Career Center – Job Analysis

Matching requirements and profile

You have carried out your own self-assessment, which means you know exactly which values, interests, skills and goals are guiding you in your job search. To determine whether a role is a good fit, you need to compare its requirements with your profile.

Contents of a job advert:

• Company Information
• Job title
• Range of tasks
• Technical requirements
• Non-subject-specific requirements (‘soft skills’)
• Application process
• General conditions: Start date, etc.
• Company contact
• Contact details

Now compare the range of duties and the technical and non-technical requirements with your profile. Pay particular attention to the so-called ‘must-have’ criteria (“Very good knowledge of… is required”, “You have…”) and ‘nice-to-have’ criteria (“Ideally, you will have…”, “Experience in the field of… would be desirable”). Your profile should match the requirements by approximately 70 per cent.

Speculative application:

You will need to find the information you would normally obtain from a job advert through other channels: contacts within the company or your professional network, research via company websites or brochures and the internet, and telephone calls to the relevant department and/or the HR department. A speculative application offers a unique opportunity to present yourself, as your application won’t get lost in the vast flood of applications. It also demonstrates commitment, initiative and a strong sense of self-motivation. However, it is essential that you are very well informed about the company – under no circumstances should you apply blindly!

Miscellaneous:

• Please follow the details given in the job advert to the letter, for example, regarding the preferred application process.
• If you are missing any important information, give the company a call. However, you must prepare thoroughly for this call (prepare a conversation guide and have the relevant documents to hand) and submit your application immediately afterwards.