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THE CAREER SERVICE IN CONVERSATION WITH…
Topic 3: The application portfolio

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THE APPLICATION PORTFOLIO
What needs to be inside?

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Susann Müller
ALTEN GmbH - Human Resources Manager
An application portfolio generally begins with a cover sheet,

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followed by the cover letter and the CV.

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The annexes with the relevant certificates come after that.

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In terms of content, it is important to provide a meaningful and informative CV and to have copies of certificates scanned in straight with colours easily visible.

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It is also important that when the member of the personnel department looks at the documents and/or the portfolio as a PDF or printout, all documents are complete.

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THE APPLICATION PORTFOLIO
Third page? Yes or no?

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As an applicant, you can decide for yourself whether or not you would like to add a third page to your application.

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You don't have to.

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On the third page, you can include relevant things for which there is no space in the CV and cover letter but which you would like to share with the company.

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THE APPLICATION PORTFOLIO
How important is the photo?

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An application photo is not obligatory. However, companies like to see it.

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These days there is a very nice variety e.g. portrait or landscape, colour or black and white, or a portion of a photo.

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These are all great options which also reflect some of the applicant's personality.

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THE APPLICATION PORTFOLIO
Do hobbies belong in my CV?

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Yes, they should definitely be included.

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As an applicant, you should of course find a certain relation to the various important points of the job, which have priority in the CV.

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By including hobbies, the member of the personnel department can ask: what kind of person is this? What can these documents tell me about the candidate?

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Though you also shouldn't raise concern: so many hobbies, so many interests.

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Is it possible that the job could suffer because of this? Share carefully a bit about what you do privately.

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THE APPLICATION PORTFOLIO
How important are my grades?

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Manuel Bähr
Leads job interviews at ALTEN GmbH
To begin with, I don't look at the grades at all. Really, I look at the CV.

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I am more interested in the practical experience that someone has gained whilst studying.

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What practical experience does the candidate have? Perhaps also in industry, because we are active in industry.

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For me, it is much more interesting if someone has already worked in industry.

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If someone knows the work atmosphere and also the work environment, personally that is much more important to me first of all.

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THE APPLICATION PORTFOLIO
Call beforehand?

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The advice I give to every applicant who is unsure and has questions, or if a job advertisement raises questions, is to call and ask those questions.

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For example: after studying, you are planning on living abroad for two semesters and ask yourself: how will the timing of this fit in with my application?

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Can I submit it beforehand? Be willing to clarify this personally.

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Another good tip: you can then use it to your advantage by referring to the telephone call in your cover letter.

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THE APPLICATION PORTFOLIO
Enquire afterwards?

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So, a follow-up letter isn't suitable in this day and age; send an email instead. The best thing even is a telephone call.

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That is always appropriate if it has been a while since you have heard anything from your contact person.

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It is good. It shows that you are addressing the issue proactively. It shows interest and I recommend it.

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THE APPLICATION PORTFOLIO
The biggest mistakes?

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The most common mistakes that we see are documents in which the wrong firms are mentioned or the wrong contact persons are named.

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This can happen perhaps if you are in the orientation phase and are sending out lots of applications.

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Therefore, it is important to check over your application again and also to print it out in order simply to see how the whole thing looks when you hold it in your hand.

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The second thing that we encounter over and over again is the CV simply being far too short.

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In our opinion, the CV is the most important document in the application; it is where you can present yourself and show what you have done.

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What did my studies entail? Which focuses have I chosen? Which internships?

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It is also important that you mention your thesis there with the title. The CV should go into greater detail.

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The candidates must learn to present themselves because I, working in the personnel department, only have these documents on which to base my decision.

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MORE INFO AT
www.uni-due.de/abz/career.php