Dear Prospective Employer...

Let's be honest. We all know that applying for jobs is a stressful and often depressing experience. Fortunately I haven't had to do it with any real intent for the last year. So when I came across an opportunity that I thought looked interesting it was frustrating to be reminded of some of the more unnecessarily irritating elements of communicating with prospective employers.

I have a few pet hates, and unfortunately they've all been reinforced by this most recent experience. More worrying, I think they all demonstrate a dynamic of job-hunting that I think employers can sometimes forget - particularly small organisations who don't do this kind of thing very often; you're not the only person who's working out the best fit for this role.

From the very first interaction - usually reading a job ad - I'm working out whether you're the kind of organisation I want to work for. If the person leading the recruitment is also the person who's likely to end up managing me, I'm also working out whether I want to work with you.

These are the kind of things that are likely to make me think twice, and they're lifted directly from my most recent foray into exploring an opportunity...

1. Your advert says to email you for an application pack. That's fine. But I don't expect to wait a week to receive it. I send you an email; you reply, attaching the appropriate document. It takes two minutes, tops. You're on holiday? Then set up an autoreply or have emails forwarded to someone else. I'm not sure I should have to wait much more than 24 hours to hear from you.

2. When you do reply, attach the document.

3. Before you attach the document, ensure it doesn't contain the kind of errors that, frankly, just make you look silly. I'd suggest that using the wrong there / their / they're falls into that category. Also, make sure the job description's organised in a way that makes sense - group similar tasks together, address issues of accountability in consecutive bullet points etc. Don't just leave them in the same order they occurred to you.


I agree - none of those things in their own right are a big deal. But they create an impression about an potential employer. When I'm feeling really frustrated, these kind of lapses smack of incompetence. In reality, I'm probably corresponding with someone who is not a natural administrator with a number of - in the moment - more important things to deal with. But this is important. So if you're not a natural administrator, ask someone who is to help you. Delegate. Get a proof-reader. It's not rocket science.

And, at the risk of alienating half my readership, the fact that you're a church / Christian organisation and I'm duty-bound to forgive you does not give you an excuse to cut corners. Be professional.

Just so you know, I'll still apply for your job because it genuinely sounds interesting and it resonates with some of the things that are important to me. But when I do I'll take time over my application to make sure it's right. Heck, I might even get someone to proof-read it for me. I'll submit it in good time along with a well-written covering email, expressly designed to communicate a little about the kind of person I am and the priorities I have.

I know how vital it is that I make a good impression on you; have you thought about the kind of impression you're making on me?

I'm working on that whole forgiveness thing...