Written by: Anna Krzysztoszek, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
In every country, the labor market works differently. It is due to the local labor law, privacy policies, or local culture. However, in most countries, 2 formats of written applications are the most typical: a resume and a digital application folder where the resume is a part of the whole folder. Currently, the majority of candidates are still focusing on the resume, however, it is worth keeping in mind that adding other categories characteristic of the job application folder could be very beneficial.
Below you can find 3 cases when choosing a digital job application folder can be advantageous for those who may struggle during recruitment processes because of the following reasons:
Coming back to work after a long break due to sickness or similar life events
Reentering the labor market after being a freelancer
Little to no work experience (e.g., graduates).
Here are the 3 advantages:
1. Portfolio and miscellaneous, job-relevant activities
The majority of my coaches who face one of the mentioned three life events or circumstances worry about having some gaps in their resume, or in other words time slots in which they were not employed. Graduates on the other hand may worry about having too little or no work experience. A potential employer would like to get to know the candidates. If a non-profit activity, charity work, or non-profit internship from the past was somehow related to your job profile, do not hesitate to mention it in your resume or set up a separate portfolio category in your digital job application folder as it may help to get to know you better. Did you support on a non-profit basis a local project as a programmer, content manager, or graphic designer – it is worth mentioning. All job-related activities or hobbies may be an interesting, additional peace of information for recruiters and potential supervisors.
2. Letter of recommendations
A digital application folder is usually one PDF folder with a few different sections, that may give some additional insights to the recruiter as far as our experience, soft skills, mindset, and achievements are concerned. So-called “challenging questions” in a job interview are not asked to make us feel even more stressed. They are asked because the recruiter, headhunter, or potential supervisor would like to get to know us better. Showing a letter of recommendation has the same objective, so it is worth collecting them from former employers, senior colleagues, or customers. Express who you are through the feedback of others. Switching views from self-perception while describing your soft and hard skills to external perception shown in a letter or recommendation may have a very powerful and convincing effect on the reader.
3. Customer reviews
In case you have been a freelancer in the past, showing customer reviews in your digital job application folder can additionally emphasize how customer and solution-oriented you are. In case you do not have any letters of recommendation or reviews yet – ask for them, especially when you are still in touch with former supervisors, colleagues, or customers.
Life events such as coming back to work after a long break due to sickness or reentering the labor market after being a freelancer are a normal part of life and no one should feel awkward or intimidated because of that. Try to make the best of your work-related experience and think out of the box. The majority of candidates are very used to a tabular resume, where some categories such as non-profit activities or a portfolio with a more detailed description of your past projects are not shown. Think about a digital job application folder as a possibility to pitch yourself and your expertise, not only to show a list of companies where you have been employed so far.
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Anna Krzysztoszek, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Anna Krzysztoszek has more than 20 years of international experience in business ‒ from large corporations to start-ups. She is the owner of Green Butterfly ‒ Coaching & Recruiting. The completion of her German and Dutch studies, her pedagogical education, the certificate of a Psychological Advisor and various business degrees, such as Master of Business Administration (MBA), reflect Anna's main focus and passion: combining her economical expertise with the always present interest in people and the art of making the best of our lives. This especially applies to professional matters ‒ after all, we spend a third of our life at our workplace.
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