Sometimes, employers get so entrenched in their application procedure that they forget to think about it from the candidate's perspective.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. This week, I've been working on a recruitment campaign to hire a Planner. Unusually, the candidates were asked to bring along to the interview any 'relevant materials' to support their application. I wondered how many of the candidates would know what constitutes 'relevant materials' and what contribution this would make to their interview.

Some candidates brought along their dissertations or modules from their course which they thought were relevant. This was OK but it was difficult to see how their work directly related to the role.

The candidates who did well were the ones that queried what was required and most importantly the purpose. Knowing why you are being asked to do something makes it easier to get it right.

The purpose was to give the candidate the opportunity to demonstrate how well they understood the company and the role. By bringing what they saw as relevant, gave the candidates every opportunity to expand on their application.

So to share with you what the best candidate did: she put together a one page document which she handed out to the interviewers and it contained;

• The objectives of the company and how the role to which she was applying would contribute
• The challenges facing the company and how she saw this impact on the department and ultimately her role
• The solutions she had thought of to overcome the challenges

In this way, the recruiters were able to see how well the candidate understood the business and her potential role within it. So, if you don't understand why you are being asked to do something, don't be afraid to ask.
Good Luck!