Writing Job Application Bios: The Right Way vs. The Wrong Way

I see that there are three types of job applicants in India: There are the formal types who write a long bio that includes everything. Their i’s are dotted and their t’s are all crossed. Then, there are those who include some pertinent information, decent grammar, but don’t say that much. Then, there are the broken English types who write one or two lines.

If you are looking for a job, you need to stop saying, “Please give me a chance”. That is verbiage for someone who knows that they don’t deserve the job, but want a chance anyway, because PERHAPS later on they will figure out what they are doing. You are being a liability. If you want a job, be an ASSET, or go back to take more training classes so you will have better skills.

Here are some before and after clips of job application forms that I have seen. The after was written by me.

Example:
Before: Dear Sir, i want job doing data etney from home. i want make money on internet
My phhone number 9855555533

After: To whom it may concern at YZX company. My name is Rakesh Subrahmanian. I have six months of data entry experience working at Joe’s Data Entry in Secundrabad, AP, and would love the opportunity to assist you with data related tasks, or anything else that you need accomplished. I am available to start immediately. My related skills include:

Form Filling
Medical Data Entry
Online Forms
Data Cleansing (verification of spelling and formatting of previously filled out entries)
Data Scrubbing
Data Waxing (no such thing — I just added it for comic effect)

I can be reached at (022) 4444-3333

—————————–

Analysis
Please notice how the “before” example has “entry” spelled wrong. How on earth can someone possibly even consider hiring you for a meticulous job like data entry or data cleansing when your writing is littered with spelling errors? Your “I” should be capitalized since it is a proper noun. The fact that YOU want to make money is of no concern to the employer — skip that. THEY want to make money, and want you to help them make money. If you are a refined worker who gets a lot of work done, then they can use you to make money. If you are an incompetent slob, then they will lose money on you. Lastly, phone is misspelled, and the phone number is all in a big jumble. Most Indians write their number without hyphens or spaces, however, it is NOT professional and is VERY hard to read. In fact, it is ten times as likely to make an expensive dialing mistake if the number is all jumbled together.

Please note that in the “after” example, the person introduces themselves, and then tells exactly HOW MUCH experience he has and then specifies WHERE he got his experience. Nothing is left to the imagination here. Rakesh never begs for a job, however, he indicates enthusiasm for HELPING someone else with what he knows about, or whatever THEY want. Rakesh is thinking about others, and not about what he personally needs — smart! Then, Rakesh makes a quick list of SPECIFIC types of data related tasks which he is well versed in, and even makes a small joke just to lighten the mood. Be careful with jokes as they can backfire. But, a well placed joke that accompanies some thorough information might make you stand out as an applicant and be remembered. Last, please notice that the phone number is nearly laid out in a very easy to read and professional looking format.

You might also like:

Find audio transcriptionists!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/05/21/find-audio-transcriptionists-on-123outsource-net/

How to find a data entry job!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/05/14/how-to-find-a-data-entry-job/

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