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The University of Sheffield

How to Succeed at: Writing Applications

The University of Sheffield via FutureLearn

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Overview

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Experts from The Careers Service here at The University of Sheffield share their top tips to help you write exceptional applications, CVs (or résumés), covering letters and personal statements.

You’ll also hear from employers and admissions tutors to find out what they really look for in a candidate. And once you’ve written that perfect application, prepare for the next stage with our course: How to Succeed at: Interviews.

This course is designed for anyone applying for jobs or courses. It will be of particular interest to those in the early stages of their career, or those who are out of practice and need to update their skills. No prior knowledge or expertise are needed.

Syllabus

  • Preparing to apply
    • Welcome to Week 1
    • Understanding yourself
    • Understanding jobs and courses
    • Making the match
    • Summary of the week
  • CVs and covering letters
    • Welcome to Week 2
    • Create an effective CV
    • Develop a professional online profile
    • Sell yourself in your covering letter
    • End of week summary
  • Application forms and personal statements
    • Welcome to Week 3
    • Outstanding application forms
    • Brilliant personal statements
    • End of course summary

Taught by

Hilary Jones and Pamela Hafekost

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Reviews

4.7 rating, based on 445 Class Central reviews

Start your review of How to Succeed at: Writing Applications

  • Ih San
    11
    - A wonderful course! - I liked the pedagogical approach the course used to attract attention from the first till the last step, with various activities (videos, articles, exercises and successful samples with analysis - I liked the discussions, th…
  • Anonymous
    Writng application must be accurate , clear and related to the a job . First of all write clear info. about youself. List of education , date ,grade and format specified in the instruction.Then give brief details of each period of employment and wo…
  • Profile image for Rashesd Sufian
    Rashesd Sufian @Surf
    1
    I've taken a lot of writing courses in my life, but I must confess that "How to Succeed at: Writing Applications" organised by the University of Sheffield via FutureLearn is exceptional. The course teaches modern approaches to preparing applications that guarantee employment at workplaces and admission at institutions. We, the course-takers, are provided with real-time materials to assist us to gain insights into the world of applications and sell ourselves to recruiters. If anyone is looking forward to "upping" their application writing skills, the course is a must.
  • Richelle Hemnath
    5
    The course is very comprehensive covering writing applications when applying for both jobs and programmes of study (courses). The lessons shared cover all aspects of the writing application process and include feedback from recruiters who review applications submitted to their firms and universities. The course developers did a very thorough job of presenting the material in an easy to learn fashion, with lots of videos, interactive elements and templates to help you record 'the story of you'.
  • Profile image for Sylvia Amar
    Sylvia Amar @Pimiko
    126
    It's a very easy course to prepare resumes, linkedin profiles and job / courses applications. It's well documented with recruiters interviews.
  • Alex Cianca
    3
    The course was really interesting.
    All the given info, examples and clarifications clearly helped me to get a better understanding of how to approach interviews, fill application forms and be visible online.
    A big thanks for the included PDF. Their content highlighted step by step what to add when producing CV and Covering letters.
    Extremely useful the interviews with the HR Managers.
    My only complaint is the absence of the educators in replying to the users query or comments.
    It'd have been fantastic have someone who could correct or suggest the right way throughout the course.
  • Promise Okezie
    3
    Over the past three weeks, I have learnt key tips, guidelines and techniques that has impacted on me positively, especially in CV writing. I have also learnt practical steps to apply in selling myself (unique selling point) in my resumes and covering letter. Listening to experts/recruiters talk about what they expect from applicants has opened my eyes tremendously. The interactive videos, quizzes and comment sections also makes this course worthwhile and interesting.
    Thank you.
  • Zoe Aukim
    44
    It was fairly useful if a little basic. Had some good tips and templates for thinking about companies before you make your application.
  • Profile image for Riaz Laghari
    Riaz Laghari @riazlaghari
    1
    It is an effective course to develop your skills.It shares tips ,techniques and ways to write best applications.If you learn it ,your chances of getting a job might increase significantly.Good luck!
  • Anonymous
    A lot of detailed information is included in the course and it is divided in a clear and logical way, making everything easy to follow and understand. The PDF downloads with templates and examples are especially useful for working through yourself!
  • Anonymous
    Am very grateful for the opportunity to learn about marketing oneself and organizations we belong to.The course outlined aspects not previously taught to me but now useful in my endeavor to grow in my career.
  • Anonymous
    It was well described and in depth. Quizzes helped remember what was learned throughout course and what's important to include.
  • Anonymous
    Sensibly structured and presented to give some clarity to the recruitment process and how to take advantage of current recruiter thinking.
    There probably isn’t much to be said o how to avoid the groupthink endemic in the process.
    Of necessity, examples are always of people who have shown leadership, done all manner of selfless activities, or worked well under stress.
    Probably the audience for the course are a self defining group who have these abilities to call on, but what about the other fifty percent of candidates who are just ‘ordinary and a bit dim’. How do they get interviews and jobs?

  • Anonymous
    Outstanding course to learn and put into practice information, tips and thoughts about our resume, cover letter and job's applications into an easy way.

    During this course I could learn and practice, and finally, seeing a remarkable improve on my documents. In my experience, I didn't know many things so I really appreciate to be here and discover new material to reinforce my confidence and redoing my resume and cover letter. In addition, the opportunity to download some files provides a valuable support for the future.

    I highly recommend this course. Thank you so much to all the staff for your time and dedication.
  • Anonymous
    This course offered much more than I had expected. Not only do the activities help you writing effective applications, but also provide insights into interviews and what kind of behaviour should we have.
    The course takes three weeks and lessons are straight to the point. They give us models of CVs and cover letters, as well as some ideas to answer tricky questions.
    As a point of improvement, I would suggest the educators participate in the forums. Although the dialogues between learners are constructive, it would have been more engaging to see the educators interacting with us.
    I definitely recommend this course.
  • Anonymous
    A very useful course for anyone looking to apply for a job. The complementary material is a great way to help us organise our ideas and keep things in focus, and many good examples of the various parts of the application are given, to guarantee that we understand the course content. The main points are also re-enforced throughout the course and the language used is clear and easy to comprehend. I will definitely recommend this course and look forward to completing others through FutureLearn!
  • Anonymous
    This course helped to understand basic important point to write application best ways. You can understand what's active style , and brand yourself in a better way on front of any organizations / recruiters /manager . You can also learn basic important principal of writing application . It's very helpful specially for biggner . Must be checked it . learned to write proper application methods . In this way you can build confidence to show yourself on paper form of writing style . I like it . Thanks future learning .
  • Rosemary Catt
    1
    This was an enormously helpful course. It provided excellent information and resources which made applying for jobs a much less daunting task. The material was concise, relevant and easily followed. The downloads were very useful to keep and use each time an application is required. The course covered a lot more than I expected (gaming for interviews).
    I have renewed confidence in presenting a professional job application in future.
  • Anonymous
    That's incredible course. I enjoyed learning writing for the first time in my life. Thanks for organizers. From starting to finishing your application you must give relevant information in correct order and size. Giving reference is new to me. Preparing video application can be helpful. All the activities and examples are great. I find participating in this course interesting and amazing opportunity to boost my career goals.
  • Anonymous
    Every second spent reviewing this course has been worth it. Personally, the course was well organized with lots of examples and downloadable materials. In particularly, the top tips from a range of recruiters and career professionals were enlightening and very useful. This course teaches participants to prepare well towards "Writing Applications", and I felt likewise, the preparation behind the scenes for the course was meticulously done. Merci.

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