How to Just Stand Out As A Candidate In A Degree Apprenticeship Application
“Whenever I say I want to apply to a degree apprenticeship, they tell me that it’s really competitive. How the heck can I stand out?”
We’ve got you. It’s true that hundreds of people can apply to one degree apprenticeship role, and that there are more applications than roles available.
You can’t help but ask yourself how you can stand out from the crowd, and win the game. At the end of the day, you want to know how you can be a wildly unique candidate. Let’s go through 3 of our top tips to make you insanely different, and finally land that degree apprenticeship.
1. Put in the extra effort
Degree apprenticeships are heavy investments for employers, because they’re investing their time into you as a young person, as well as money into your studies and salary. They want to make the right decision on who they hire.
They’re going to be mainly assessing how much effort you put into your application, and understanding of the role and company.
Many candidates jump to apply to roles for the sake of it, so make sure you do extra in the following areas:
Tailoring your CV. This is probably the most important thing you should do before applying to a role. Make sure the skills and information you include on your CV are specific to that job only. Spend extra time finding relevant keywords and going through your experience to make your CV as specific as possible
Research the company. We’re not talking just Googling generic information such as their business objective and values. Those are important, but literally anybody can get that information. Dig into the brand’s social media platforms and Linkedin to find information you’re interested in that not just anybody can find. Mention this especially in your interview.
Putting in extra effort into your application shows, and employers will see you as a hardworking, proactive candidate. That’s super beneficial for success.
2. Keep learning and working
It’s pretty unlikely that you’ll land a degree apprenticeship successfully the first time. It may take you a few weeks to a few months to get an offer. In this precious time, make sure you’re constantly improving your skills and knowledge of the industry you’re interested in. This reflects you as a proactive candidate.
Here are some ways we suggest doing this:
Take online courses. Online courses are our personal favourite because they’re so easy to do in your own time, and most are free. Plus, many courses give you a certificate that you can attach to your LinkedIn and mention on your CV. Bonus! Not everyone’s going to do that!
Find work experience. Try reaching out to local companies in your area, and ask them if they offer work experience. If not, you can use websites like Springpod to do virtual work experience and put this into your application.
Avoid having gaps where you’re not doing anything to improve your application or experience.That way, you can stay super proactive and ahead of hundreds of other candidates not doing the same thing.
3. Be polite
This is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you want to know how to improve your application. But, at the end of the day, employers are recruiting human beings, and want them to be easy and pleasant to work with.
Make sure you’re polite and nice throughout the application process.
For example:
If you are rejected from the role, invest some time into creating a thank you email to the recruiter for their time and the opportunity to apply.
Thank the interviewer for their time and consideration before and after your interview.
If your assessment centre is in person, be courteous and greet the receptionist before and after the day.
You never know, maybe this will help lead to your success if you decide to re-apply to the same role!
To finish off…
The key to beating hundreds of other candidates to the role that you want is to be as different as possible. You’ll be more memorable, and the recruiter will remember you better as a good fit. Let’s recap the 3 ways you can stand out as a candidate:
Put in the extra effort into crafting your application and research
Keep improving your personal brand, experience and knowledge
Be polite and kind in every stage of your application
Remember, employers are not hiring robots, they’re hiring human beings that they will work with for the next few years. Be polite, pleasant, proactive, hard-working, and most important of all, be yourself!
👉 Show the recruiter you're a professional with our 7 LinkedIn profile tips!
👉 Check out our guide on how to write a standout degree apprenticeship CV!
👉 Read our advice on what to do if you don't have a certain A-Level for a degree apprenticeship!