Are you currently on the hunt for a new role? Applying for jobs and internships can be a stressful time! To help lessen your stress and make the application process a little easier, we’ve outlined a few key things to avoid doing when you’re applying.

Make sure you list your contact details

This seems obvious, but a common mistake applicants make is forgetting to list their contact details! Your email address and phone number and sufficient, but extra points for including your LinkedIn URL. It’s not necessary to include your address—in fact, we’d advise against it if you’re applying for interstate jobs, as many employers tend to favour applicants already local to the opportunity.

Submit documents as PDFs

After you’re done editing your cover letter and resume to suit the position you’re applying for, remember to save them as PDFs before uploading them! Not only are PDFs more professional, they’re also consistent no matter what device you’re viewing them on. If you submit a Word document, for instance, it may become misaligned if someone with a different version of Word opens it up. Since PDFs are compatible with every device, they avoid that possibility completely!

You don’t need to include your birthdate

Is your date of birth on your resume? You can take it off! It’s actually illegal for employers to ask for that information from you, and depending on the role it may give hirers a bias against you. Plus, it’s simply an outdated practise to put your date of birth on your resume.

Proofread, proofread, proofread!

We’re sure you’ve heard this one a million times, but we can’t stress how important it is. Simple spelling errors or other small mistakes in your cover letter or resume can result in a hirer immediately disregarding your application, no matter how qualified you are for the position. Once you’ve proofread it a couple of times yourself, always get someone else to look over it too—just in case! 

While you’re at it, double and triple-check that you’ve addressed your cover letter to the right person, included the correct titles and names in the cover letter, and included the correct (read: most relevant) details about yourself. It never hurts to read through it just one more time!