. The first thing you should do if you discover yourself in 
the market for a new job--for whatever reason--is a thorough 
self-assessment and evaluation of life and career goals and 
objectives. Next, update your resume. Then, more or less in this 
order: cover letter, get in the networking groove, tell everyone 
you know, set goals, start pounding the pavement, review your 
progress regularly and... oh, yes, smile all the while. (I'll 
have more to say on these very important and intriguing job-hunt 
topics in future installments.) I've decided to begin with the 
stumbling block presented by what seems at first blush a trivial 
thing: The Application.

Caveat: if you have worked in a Human Resources department, or 
done hiring as a business owner, or happen to have been in the 
job market recently, granted you'll know that the application is 
a little gateway everyone has to pass through, that means 
everybody. But it's a bit of a surprise at first if you approach 
the process thinking, "Hey, I've got my skills assessment done, 
resume polished, interview skills honed, here I come Ms. & Mr. 
Hiring Manager" and suddenly you're staring at a two-sided 
8.5x11" piece of paper with lots of ridiculously miniscule boxes 
into which you have to painstakingly sandwich--by hand--your 
ENTIRE personal history. (Yes, there's a hint of cynicism here.) 
So I decided to come up with a system to minimize the pain of 
filling out a job application.

Basically, I set out to answer every conceivable question a Human 
Resources department might want to know about my personal history 
(government clearances excepted, but I may work up to that too), 
and then I typed that up into a handy Word document that I carry 
into any job interview so I'm always ready. You really do not 
want to leave an interview having to say to the hiring manager, 
"Ahem, well, I actually don't know my high school's street 
address or phone number so I left those boxes blank and I'll call 
the information in soon, okay?" Sure, this is a perfectly 
reasonable situation to find yourself in, and it really doesn't 
define who you are as a person if you don't know that little 
historical tidbit about yourself, BUT... it really does matter 
because rule #1 of any interview situation is to do the best 
possible job at presenting yourself as The Ideal Candidate. Thus, 
logically, you don't want to make any mistakes or leave anything 
unanswered, so as the Scouts say, "Be prepared." It turns out 
that it wasn't hard and didn't take too long, and if you follow 
in my footsteps you'll be one step ahead of the game.

Here's the list of questions I've encountered and have ready 
answers to.

* Previous employer street addresses, contact names, contact 
phone numbers -- This includes military service and periods of 
self-employment. Test the phone number to make sure it's current, 
in case a hiring manager does a background check on you. You want 
to make that manager's task as easy and fruitful as possible in 
your case. You may as well go back 10 years, even though some 
applications only want details for employers in the past 5, some 
do go as far back as 10. While you're at it, it doesn't hurt to 
have the job title of the person who was your previous boss. Some 
employers ask questions like "What did you like best about this 
job?" and "What did you like least about this job?" Have short 
answers prepared so you don't have to wing this under pressure.

* Schools attended, including street address and phone number -- 
This means high school and college, if these apply to you. Even 
if you didn't finish college, but have some credits, there will 
be space on the application to indicate your unit count so have 
those handy. If you earned a college degree, know the exact 
degree type and the moniker for your major.

* References -- You may already have this data as an addendum to 
your resume, or in a separate document. Be sure you have current 
phone numbers for all your references. I suggest you have two 
personal and two professional references; in the former category 
many applications specify that these be people who have known you 
for at least five years.

* Salary history -- On some applications this is optional 
material, but you should have the data available.

There will be other standard questions but you'll know the 
answers cold, or they'll come directly from your resume.

If you represent a company with IT management openings in the 
Southern California area (Los Angeles and surrounding counties), 
and think there may be a match between my skills and your 
requirements, I'd like to hear from you.

(Embellishments, Errata, and Extras -- In a subsequent issue I 
added this note, "While you're collecting data about your 
education, get official copies of your transcripts and file 
them somewhere safe. There shouldn't be a need for you to supply 
these details on an application; in fact, for an employer to 
request or require those details may be unethical or possibly 
illegal (anyone who knows the legal answer drop me a line). 
However, these are important documents that you should have on 
file. I'll talk about salary issues in subsequent issues, but 
for now while you're gathering data, get your salary history 
from former employers." -- LH)

(c) 2002, Lee Hudspeth
You can reach Lee Hudspeth at:
mailto:LeeHudspeth@TheNakedPC.com

You can reach Lee Hudspeth at:
leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com

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