Scout’s no BS guide to applying for a job or internship

Applying for a job or an internship is pretty hard when you’re still making your way into adulting. This guide cuts the bull and goes straight to the point

Graduation season is approaching, and job hunting and internship hunting season has already begun. Summer is just around the corner. Some of you are considering about the big picture in life: building a career and life after college and all that. It’s probably why you’re reading this. Don’t worry, we’ll do our best to get you on the right track.

First off, applying for a job is so weird. We don’t get why there are trends in job applications. Using Tahoma is in. Colored line breaks are out. When did yearly trends matter when it comes to starting a career? For someone applying for a job or an internship for the first time, heeding this kind of advice can turn your application into a train wreck.

The truth is, there’s no perfect fit, no key formula, no secret when it comes to job or internship applications.

To be honest, we receive a lot of job applications that really make us scratch our heads in disbelief. But we’ve been there, and we’d like to help save you the embarrassment we felt the first few couple times we applied ourselves.

You’ll find many, many, guides out there teaching you what to put on your resume, and these guides are very lengthy and specific. This Scout-approved guide cuts the bull and sticks to the essentials in an easy Do’s and Don’ts format you can always check from time to time.

Before sending an application:

The cover letter:

Here’s why you need a cover letter: The moment you graduate is also the moment tens of thousands of other people graduate. Think about it and type it down in the body of the email so recruiters get you right away. What makes you so different from the competition?

That’s what you need to answer in your cover letter. Most people get cover letters wrong in that they regurgitate whatever is on their resume. Some people forget cover letters entirely and that’s no bueno. Here’s what you need to remember when it comes to cover letters:

The resume:

The meat of each application is a narrative. Which side of you do you present? By narrative, we mean you should take into consideration what answers the question of which events, life experiences, and work skills do you present to your future employers. Since you can only fit so much in one page, you need to carefully pick each line that goes into your resume.

Resume experts say they only take a few seconds scanning the top third of each resume they read. If they don’t like what they see, they move on. Here are some tips:

After hitting send:

You just adulted! Congrats. Take it easy. Here are some more tips:

So just wait and see. Job and internship applications take time. And hey—if you do all these right, maybe we’ll see you work with us at Scoutone day.

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