Online job applications are starting to be the norm in the job hunting and hiring business. Although the techniques and other requirements are now digital and Internet-driven, the rules of the game are still the same. The Borders Group job application done online is one such example.

Along with many other traditional companies established before the digital age, the Borders Group still follows the time-tested system of looking for the right personnel for their company. For the jobseeker applying online, it is good to remember that only the techniques are different. At the other end of the line is still a person, not a machine, who does all the appraisal of your listed skills and talents.

The Borders Group, the second largest book retailers in the U.S. (after Barnes and Noble) has a variety of job openings, all related to selling and retailing of books. With a merchandise mix all related to arts (books, video, music, magazines, newspaper, etc.) the company indicates in their requirements for incoming personnel to have the same interests.

Basically, they have three sales groups where they need the right employees to run: their home office, their distribution centers, and their stores. Each of these has a variety of openings for the jobseeker to sift through and choose.

Like the other big companies, the Borders Group also has a good package of generous benefits awaiting the successful candidates. Visit their website and look in those three places where you think your talents are best suited. As their online ads say: search and apply.

Jobseekers applying online need a good email address where the people at Borders Group can send their responses to their application. It is not advisable to use your old adolescent or silly addresses like “mrcool”, “newyorkdude”, etc. Get a new professional-sounding one. 

An online application needs a cover letter to go with it and the résumé. Write yourself one that introduces yourself, your experiences and how they apply to the position you aspire for. Be brief and concise, confident but not over the top. One page or less is perfect.

How old is your résumé? Have you updated it recently? Why not add new things in there that might be related to books and the arts and other things Borders Group people might be interested?

Proofreading your documents (cover letter, résumé, application forms) never hurts. Reading it aloud sometimes help spot offending mistakes (wrong grammar, missed words, etc.) overlooked by silent reading. 

A little note on the above: make your files carry your name (Joe.résumé, joe.application, etc.) so the hiring manager would know who they belong to in a sea of hundreds of thousands of other files.

Making a phone call or sending out a follow-up email is not at all bad. You simply want to make sure your application had been received. It can be beneficial, too. Following up makes you stand out from the hundreds of other applicants. Calling can make you reiterate how much interested you are with the job.

The Borders Group job application online is just one of the good places to work with, that is, if you are into books and literature, current events and some entertainment (movies and TV, DVDs, etc.) Come to think of it, who is not into these things?