Here are some tips to help you put your best foot forward when applying for a role at the University of Cambridge.

Education history

  • List your complete educational history, even qualifications that are not related directly to the role.
  • Have an overseas qualification? You can check how it corresponds to UK qualifications (e.g. GCSE, A Level) at http://www.naric.org.uk/.
  • Some roles require a qualification “or equivalent experience”. Where applicable, this will be clarified in the Person Specification.

Career history

  • List your full career history, including voluntary roles and work experience, to demonstrate the full range of your experience and your transferable skills. For each role, include:
    • Employer Name, Job Title, Start Date, and End Date.
    • Enter the main parts of your job. Keep this brief and highlight the tasks and achievements relevant to the role you are applying for.
    • Enter the reason for leaving that role (e.g. ‘Relocation’).
  • Detail your current or most recent employment/experience first and work backwards.
  • Please mention significant breaks in employment, such as travelling, periods of unemployment or voluntary work.

Suitability for the role / cover letters:

  • This section is your opportunity to tell us why you think you would suit the role you’re applying for.
  • Use the ‘Person Specification’, which can be found in the Further Information document, as a guide of what to include. This highlights the skills and experience we are looking for. Note: Avoid simply duplicating the person specification without explaining your experience in each area.
  • Focus on the role you want to apply for, providing specific details on why your experience is appropriate for the role.
  • Where possible, provide brief and specific examples from your work, education or other experience that show that you have the knowledge and skills required.
  • Mention any transferrable skills and experience that might be relevant to the role, especially if you are looking to change career.
  • Don’t feel the need to include too much here (up to a maximum of 2 A4 sides is plenty).

References

  • Please provide the details of three referees for academic and research roles, and at least two previous employers for Professional Services roles. The online recruitment system will tell you how many references are required for the role that you are applying for.
  • You should not list relatives or friends as referees unless they have employed you and you do not have any other previous employers.
  • It is essential that you indicate at what point you would be happy for us to contact each referee. This can be at any time during the selection process, when you have been invited to interview, or after you have accepted any conditional offer of employment.
  • For Professional Services roles, on referee must be your current (or most recent) employer. If you do not have a previous employer, you can use educational references.

Uploading documents

  • Certain vacancies will require you to provide us with documents such as a Curriculum Vitae and covering letter in the Upload section of the application form. Details of the documents that you need to provide will be given in the advert and/or Further Information document for the vacancy.
  • The documents that you upload must be in .pdf format. Other types of files will not be accepted by the system. A maximum of 5 files may be attached per application.
  • You will have a chance to review the document(s) before submitting your application. Please check that:
    • Files are not password protected
    • The documents are clear and legible
    • Documents do not contain any macros or other executable code; and
    • Documents are not read-only files.
  • Please only upload requested documents. Any additional documents will not be considered as part of the application process.

Submitting your application

  • After entering/uploading the information required as part of the application, you will reach a summary page. This page will show you all sections of the application and where more information is required (which will be denoted with a * symbol. You can go back through your application as required.
  • If all steps have been completed, review your application and click “Submit”. We will be in touch to confirm the outcome of your application shortly after the closing date.  

Please note: You will not be able to change your application once you have submitted it. If you are expecting any details in your application to change before the closing date of a vacancy, you may wish to delay submitting your application.

If you have any general queries about the application process, please contact the Resourcing Team.