How to answer application form questions

Overview:

  • Always answer the question fully, there may be multiple parts.
  • Explain how YOU used a skill or contributed to a task
  • Be specific - quantify and qualify skills/knowledge/achievements.
  • Remember the CAR model ( see below). What was the impact of your actions?
  • Don't be negative or undersell yourself.

Questions about education and experience

Read the instructions carefully, have you been asked to list information in a particular order or including/excluding certain information?

  • If there are no instructions to the contrary, list education and experience with most recent first.
  • For work/ experience history. Do they want information on key responsibilities? Consider the role you are applying for, what is most relevant? E.g. Making coffee may not sound as relevant as customer service.
  • How much space do you have to list modules, skills, responsibilities? Keep it concise, you can expand on this later in your application.

Questions about the job you are applying for

Questions about your skills show why you’re right for the job, motivational questions show why the job is right for you.

"Why do you want to work for ALDI?" The employer wants to know why you’re interested in them, not one of their many competitors. You need to evaluate why they are different and why that makes you interested in them. Are you attracted to the organisation because of their good reputation, the markets they are in, the products they make or services they offer? This does not mean you write about the competitors, it’s not about what they don’t do or offer, it’s about what ALDI does offer that makes them of interest to you.

"What attracts you to the position you have applied for?” Here you need to understand the nature of the role, responsibilities and duties and how it fits into the organisation. There may be many jobs advertised with one company - why this one?
Don’t just list what you know (the company already know all the facts about themselves), they want to know your opinion on these things. What do they do that you are interested in, want to be involved in, want to learn? Show not just that you’ve learned things about the organisation but how these things influenced your decision to apply.

Questions about you – skills, strengths and competencies

  • “Please tell us about an occasion when you have worked as a member of a team or a group. Describe your personal contribution to the group and how the group functioned as a whole.”
  • “Of your interests and activities which did/do you find most enjoyable and why?"
  • "At XXXX we strive to deliver work that sets us apart from our competitors. Please describe how you set yourself apart from your peers."

Remember these are skills or strengths needed for the job, your answer should provide the evidence the company needs to assess your competence against other applicants. If the question seems odd think about why they might be asking it? What are they trying to assess? Don't forget the CAR model below.

CAR: Formula for answering competency questions

Context, Action, Result (CAR) is a formula that can be a really useful, especially when answering questions about skills.

Let’s use teamwork as an example:

  1. Firstly, outline the CONTEXT, i.e. the team you were in, e.g., final year design project, team’s purpose, number of people.
  2. Then think about your ACTION, especially what your contribution to the team was, e.g. took responsibility for scheduling series of meetings and setting deadlines, or analysed all statistical data collected into an Excel report. This is normally the most important part.
  3. Then detail the RESULT, e.g. your team received a commendation for the final presentation of the design project, your team opted to work together on the next course project as you had worked so well together. A result can also be something you learned, an insight or appreciation as well as knowledge gained.

Throughout the 3 stages try to quantify where you can, e.g. in a team of 6, a 100 page report, raised £250 for charity. This helps the employer to understand the scale you were working on and judge your performance in context.

Next: Supporting statements or personal statements