Applying For Jobs
University of South Australia's Career Services website has a lot of information about the application process. The following information is specific to CIS students and supplements the information provided by Career Services.
Examples of Skills
Most recruitment processes are behaviour-based. The employer requires specific examples of your previous experience which demonstrates that you have potential. Questions are more likely to focus on your interpersonal skills (communication, team work, presentation skills, written skills) than on technical skills. Your degree already proves your technical competence; your other skills will differentiate you from other graduates.
To demonstrate these skills you can use examples from any aspect of your life – degree program, work experience, voluntary work, sports, etc.
Remember to structure your answer on the following:
- Situation – describe the context of your work
- Task – explain what you set out to do
- Action – talk about what you actually did (use the pronoun 'I' rather than 'we')
- Result – state the outcome
Describing your Technical Skills on CVs
If the job you are applying for requires technical skills:
- Create a section on the first page of your CV which covers technical skills and choose a heading to fit this section, i.e. computing skills, technical skills, etc.
- You can sub-divide this section to suit the application. For instance, programming skills, network knowledge, database familiarity, etc.
- Be specific about your skills and the amount of experience you have acquired. Mention the projects you have completed using specific languages.
Describing your Technical Skills at an Interview
Don't be afraid to talk about your technical skills at an interview. This is a good way to show your depth of knowledge.
Interests
Many students in CIS are passionate about computing and use their free time to experiment with networking/building hardware/programming. If this applies to you, make sure you write about this on your application and discuss it at an interview.
Employers would like to see interests that show; technical expertise, the ability to communicate, team work, and problem solving, amongst others. This could relate to student clubs and societies, voluntary work, sports, and technical hobbies.
URLs
You can write URLs on your application (CV/application form/selection criteria) to direct the employer to webpages you have created. This is a good way to show the standard of your work. Remember to ensure that all the links are working.
Online CV
You can create your own CV online. This must look as professional as a paper-based CV and must be as quick to read. The downside of having an online CV is that you can't change it to suit each job you apply for.
Don't put your address or phone number on the website – you never know who might be reading it. An email address is enough for an employer to get in touch with you.
For further advice on applications for computing-related occupations, please look at: