It’s very hard to know exactly what the employer is looking for but there may be clues. If there is a lengthy box for you to provide additional information about yourself, they are looking to see what you think is important to include. This should be information about what you are good at that is relevant to the role. Look at the job description/ person specification if you aren’t sure what this is. Fill it out in full.
If an application asks questions about how self-motivated you are or how effectively you are able to manage your own time then it is reasonable to deduce there will be an element of self management within the role. In this instance you would make sure to describe how effectively you have managed your own tasks and output in your current/ previous jobs.
You need to be convincing in your application, providing evidence to support your assertions. For instance, don’t just say you are a good project manager, prove it. Which of these candidates would you rather invite for an interview?
- I think project management is very important and I excel in this area. I have managed a wide range of projects in my current role and always ensure deadlines and objectives are met. The team can operate more effectively with a strong project manager which I have proven myself to be on many occasions.
- Project management is a key part of my role. I recently managed the roll out of a new IT functionality which had a challenging 6 week deadline. I met with my team at the outset to discuss our objectives and agree an achievable time-line. We agreed tasks and responsibilities and I set out a schedule for overseeing progress on each of these according to benchmarks I had generated. I monitored progress weekly and where deliverables were not being met I worked with the team to a) work out where any problems lay and b) developed a plan to get us back on track. We met the deadline and I received personal praise from the CEO for how efficiently the process had been managed.
There really is a correct formula when it comes to completing application forms. It is surprisingly easy to get this wrong, whatever your career level.
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