What Not To Do When You’re On The Job Hunt In Malta
At one point or another everyone goes through the soul destroying process of applying for a job. And unless it’s through your mum’s cousin’s friend at the ministry or taking over daddy’s business, we all need to do a bunch of tedious self-promoting to impress our potential employer.
Lovin Malta teamed up with Keepmeposted to put together a list of very typical Maltese mistakes that must be avoided. Make sure you remember this list when you’re putting yourself out there as the best person for the job you’ll love to hate:
1. Over-formality
Seriously, all the sirs and madams that you trust are well (even though you don’t know them), don’t need to read through your herewiths, hereunders, for-your-perusals, sincerelies and faithfullies. It’s an email – not a letter on linen paper to the Queen of England. Even she would tell you to chill the fuck out.
2. Forgetting attachments
Yes, we’re all human and make mistakes, but try not to make this one. Your future employer is probably sifting through scores of appalling applications and has developed repetitive strain injury just from clicking ‘delete’ so many times. Even if they desperately don’t want to judge you on making a simple mistake, their tired eyes and brain will do so by default.
3. Incorrect spelling and grammar
You’ll be fired before there’s even an iota of a chance of you being hired.
4. Not reading the actual ad
Don’t apply for a job without having read the vacancy post at least three times over. Don’t even dream of asking the employer to send you more information on the post, or anything at all until you have received feedback on your application. If you can’t make sense of and respond to a job ad, no one will trust you to take responsibility for anything.
On the flip side, don’t repeat everything that’s written in the job ad verbatim only preceding with “I am highly experienced in…”
6. Ridiculous head-shots
There are different schools of thought on whether or not adding your picture to your CV is preferable. Jury’s out on this one. What’s indisputable is the quality of photo you choose to include. Anything that isn’t head-on, sharp, and pout-free should be deemed inappropriate. Excess make-up, overly casual clothing, or anything that resembles a non-professional setting is a massive risk. Also stay away from going into too much detail about personal or physical information that isn’t relevant to the job in any way.
7. Lack of personality
Avoid using that famous EU CV template blindly when applying for a job. You should know enough/have done enough research to be able to create a CV that reflects who you are whilst still respecting the decorum of your industry. Don’t get lost in a sea of identical templates.
P.S. Microsoft Word art is no longer a thing.
8. Underselling yourself
NEVER begin your cover letter with “I don’t have much experience in this sector but…”. In fact, don’t mention any negative evidence at any point in your application. Backing it up with “I swear I’m really clever and creative” will not work. Your CV is already making itself at home in the reject pile before your employer has even reached that point.
9. Writing endless lists of pointless jobs
Your 1 in Religion O-level may have impressed nanna back in the day, but it’s not likely to sway your future employer. Also, tidy things up and avoid having long list of three-month jobs you did over the summer 10 years ago.
10. Having goals that read like a Miss Universe speech
Unless you’re applying for a job with UNICEF, perhaps keep ‘ending world hunger’ out of your list of goals. Pragmatism is always welcomed by future employers.
*5. Always triple check your CV before sending it
Did you notice we skipped from point 4 to 6? Sometimes these things get away from you, and it’s important to go through it with a fine tooth comb before sending.