"No rule without exception" - this also applies to application dossiers

After 14 years in recruitment with what feels like 30,000 application dossiers viewed and 5,000 interviews, I am happy to confirm the saying "No rule without exception". Candidates who prepare their dossiers based on templates or relevant recommendations are not automatically chosen as winners.

Together with Swiss Engineering STV, we recently organised a training course on the topic of "career assessment" and were able to attract a top-class speaker from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts HSLU.

In this seminar, the young female engineers and architects learnt how to write a letter of motivation correctly and how to structure their CV, in addition to a structured and systematic approach to their own career planning.
And it is precisely here that we can apply the widely used saying "No rule without exception". In courses, in literature and, of course, on the internet, you will find countless rules on what to look out for in a cover letter and when writing a CV.

But, and this would be the first exception to the rule: you could almost say casually that the content of the cover letter or the design of the CV is interpreted very differently depending on the tastes of the recipient. For me personally, the letter of motivation plays a subordinate role at first. I also focus less on the form and presentation of the CV.

My recommended rule relates more to the handling of the entire application dossier, and I personally value simplicity, clarity and completeness over excessive creativity and a skilful approach.

I find it important that I, as the recipient, receive the documents summarised in one e-mail and in a reasonable amount of data (max. 5 MB per file). Ideally, the letter of motivation, CV and other documents should be sent in three separate files. I find zip files cumbersome and I interpret linked files and references to LinkedIn or other platforms as a convenience for the applicant rather than a benefit for the recipient. This is where I put a minus point in the assessment of application dossiers with equivalent content.

Rule for attractive positions:
For positions that trigger many applications, I pay attention to the "overall package", and this includes a preliminary telephone interview initiated by me, in which further impressions are gathered and evaluated, and initial clarifications about salary, availability and flexibility are already recorded. Professionalism in the documents is also assessed subjectively, but is not the decisive factor.

Exception to the rule:
If there are few applications, the tables are turned at first and I have to make an effort to attract applicants. The form of the documents requested plays a subordinate role at first. However, when it comes to the next round, the rule of complete, clean documents comes into play again.
You can twist and turn it however you like. On the one hand, an application dossier may or must have a personal touch, but it should not deviate too much from the rule!

Or do you disagree? We look forward to learning about your rules!