Top tips for your apprenticeship application

Your Up-to-date CV

This may seem obvious, but it is vital that you review your CV and update any and all altered information. This includes things as simple as your email address and phone number which can change quite often.

If you have had to create a CV for the purpose of this application, it’s unlikely to have any outdated information but the following tips could still apply.

Tailor Your CV To The Role

Reviewing a CV for changes is also a great opportunity to tailor it to the role you are applying for and ensuring that it only has the most relevant information your future employer may require. This means highlighting and bringing to the foreground relevant qualifications and accreditation.

NOTE: It is particularly helpful to refer back to the Job Description of the role here, as it will steer you on what to highlight or add, that may not have been relevant in your previous roles.

For instance, though a hobby-based award is very impressive and shows some of your personality, a certificate in archery is not likely to be as important to an office-based or property role as say, your additional IT and Microsoft qualifications.

Showcase Transferable Skills

Many apprentices come straight from full-time education or from professions outside this industry, and therefore mistakenly think that much of their prior work experience is not relevant in their application, but this is not the case.

Hidden amongst your roles and responsibilities as a retail assistant for example are more transferable skills than you might think. In the case of this example, a retail assistant role would require good verbal communication skills, interpersonal skills, a strong team player, and a strong and agile work ethic. These are also referred to as ‘soft skills’ and are becoming increasingly more important in the modern workplace.

A retail assistant might need these skills to sell products, provide customer service, build rapport with customers, work effectively as part of a team and to role switch easily between selling, serving, administration and organising the shop floor.

These are all skills needed in other professions, so it’s all about identifying existing skills and applying them to another situation.

Essay Questions

Many apprenticeships in a variety of roles will have one or two short questions (they won’t be quite long enough to constitute the title ‘essay’, but they are likely not to be open and shut single answers either).

These questions can seem daunting but in truth they are an opportunity to really stand out from the crowd and showcase yourself as a candidate. My top tips are as follows:

Word Count

Stick fairly closely to the word count provided; a good rule of thumb is +/- 10%. Anything too low is a missed opportunity to add value to your application, where anything too high can stray into unfocused territory and – worse – bore and deter the person reading your application.

They could be receiving anywhere up to 100 applications, so turning over to find 6 pages of response that was meant to be just a page may be discouraging and alarming. Try to keep your answer relevant and property related.

NOTE: In addition, since the recruiter or your potential new line manager will be reading so many of these, anything you can do in terms of formatting to stand out will go a long way. Think about how your work will be presented, and perhaps try to supplement it with some kind of visual aspect like a diagram or image.

Proof Reader

There is a good chance you will read and re-read this piece of writing multiple times, which could make you blind to mistakes. It is a good idea to ask a third party to read over your work, as they might be able to offer impartial opinion and pick up on potential errors. This is not cheating or dishonest, simply good practice - qualified professionals will do this too!

My recommendation would be to give it to a teacher or mentor, someone who’s opinion you trust and is in a position or role that includes moderation of other people’s work. This will mean that they have developed their ability to approach work objectively and give constructive criticism. Many close friends and family are unlikely to be able to provide the same objectivity.

A big part of this is also spelling, punctuation and grammar. While for some people this is not a deal breaker, for many it is but all it seems to signify is that the writer didn’t care enough to give due time and attention to such a basic and crucial detail.

Use Your Own Voice

When writing applications or formal correspondence, there is the risk of falling into an overly formal or bland tone. Whilst it is very important to write a formal and polite submission, don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through.

A good way to accomplish this is to try to link your response to the question to something you are truly passionate about in that area. For instance, if you are applying for an apprenticeship in the built environment and your local area is something you love and are passionate about, talking about its potential and regeneration is one way to bring that out in you. It’s all about identifying where your passions lie, and figuring out if there’s a link.

One question is very likely to be why you want the career you are applying for, and if it is you’re already halfway there because you should really know the answer. Whilst you don’t need to detail your innermost thoughts, making this part personal in particular will make you stand out amongst a dozen or twenty model answers from the internet.

Cover Letter (or Email)

Do not, and I repeat, do not, just send your application over in an envelope or blank email. It’s just not good practice and you’ve worked so hard on your submission, honed it to the polished product it is today – surely it deserves an introduction?

You’ll be pleased to hear however, after so much work given to your application this does not need to be long. If you’re applying by paper (this may not be required by the company) be sure to follow traditional, standard letter format with correct addresses and sign off in place, guidance for which can be found fairly easily online.

Formal and Polite – But Preferably Not Template

I used to use email templates as a crutch for correspondence, but believe it or not once you free yourself of the need to search ‘the proper way’ of writing certain emails for certain purposes, your confidence will multiply tenfold.

Include the Key Information

The task is very simple, list the information you must include beforehand, write an email that introduces it, strings the information together in a series of polite sentences, and sign off. The person who reads the email will have read 50 before yours that day, and likely another 50 (or more) afterwards, there is no need to fear.

In the case of a covering email the information you will need to include is:

• Who you are addressing – try to get a name for the recruitment team, otherwise Sir/madam or To whom it may concern is fine
• Who you are and your reason for emailing – if you like you could even embellish on what you are too
• A statement explaining your CV and Question responses are attached to the email
• Your sign off – choose from any perfectly acceptable sign offs ranging from your Kind, Kindest and Best Regards to your Thanks or Many Thanks, whatever feels right

Bonus Content

• A sentence or two about why you want (or even think you would be good at) the position you are applying for (if this wasn’t a question answered as part of the application, it’s worth considering including here)
• A thank you for taking the time to read and / or consider your application

So that’s all of my tips in this area. There are many, many other pieces of advice in the same area and I invite you to undertake some further research to supplement the above. I wish you the best of luck with your apprenticeship application.