Employment Connections
A general application is easy to send and easy to ignore
Job seekers are told to apply everywhere, and many send the same resume to hundreds of postings. This session works the other way: take one real opening, read it properly, decide honestly whether it fits, then prepare an application and an interview for that employer and that role.
Explore this page6 sections
Fewer, better applications.
Mass applications are the lowest-yield route into a job. A recruiter reading many applications for one role is looking for a quick reason to believe this person fits; a generic resume gives them none.
Preparing properly for one opening takes an evening. It also teaches a method that works for every opening after it, which is why this session uses a real vacancy — one shared through Employment Connections where available, or a public posting the participants bring.
Preparing for one opening
33 topics across 7 areas. Seven steps, from the posting to the follow-up.
Reading the PostingSeparate what is required from what is wished for.6
- Must-have requirements
- Nice-to-have requirements
- Eligibility: qualification, year, experience
- Location, shifts and travel
- Pay range, if stated
- How to apply, and the deadline
Postings often describe an ideal candidate. Meeting most of the must-haves is usually enough to apply.
Deciding HonestlyIs this you today, or you in two years?4
- Which requirements you clearly meet
- Which you partly meet, and the evidence
- Which you do not meet, and whether that is learnable soon
- Whether the hours, location and pay work for you
Checking the EmployerBefore sharing any personal details.5
- The organisation's own website and contact details
- Whether the posting appears on its official channels
- An email from the company's own domain
- What current and former employees say publicly
- No fee, deposit or paid training asked for
Every opening shared through Employment Connections has been checked with the employer first. Public postings need the same check by you.
Tailoring the ResumeThe same facts, arranged for this reader.5
- A target line naming this role
- The most relevant project or experience first
- The posting's words used where they are honestly true
- Removing what does not help for this role
- Keeping a master copy unchanged
The Covering NoteThree or four lines, not a page.4
- Which role you are applying for
- One specific reason you fit
- One piece of evidence: a project, a job, a result
- When you are available
Preparing for This InterviewThe posting tells you most of the questions.5
- Likely questions drawn from each requirement
- A real example for each
- What the employer does, and for whom
- Why this role, answered specifically
- Two questions to ask them
After ApplyingKeep track, and keep going.4
- Note where and when you applied
- Follow up once, politely, if the employer allows
- Ask for feedback if you are rejected
- Carry what you learned into the next application
A one-page preparation sheet
- The role and employer, verified
- Requirements met, partly met and not met
- Three examples that match the requirements
- The tailored resume and covering note
- Likely questions, and two to ask
What GullyFuture does and does not do
- Passes on applications only with the candidate's consent
- Charges job seekers nothing, at any stage
- Leaves every hiring decision to the employer
- Does not promise interviews, offers or jobs
How the session runs
A volunteer who hires or recruits works through one opening with the group, from reading the posting to preparing for the interview. Participants then work on their own chosen opening in pairs, with the volunteer moving between them. Where an employer has shared a genuine vacancy through Employment Connections, participants who want to apply can prepare for it in the session; applications are passed on only with their consent.
What your students leave with
- A way to read a job description for what really matters
- An honest decision about whether to apply
- A resume tailored to one opening, without overstating anything
- A short covering note that says why this role
- The employer checked as real before any details are shared
- Prepared answers for the questions this role will bring
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
One opening, prepared for properly, teaches more than a hundred sent blind.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.