Job application. A process that every employee will have to do at least once, or more often, multiple times across their lifetime. Previously, we looked into the avenues of job seeking as 2021 comes to a close. Now, after Indonesians have found their desired jobs, let’s dive deeper and find out how much they actually know about the job application process.
From our study of over 10,000 respondents, 83% claimed that they know at least well enough how to go through the job application process, while 21% claimed that they know very well how to. Furthermore, over 90% of those who have written job application letters think that they know pretty well how to do so. This suggests a very high knowledge level of applying for jobs, with only 17% being unfamiliar with the process.
Yet, considering that recruiters spend an average of seven seconds reviewing a resume[1], how accurate is their personal assessment compared to HR employers?
One main avenue of learning about the job application process was through school or college. Let’s take a look at what experts feel about job application letters from college students.
In a study on “How Indonesian Students Write Job Application Letter”[2], the research found that while most students are capable of writing a job application letter, some areas are still lacking. Particularly, 52% of 60 job application letters failed to reach the core stage of including convincing information, such as qualifications and character.
Based on research done by Roane State[3], work experience, education, skill set and personality are the four main things that recruiters are looking out for in 2020. Hence, it appears that knowledge from school education is not yet sufficient to create high quality job application letters.
Apart from schooling, many of our respondents have indicated multiple avenues of learning about job application processes, such as online articles, webinars as well as friends and family members. Most of them believe that a combination of these learning platform provides them with very good knowledge on writing job application letters. What do you think?
Sources:
[1] Resume and Cover Letter Stats and Insights Every Job Seeker Should Know
[2] How Indonesian Students Write Job Application Letter
[3] 10 Current Resume Trends & Forecasts for 2020/2021 You Should Be Thinking About
