3 Tips to Make Your Job Application Stand Out in 2023

There's no denying that finding and landing that next role is challenging at best. Between scrolling through job ads, tweaking your resume and preparing for interviews - it can be hard to know exactly what will hit the mark. Knowing that your first impression is a lasting one, we sat down with our Australian recruitment team to discover what makes applications stand out from the crowd.

Whilst our recruiters had a lot to say, their advice for what elements of an application got them excited, boiled down to three major objectives - make it clear, make it concise and make it custom. (Or as we like to call it - the three "C"s to success.)

1. Make it Clear

As we know, first impressions matter, so it's important that your future employer gets to know you - accurately. You'd be surprised at how many applications come through with spelling mistakes or missing information. To ensure you stand out from the crowd, here are a few ways to make your application as clear as the sky is blue. 

• No spelling mistakes - run your resume through a spell check or get a friend or family member to review it for you.
• Accurate experience details - be sure to include dates on your employment experience as well as the job title and employer. These little details help employers (like FCTG) paint a picture of your suitability for a role and highlight your attention to detail.
• Keep it relevant - Your resume is not your memoir. You don't want a 7-page CV and no recruiter wants to read one. Include the work experience that is most relevant (and recent) to the role you're applying to and aim to fit everything onto 3 pages or less.

2. Make it Concise

You want to be presented your best and formatting your resume will help you do just that. Whilst our CVs all look different (as they should), here are a few ways to aid in displaying your professional experience in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

• Use bullet points to separate information, for example, you could do this for your work experience or your skills.
• Bold the job titles from your previous roles so they stand out.
• Avoid large margins so the information is spread out wisely on the page.

3. Make it Custom

Once you've made your resume clear and concise, the last step is to address it appropriately. This means adding in some personalisation to fit the role and organisation you are applying to. Our recruiters love to see when you include details that answer the job ad specifically, like how your experience and/or skills meet the requirements or how your education will set you up for success in the role.

As much as we want to get to know you, we want to know that the feeling is mutual. We encourage you to read our values & benefits and we love to hear when something resonates with you - so make sure to let us know in your application!

Now that you are armed with the tips to make your application stand out, put it to good use and check out the more than 500 open roles we have spanning 30 brands, 20+ regions, sales, tech, finance and more! Apply Today!