Applying Yourself to the Application Process
If ever there was a time to hone your communication skills, the current recession with its hugely increased competition for jobs is the one. Employers, already stressed by financial shortfalls and a need to maintain business as usual to prevent further disasters are sorting applications with a microscope. They can afford to recruit, but only if the new recruits are going to be successful.
What constitutes success? A new recruit must be talented, informed, focused, and flexible. Training may be optional, particularly in some industries where basic education is a foundation for on-the-job training in specific skill sets. But the basics must be in place. So the instructions for successful job application have to begin with:
Writing a CV is always a daunting experience. Selling yourself to potential employers is never easy, and if you don’t have a lot of experience in the world of work, the task of writing an effective CV can seem almost impossible. 
Job interviews become even more important during bad economies. The condition of the economy, though, is not the only thing that has made job interviews more critically important lately. The fact is that few employers these days are handing out interviews as easily and as often as in the past. Thanks to pre-employment screening companies, many job candidates are being summarily dismissed from the pool of candidates long before interviews become a possibility; in addition to this, CVs are closely being scrutinised for inconsistencies, irregularities and mendacities. Only those who are left in that exclusive “pool” are considered for interviews, interviews conducted usually under very well-diagrammed and structured criteria. Needless to say, the whole process is more competitive than it has ever been. Keeping this in mind, you need to avoid the following 10 common interview mistakes, any of which may cost you a job:
There can be any number of reasons behind a gap in a CV. The challenge comes, of course, in making the explanation for it palatable to a potential employer. If gaps are a problem for you, you’ll want to apply any number of fixes to address the problem in your CV, cover letter, and interview.