The really most important point in any application
Many a finance professional puts their heart and soul into writing their CV and cover letter and then applies for various jobs full of hope. In doing so, they have already made a cardinal mistake. Because there is no application that fits every job – even if your career is ultimately history. Instead, the cover letter and application must be customized for each position in question.
Just recently, hiring managers complained to us again that candidates regularly don’t bother to read the job advertisements properly. One even explicitly asked for a cover letter in the job advertisement, which applicants deliberately ignored.
That’s why we’ve put together a little cheat sheet on how to optimize your CV and cover letter for the position in question:
How to customize a resume
Yet the matter is very simple. “CVs are read like math tests in fifth grade,” claims career coach Gunnar Belden from Maturias Personalberatung in Potsdam. “The teacher wants to tick boxes and find his solution again.”
“Applying for a job is a job that should be handled efficiently and professionally,” says Belden. Efficient means working with templates and not starting with a blank sheet of paper for every CV or cover letter. But professional also means adapting both to the job in question.
Accordingly, headhunter Manuel Rehwald from Rehwald Associates in Königstein advises putting your CV next to the job advertisement and comparing the two. “You have to check whether it fits at all so that you don’t apply for something where you have no chance,” says Rehwald.
First things first
“40 to 50 percent of CVs still start with the school years,” complains Thomas von Ciriacy-Wantrup from Fricke Finance & Legal in Frankfurt. This means that the CV starts with what the reader is least interested in. As the current activity is of course much more relevant, a CV must always be structured in reverse chronological order.
The rule: “First things first” also applies to the details. Von Ciriacy-Wantrup advises describing the day-to-day business at each professional station in bullet points. The key points should be organized hierarchically according to focus. Of course, it is helpful if a focus requested by the prospective employer appears at the top and not at the end. “Candidates must check for each role whether the focal points are set correctly,” emphasizes von Ciriacy-Wantrup. In any case, the job description should be optimized for the requirements profile of the position for all professional stations. However, the candidate must always stick to the truth.
Adopt keywords
Belden recommends that candidates study the job advertisement in detail. “The candidate should be guided by the language of the company,” says Belden. “The bait has to taste good to the fish, not the angler.” The language of the company is familiar to the candidate from the job advertisement. The candidate should take the key words from the advertisement and incorporate them into their CV where appropriate.
The overall impression matters
Many headhunters transfer the details of a CV into their own template and only pass this on to the actual employer, which may lead some candidates to be careless. In contrast, Belden prefers to pass on the original CV with its own statement. “A CV reveals more than just a candidate’s career,” says Belden. With a CV, a candidate also documents whether they can formulate statements succinctly and present themselves professionally.
How to customize a cover letter
The relevance of cover letters is hotly disputed. While many employers – especially conservative ones – swear by cover letters, headhunters usually consider them dispensable. “Employers want a cover letter because it speaks for the seriousness of an application,” summarizes Belden. “But I doubt whether every recipient will bother to read it.” Cover letters are also not usually included in the online application platforms of major banks. Nevertheless, in Germany and Switzerland, a cover letter is still a must in case of doubt.
Address personally
The cover letter should be addressed directly to the contact person at the company. This person is often named in the job advertisement. “If no personal addressee is named in the advertisement, then a cover letter is usually not necessary. At least that’s my experience,” comments Belden.
Mistakes in the form of address are disastrous. “Even the smallest spelling mistake in a name is interpreted as a lack of respect and inevitably leads to a negative assessment,” warns Belden.
Presenting yourself as a solution
According to Rehwald, a cover letter should be as brief as possible. “It’s all about explaining why you are applying for position A at institute B.” On the other hand, it is detrimental to the success of an application if half of the CV is repeated.
Von Ciriacy-Wantrup also considers the motivation for the job change to be the core of a cover letter. Candidates must state why they want to change jobs and why they are the right candidate for the position. The candidate must present themselves as a solution to the employer’s personnel problem.
Do not forget your salary details
If the advertisement asks for salary expectations, then these must also be stated. If not, then they don’t belong – it’s as simple as that. “I would always state the actual salary,” recommends von Ciriacy-Wantrup. Salary expectations cannot really be realistically estimated at the beginning of an application process because there is simply not enough information available yet.
On the other hand, the employer can see from the actual salary whether the candidate is suitable. If an employer only wants to spend 70,000 euros on a position, a candidate with an actual salary of 80,000 euros would normally be ruled out. However, if the company is prepared to pay 100,000 euros, then that might be suitable, explains von Ciriacy-Wantrup. Usually, the fixed salary is specified and it is noted that a bonus is also included.
Manuel Rehwald
Managing Director, Rehwald Associates GmbH
