Very long 'essential' person specifiction

Cottage_Economy

I'm currently applying for a job and am a little unsure how to structure my application.

The application process involves a covering letter (no more than two sides of A4), a short application form with the essential contact information, and my CV

I had intended to address the essential attributes of the person specification in my covering letter, but they have 23 'essential' attributes and 1 desirable, the latter being 'having done the job before'. The essential attributes are also very general

Now wondering whether my original plan should be shelved and I should split addressing the essential attributes between the covering letter and rewrite part of my CV, the latter perhaps having some of the more simple attributes in the list such as strong IT skills, accurate, grammatical and error-free writing skills etc.

Any thoughts on how I should approach this for the best result? Should I try and triage what I would consider the most important and risk being wrong?

LittleMax

I would cover all of the items on the person spec in the covering letter. If they are going to score against the person spec the covering letter is where they will look for the information to score.

The desirable criteria of having done the job before I would cover in my opening paragraph, along the lines of, "I am a highly experienced XXX with <expand on years of experience or types of roles done>"

I then try wherever possible to cover off items on the person spec in order to make it easier for the person scoring my application to find the points they are looking for. Often when it is a long list several items can be covered off in one paragraph, for example a paragraph on communication skills can usually include written, numerical and verbal skills.

I wouldn't risk trying to decide what's important, you have no idea which skills they will be marking. I have known application forms be marked on all attributes, even whether the PS stated that certain items would be assessed at interview stage. This is particularly the case where there are a large number of good applications and they want to narrow them down.

Good luck - as someone coming to the end of a temporary contract I am currently filling out lots of applications and appreciate how time consuming they can be. However I do prefer and tend to get interviews when there is a clear person spec and you can add a covering statement, than when you can only send in a CV.