5 Ways to Use a Job Listing to Secure the Perfect Job

By Christine Ascher on February 24, 2017

Applying for jobs is always a stressful and time-consuming task; for each position, you’re expected to tweak your resume and write a unique cover letter if you really want to stand out from your fellow applicants. The pressure of doing so may leave you frustrated — it’s not always clear how to make yourself most appeal to a specific employer.

Fortunately, you do have at least one helpful tool at your disposal: the job listing. An organization’s job listing can provide you with crucial information concerning their expectations and the necessary qualifications for that position. It can also give you hints as to their work environment and exactly what they’re looking for in an applicant. If you read it carefully, the job listing is a great way to make sure that you’re the right fit for an organization and to ensure that this comes across in your application.

Image via http://pixabay.com

Get a feel for the work environment — and whether it’s right for you

The way the job listing for a certain position is written can reveal a lot about the company itself and about your potential employers. If the description comes across as enthusiastic or uses a lot of adjectives like “dedicated” and “motivated,” you’re probably looking at a company with passionate employees.

If it includes a lot of specifics, it’s likely a company that values a detail-oriented work ethic. Keep in mind what you’re looking for in an employer and use the job listing to get a feel for the organization and to make sure that this would really be a good fit for you before you submit your application.

Be specific in your cover letter

Every organization has a unique set of goals towards which it works and a specific community that it sets out to serve. Pay attention to the company objectives that are reiterated when you’re reading a job listing, as they will likely play a significant role in your decision to apply for a position within one company over another.

Using the job listing and any other information you have about a certain company, make a list of reasons why you want to be a part of their team. Mention these reasons in your cover letter to let your potential employer know what about their organization has attracted you and why you would choose to work for them over another company. This will help you stand out significantly from other applicants who failed to specify their application to that organization.

Pay attention to the adjectives

When an employer writes a job listing, they typically specify certain qualities that they’re looking for in a candidate. These often include adjectives along the lines of “creative,” “timely,” or “confident.” Keep track of these characteristics and brainstorm some instances when you have displayed them in your prior work or educational experiences.

You can then use these examples as the foundation for your cover letter; that way, you’ll make it clear to anyone reviewing your application that you’ve paid attention to what they’re looking for and that you fit the job description.

Echo their language

Though you may be looking at similar companies during your job search, you’ll probably find that each one has its own language — that is, its own manner of describing the company’s objectives and what they’re looking for in a candidate. Make sure that your cover letter and resume reflect the language used in their job listing; this will make it evident that you specialized your application to that organization, rather than simply sending off the same cover letter indiscriminately to multiple companies.

Note the title of the position and the way that the organization refers to itself — for instance, whether it’s as a firm or as an enterprise — and use the same language in your cover letter. In addition, if they incorporate certain words or phrases more than once — which happens often when they’re describing the kind of employees that they look for — try to reflect the same phrases in your own application.

Tweak your resume to emphasize the qualities mentioned in the job listing

When you’re reading through job listings for a certain position, each company will mention a specific set of qualities, skills, and experiences that they’re looking for in candidates. If you have qualifications that meet those mentioned, revise your resume to bring attention to them. For instance, if the position calls for strong communication skills and you’ve worked in customer service, mention how that experience reflects your ability to communicate well. If it requires a certain level of degree or knowledge of a foreign language, make sure that you’ve included that information on your resume as well.

While you don’t need to completely rewrite your resume for each job, it can only help to call attention to the areas that you know your potential employer will be looking for.

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