Not all student jobs are created equal – but most still require an application before you can hope to bring home a salary and work experience.
Before you begin
- Do your research – familiarize yourself with the relevant work tasks and figure out which of your skills best fit the needs described in the job posting.
- Consider your skills and abilities and which would be relevant to emphasize with regards to the job in question.
- Customize your application to the specific business and provided contact information.
Structure your application
Your application should be short, concise, and easy to navigate – and, at the same time, make you seem appealing to the employer.
Headline
A short but eye-catching headline. Choosing something that makes your application easy for your prospective employer to remember can be a good idea.
Why are you applying for this position?
Start by showing your motivation for applying to the student job. Explain why you want to work in this specific position.
What does the business get out of hiring you?
Explain why you are the right choice, with a focus on the listed requirements and needs of the business. Match these needs with your own relevant skills and give examples of areas wherein you would perform especially well. You can also give a short description of how your education and/or experience is relevant to listed work tasks.
Who are you?
Dedicate a few lines to giving your prospective employer an idea of what you are like as a person. Be humble, honest and sympathetic, and avoid exaggerations.
Conclusion
At the end of your application, you need to show that you are interested in a continued relationship and that you will actively see your application through.
Remember!
Your application should have your prospective employer’s requirements as its benchmark. Your employment should seem the obvious solution to the needs of the business.
Avoid clichés and tired expressions. Instead, try expressing yourself with your own words and language.
You can use AI to write your application, but make sure to dedicate time to adjust the text with your own words and expressions. Your application should not read like an autogenerated text when it lands at HR.
As a student, you might not have a lot of work experience, but you can highlight your abilities and skills you have gained through both your education and personal interests.
Other than your application, your prospective employer will also receive your resumé. In your resumé, you can elaborate on your relevant education or former employment, if need be.
Proofread to avoid spelling errors or general sloppiness. Your application should signal that you are taking the job and application process seriously.
If you’re sending out multiple applications at once, make sure that you’re addressing the correct business and contact person in each one.
