24-05-2025
Are You Submitting Low-Quality Job Applications? A 4-Step Checklist
Complete job applications in a high-quality manner for optimal outcomes.
In the search for a job that works for us, providing solid compensation, fulfillment, balance, security, and engagement, the hardest part is simply getting in the interview room. Especially as the job market floods from layoffs and poor economic conditions, job applications absolutely need to be high-quality in order to be considered.
New coaching clients often come to me saying that they've submitted 400, 1000, even 2000 applications without a single interview. Eek. That's not 'applying;' that's throwing time and energy into a black hole. All of the high-volume, low-quality applying in the world won't yield an interview offer. Period.
So what does a 'high-quality job application' consist of?
I've developed and refined a 4-step job application process that eliminates the need for high-volume applying and typically provides results within 20-30 applications, in the form of interview offers (once you're in the interview room, that's a whole different art to master!).
To be sure, it's not as easy to create high-quality job applications as it is to submit hundreds of cold applications through national job boards. A quality job search does take time, thought, and effort, but knowledge of which efforts matter most is key to making the process work. Completing high-quality job applications is a much more efficient and effective approach to job searching, leaving you with more time prepping for the interviews you get rather than waiting for one to show up.
Everyone can think of the national job boards - most notably LinkedIn and Indeed - but they should be only one small part of anyone's job search puzzle. Here's why:
All to say, you've got to think smarter and differently than the bulk of the population to actually find the best jobs. Some ways to do this:
Get to the interview room by applying smarter, not in more volume.
Are cover letters necessary?
Yes.
Even when a cover letter is 'optional' or not specified (e.g., 'submit any additional materials here'), take the time to include one. Doing so can set you apart, and at the very least shows you care enough to do optional tasks - which is what everyone wants from an employee! I've seen this make a huge difference for clients' interview offer rate. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news on that one - I know it's a pain.
And don't just throw in any old template cover letter, either. Be sure to customize cover letters to match the job description - which shouldn't take more than a few sentences about the org (one per body paragraph) and a focus on the right skills for the job at hand. Do the work for the reader, showing them why you match what they need. That said, if you're spending more than 20 minutes customizing a cover letter, you're doing too much and/or don't have a strong starting template.
AI can certainly help make connections and an early draft for you, if you'd like, but be sure to 'humanize' it while revising. Also it's essential to check for accuracy. I had a client asked in an interview about software experience he mentioned in his cover letter that he didn't actually have - AI had made it up! He (appropriately) fessed up to the error and that was the end of the interview process for him.
A key customization is putting an actual person's name on your letter. No 'To Whom It May Concern" - show them that you put in the time and energy to do the legwork of finding a human. Job descriptions usually say the position into which the role reports, and then you simply need to find who is in that role through the company's website, if they post a directory, or through the 'people' tab of the org's LinkedIn page. If all else fails, write the name of the head of the group, or even of the entire organization.
Any name is better than no name. I've sat in hiring committee rooms where members have said exactly that, sorting already-well-screened applications into 'consider' and 'don't consider' groups simply based on cover letter specificity.
No matter where you find a job - on a job board, large or small; through a group or listserv; or elsewhere - always make the effort to go directly to the organization's job page and apply there. The HR portal often asks additional questions than those asked on job board application portals, providing them with more information to consider applicants.
And the theme of this article again holds true: taking additional effort makes you appear to be a more viable employee. If you don't take extra steps while applying, why would you go 'above and beyond' once hired?
In addition, the other theme of this article holds true: think differently than the competition. 'Quick apply' buttons on job boards are way too easy and obvious, so most people use them. Stand out by taking a different tack and going straight to the source.
Networking proactively makes for higher-quality job applications .
I've left the arguably most important step to last because chronologically it is: be certain to warm up your network after applying.
I encourage this step be taken after applying instead of before applying because job postings can be taken down at any moment (unless they posted a deadline, in which case you've got room to sequence differently). I've had a number of clients miss out of on opportunities because they were trying to network before submitting a job application, and then they realized the posting was gone. HR teams are often sticklers about not allowing late applications, so that's often end game on consideration.
How do you 'warm up' your applications? In order of most to least optimal:
All in all, thinking differently than the competition and taking extra effort results in high-quality applications that are more likely to get seen. You'll still need to keep up a steady rate of applying - at the very least five high-quality applications a week - to get interview offers, but the odds go way up when you consistently and diligently work through this 4-step checklist for job applications.
