Are you looking for an internship, a working student position or to start your career?

A successful application depends on many factors. First and foremost, the job you want to apply for must fit your profile as well as possible, and the company must match your personal expectations of a potential employer. The examination of your own abilities and needs as well as the job search are therefore decisive steps. But there are also many things to consider in all other application steps:

As a rule, the written application documents consist of a cover letter that is specifically tailored to the company and the position, a curriculum vitae in table form, and the certificates (educational qualifications, work and/or internship references, other certificates/evidence).

When applying, pay close attention to which documents should be submitted and how. The company indicates this in the job advertisement.

The cover letter can be the ticket to the job interview. It should be individually adapted to the particular company.

Formally, the following should be observed:

• One page maximum in letter form.
• Letter form means: letterhead with your own address and company's address (incl. name of contact person), place/date, subject line (bold), personal salutation, text and finally the scanned original signature
• Same design/ font/ colors as in the resume (one common document at the end)
• Legible font, clean formatting and structuring of the text through logical paragraphs in terms of content
• Check for spelling mistakes-> proofreading by 2nd person
• At the end of the cover letter reference to attachments (e.g. CV, certificates, references) possible

Formulating an appealing and interesting text for the cover letter is a great challenge. The body text should ideally comprise four blocks, each of which fulfills specific functions:

1. The first sentence is always the most difficult. It must arouse interest and should not contain any boring application phrases. Good starting points can be personal conversations that have taken place before (e.g. at a job fair), recommendations or even suitable specializations or interests on your part. Possible rhetorical means to get started are, for example, questions or statistics.
2. You should then explain why you are particularly suitable for the advertised position, why you are interested in the position and the company, and what experience you have already gained in the field. The information should be the same as in the resume, but in no case should it be a mere copy of it. In the cover letter, you have the opportunity to present the relevant information in more detail than the less relevant information.
3. Following this, you should once again introduce yourself in more detail, emphasize your interest and skills, and once again point out that you are a suitable candidate for the position in question.
4. Finally, you should express your interest in an interview and, if applicable, indicate a possible starting date and salary expectations. This is followed by the closing formula.

It is worth investing time and effort in your cover letter. You have the opportunity to showcase your personality and focus on the stages or experiences in your life that are most important to you and most relevant to the job you are applying for.

Your resume should be complete and clearly present all the stages of your career in tabular form in one to two pages. It should include the following:

• Personal data: Name, date and place of birth, address, contact information (email and cell phone number, if available business network profiles)
• Photo: not a must - if, then professional photo Professional photo shoot at the Career Forum
• Educational background: studies (theses, projects and/or international experience within studies), training, school-leaving certificate
• Practical experience ("work experience" for professionals): Internships, working student jobs, freelance work, permanent employment prior to studies  
• Language skills: with indication of the level, e.g. according to the European reference framework
• IT skills: with indication of the level
• Scholarships, awards or prizes
• Honorary commitment or voluntary service
• Interests or hobbies
• Place, date and signature

After you have successfully passed the written application process, you are now faced with the interview phase. Here you can be convincing if you know exactly your potential, know what distinguishes you from others and can define your benefit for the company.

In order to avoid common mistakes and to deal confidently with typical and critical questions, it makes sense to prepare well. A successful job interview can be trained.

Mock interviews and workshops of the Career Center

As part of the Career Center semester program, we offer numerous workshops on topics such as conducting job interviews or mock interviews with companies.

You can also find more exercise options at these providers:

Mock Interviews with FERCHAU

• Conduct a simulated job interview via video with experienced recruiting experts from FERCHAU. Following the interview, you will receive feedback and suggestions for optimizing the interview and your CV. Please contact Ms. Keilonat at FERCHAU (hamburg-suederelbe[at]ferchau.com) to arrange an appointment, send your CV and mention "Mock Interview" in the subject line. The interview will take place in an MS Teams room set up by FERCHAU.

Application training with LUCAS Consulting

• LUCAS Consulting regularly offers job application training for students.

Webinars with Stepstone

• Free online seminars in cooperation with Stepstone on the topics of career and job search can be found here. Stepstone also offers a salary report for specialists and executives.