Seven Job Hunting Myths To Shake Off

1: All applications are treated equally, regardless of when they are sent through.

Hiring managers usually won’t wait until the closing date to start reviewing applications. Generally they’ll read them as they the come in and may start interviewing straight away. If they are urgent, they may even hire, so make sure you send in your applications as soon as possible.

Read: How To Make You CV Pop In 10 Seconds

2. The best resumes are only one page.

While it’s important to keep your resume brief, reducing it to just one page is a little too extreme. Remember it needs to include all your relevant personal information, skills, experiences and significant achievements. Three pages will usually suffice.

Read: How To Write a Resume

3: Wait until the end of the interview to ask your questions.

If opportunities arise, ask questions throughout the interview rather than dishing them all out at the end. That way they’ll fit in more naturally and help create more of a conversation than a stiff Q and A session. You’re also less likely to forget them that way.

Read: Five Questions To Ask In a Job Interview (and Why)

4: Cover letters are no longer relevant.

The cover letter is the only opportunity early in the selection process to distinguish your personality and unique attributes. While they may not be read for every job you apply for, most hiring managers will refer to them when they are deciding between candidates to interview.

Read: Five Secrets To Writing a Winning Cover Letter

5: You need to hide work gaps in your resume.

If you took time off to travel, look after a sick loved one, or took a personal break, it’s best to be upfront and honest. Most hiring managers will understand if you are open about it. They’re looking for humans, not robots.

Tip: Job gaps can even bolster your chances if they are filled with notable endeavours. If you volunteered at a charity, studied a short course or ran a marathon, mention it in your application. It will demonstrate that you’re goal-orientated and committed.

Read: Seven Ways To Make The Time Between Jobs Work For You

6: Job-hunting is just a numbers game.

While statistically the more jobs you apply for the greater your chance of success, if you don’t tweak your resume and cover letter for every application you won’t have much luck. It’s just as much about quality as it is about quantity.

Tip: For every position you apply for, remember to replicate the tone and language of the job advertisement, and to correlate your skills and experiences with the job-selection criteria.

Read: Five Secrets To Writing a Winning Cover Letter

7: Employers are turned off by job-hoppers.

Constant job-hopping will be looked at unfavourably if positions are held for less than six months. However if you worked in positions longer than that and can prove that you made a positive impact during your tenures, then you shouldn’t worry (for most jobs). Some may even look at it favourably if you have acquired unique skills and experiences at different workplaces.

Photography: Kristoffer Paulsen

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