Top Tips for Writing a Youth STEM Matters Application

1. Address the specific question

A good approach to take when you’re first thinking about your application is to mind-map or list everything that you can think of that could answer the three questions. Then, pick out the most suitable and appropriate bits for each question so that you avoid repeating yourself and remain focused rather than generic. Essentially, you are separating out your ideas to make sure what you write for each question is relevant to that question specifically.

2. Ensure that you’ve done sufficient research

It would be of great benefit to your application to do some thorough research into our organisation, our ethos and our mission and assess to what extent your personal beliefs match ours: that way you’ll be able to express exactly why you want to join Youth STEM 2030 and the Youth STEM Matters project specifically. Once you have a clear idea of the beliefs we share, you will be able to make relevant links between yourself and the organisation and prove to us that you have the passion, enthusiasm and motivation required to be part of our team!

3. Link effectively back to the role you’re applying for

After picking out the most relevant pieces of information that you want to present yourself  through, make sure you link it back to the role you are applying for and explain very specifically how this experience will help you perform the role well. We want to see that link - this is how we know that you’ve thought through what the role involves  (for example by having an in-depth look at our website or even emailing us!). This is super crucial and is the difference between a good application and an excellent one!

4. Highlight & link transferable skills

When considering the experiences you want to write about, make sure you think about transferable skills: skills that you have learnt from one experience that could potentially help you perform your role well. This is an opportunity for you to tell us effectively about your leadership, communication, teamwork, etc. skills and experiences, whilst linking back to the role you’re applying for.  We have indicated in each of the role profiles what key skills we’re looking for - use these as a starting point!

5. Make sure your paragraphs are coherent

When you’ve finally outlined the specific experiences and reasons you want to write out, and have a clear idea of how to link these with the position you’re applying for, you should elaborate and use signposting effectively to produce a well-thought through response.  Additionally, by guiding us from one idea that you’ve written about to the next using signposts such as ‘in addition to’, ‘moreover’, ‘furthermore’, ‘as a consequence’ etc., you ensure that your answers are coherent. The elaboration should not be excessive, nor too limited!

6. Avoid listing what you’ve done

Avoid listing your experiences at all costs. Instead, link and explain some experiences that you’ve picked out specifically - this will prove to us that you’ve put enough time and consideration into your application.  It also shows that you have researched in detail about us and the role you’re applying for. We don’t need to hear about every experience you have (remember there’s a character limit!), just focus on your strengths.

7. Write concisely

Finally, it is so important that you write concisely and that your writing flows well. Make sure you check your spelling, punctuation, grammar and structure. As a top tip: quality is so much more crucial than quantity, so don’t write excessively or necessarily a lot; instead make sure you’re focused and discuss relevant matters to answer the questions effectively. Take time to draft your answers (perhaps in a separate document) and even consider not reading them for a couple of days, before revisiting and redrafting them.  Try reading your responses aloud, or asking someone else to read over them - is everything clear the first time they read it?

Remember, we also accept applications in other formats, such as videos and posters if you’d like to share your answers that way!  Our team is happy to hear from you if you’d like to discuss the opportunities further (contact us), and we look forward to reading your application! 

Good luck!