A successful job search can hardly do without an appealing application. Application training ensures that applicants are fit to present themselves and present themselves optimally. This usually includes not only formal aspects such as the application letter itself but also the interview. What can application training do and who is it for?
What is application training?
There are different terms and names for application training. Some call it application assistance, others call it application advice or application coaching. All three offers and forms are comparable. The only central difference is that the effort differs and the application coaching focuses more on potential analysis.
This can be done alongside work on the personality be particularly helpful in a professional reorientation or when returning to work after a long break. Application training, on the other hand, is primarily about internalizing the formal framework in the application process: How is an application structured, what does the applicant have to pay attention to? Certain skills are trained so that the applicant knows in the future what to consider when applying.
Who is application training aimed at?
Some providers or courses target their application training specifically to students and graduates. For example, students often have the option of application training via the career service of their university. There are also numerous private providers and organizations that, for example, offer application training in cooperation with the employment office. Often this is aimed at adults and professionals.
Adults or experienced professionals indeed have a certain advantage over students when it comes to writing an application. However, this does not mean that application training for experienced employees is out of the question. Because anyone who has to write an application for the first time after years of professional activity often needs support: Certain things in the application process have changed and your own documents need to be refreshed. In addition, some employees may need to reorient themselves after a phase of unemployment, which is reflected in application training.
What does application training look like?
Depending on which provider carries out the application training, there can be different focus areas. In any case, active participation of the participant is required. Basically, this content should make up an application training:
Check the documents
Usually, the participants bring an application and/or a specific job offer for a position in which they are interested. The first thing to do is to check the application portfolio: Are all the important elements available, is the CV up to date? The application trainer looks at the previous cover letters and analyzes them: Do they meet the formal criteria? Do you fit the advertised position? Does the applicant manage to present himself confidently and convincingly?
Often the last point is particularly crucial for job seekers to complete application training. In addition, certificates and references are checked and, if necessary, digitized. As part of the application training, the consultant also examines the application photos: If these are out of date or otherwise unsuitable, it is advisable to have new ones made.
Determine your own strengths and weaknesses
First of all, the current situation is determined: What can and what do you want? A good application training not only trains formal aspects in writing and designing the documents but also supports self-reflection. A strengths and weaknesses analysis helps to better identify suitable positions and to work out your own plus points. Based on your personal strengths and knowledge, you will be able to formulate which professional goals you would like to achieve. In doing so, you take into account both professional content and the framework conditions, such as working hours and career opportunities.
Support with ongoing applications
All theory is gray: If you haven’t already come to the application training with specific job advertisements, you should start looking for a suitable position now at the latest. In the application training, you will learn that you should always use different channels when looking for a job and not just search on job exchanges.
It is also important to activate contacts and to keep an eye out for suitable jobs on the websites of potential employers. For those who are currently unemployed, looking for a job via the employment office is increasingly being considered. The applications are now being fine-tuned. You bring up-to-date cover letters that the application trainer will review. In most cases, a clear change can already be noticed here compared to the beginning of the application training.
Participants in application training often learn the differences between the various application formats and their advantages. And they learn what to look out for when posting a job: The job advertisement already shows the form in which the application should be available. Some employers may accept applications by post. The vast majority now rely on online applications via a company’s own portal or an e-mail application. Applicants should absolutely adhere to the relevant guidelines. The first impression is decisive here:
- Does your cover letter refer to the position?
- Does it formulate your advantages convincingly?
- Does it meet the formal criteria (no longer than a DIN A4 page, error-free)?
Preparation for the interview
Regardless of whether a specific position is already in prospect, the application training prepares the participants for the interview or similar procedures for applicant selection. This can include, for example, the assessment center or recruitment tests.
In situations posed, you play through typical elements of the application process, such as stressful questions or group discussions. This helps applicants to take away the fear of unfamiliar situations. At the same time, application training helps avoid typical mistakes. Part of the preparation for the interview is not only the content but also the self-presentation: What do applicants need to know about body language and facial expressions, what dress codes are there?
What costs will you have to pay?
The costs for application training vary greatly. They can range from free to around 2,000 euros and more. The reason: There are different approaches to application training. For students and graduates, it is often part of their training. This means that in the final year of school, students learn from their teachers or employees of the employment agency how to write an application and what to look out for. The advisory services of the “Career Service” at the university are also free of charge for students (and graduates immediately after graduation). They are usually extensive and include, for example, training in self-presentation.
Receive free application training also long-term unemployed and unemployed who are clients of the employment agency or the job center. Here it is usually part of a measure lasting several months and can be covered by the education voucher. The measure takes place in close coordination with the employment agency or the job center. Application training is also free or at low cost, if you are self-taught. You can do this, for example, with career pages like this one, with guidebooks or YouTube videos. The local adult education center also offers cheap offers with appropriate courses.
How do you recognize serious providers?
It makes a difference whether you book application training as an individual or as part of a group. Especially when it is part of a measure, the participants are (inevitably) lumped together. There is hardly any individual advice. It actually can’t exist because the requirements of the participants vary greatly between school leaving certificate, professional experience, and personal strengths and interests.
Anyone who tries to get individual application training should attach great importance to the fact that the provider explains the content and goals in a (free!) preliminary talk. What references can he show? Ideally, friends or acquaintances from your environment have already had good experiences with this provider. Transparency in costs is also important: According to a study by Stiftung Warentest, good application training does not have to be expensive and can be had for around 50 euros per hour. It is more important than the application training is personally tailored to the applicant. After all, it depends on your gut feeling: if the course is logically structured and the contact person convinces you, nothing stands in the way of the application training.
Small downer: Application training does not guarantee a successful application. However, it can significantly increase the application chances and is, therefore, an investment in your own future. After all: You can claim the costs for this on your tax return.