Application Guide 2026

In an ideal world, ability, ambition, and personal fit would be the only criteria considered in hiring decisions, regardless of other factors.

But let's face it: companies are making increasingly faster, more structured, and data-driven decisions. So what does that mean for your career ambitions? What steps are necessary to get into the "relevant set" for your next career move? And why isn't a perfect application enough?

I recommend the following steps to set the right course for 2026 and succeed in the candidate market:

Orientation: Clarity and focus

Orientation sounds like self-discovery. In the day-to-day job application process, it's something very practical: the ability to realistically define your next step. Realistic doesn't necessarily mean thinking small. It means: your goals align with your strengths, your profile – and what the market demands.

This includes the following considerations:

• What do you enjoy doing and are you good at? What are you better at than others? And: What takes a disproportionate amount of energy from you?

• What strengths can be objectively proven? Where can you still develop?

• In which roles are these assets sought? Which combinations of skills appear repeatedly?

The last point is often underestimated. If you only plan from your own head ("I could also…"), you quickly end up with overly broad visions of your goals. Instead, I recommend a sober reality check: Read job postings that interest you—not just two, but twenty. Not to apply—but to identify patterns. Which requirements are recurring? Which topics are constant? Which differences depend solely on industry or company size?

This analysis provides orientation in the truest sense: You can formulate two to three target roles that make sense to you. To do this, you define "must-haves" (e.g., span of responsibility, team size, organizational maturity, remote work component) and "no-gos" (e.g., a purely operational role without any creative freedom, excessive travel, a toxic matrix organization without clear decision-making processes). It sounds simple – but it's the step that transforms a collection of applications into a strategy.

And one more thing: Orientation isn't just about "job title." It's also about deciding where you want to make an impact. Medium-sized businesses operate differently than corporations, scale-ups differently than family businesses. Many roles may seem similar on paper, but in practice, they're completely different. Understanding this will make you more credible in interviews because you're not just looking for "the job," but an environment where you can deliver.

Positioning: Your profile becomes an offer

While orientation clarifies the direction, positioning makes your profile distinctive. Positioning doesn't mean artificially narrowing yourself or forcing yourself into a rigid label. Positioning means that a company understands in seconds what you stand for, what you deliver, and why it's relevant.

A good positioning statement is therefore not a marketing slogan, but a structured statement. It answers three questions: What problem do you solve? In what context? How can people see that you can do it? This can be formulated very specifically – without buzzwords. It could be Finance ("Planning and forecasting in growth phases"), Operations ("Scaling processes without losing quality"), Sales ("Pipeline discipline and closing skills"), or HR ("Clean selection processes and leadership assessment"). Crucially, the statement must fit your target role and be consistent with your career path.

Many candidates shy away from positioning because they believe they need to be "more": more certificates, more tools, more titles. In reality, less is often enough – but clearer. Positioning is rarely an additional skill, but rather a translation of your existing substance. It emerges when you make your recurring strengths visible as a common thread: What is the pattern across your career paths? In which situations were you particularly effective? What kinds of challenges land on your desk – and why?

This is also where employability becomes very tangible. Employability isn't the sum of all skills, but rather the combination of relevance and demonstrability. A skill you can't apply and explain is hardly usable in the market. Therefore, in 2026, the key isn't "another course," but "another well-documented use case." For example, someone who has learned a tool but can't name a use case will appear uncertain in an interview. Conversely, someone who clearly describes a project—initial situation, approach, result, learning curve—automatically comes across as more professional.

Positioning also means having the courage to choose. Those who are "open to everything" are rarely the first choice. Companies aren't looking for the person with the most options, but rather the person who is best suited to the specific task.

Visibility: Not garish, but recognizable

Visibility is often confused with presence: posting a lot, networking a lot, talking a lot. In application processes, visibility means something different: your contribution is quickly recognizable. Specifically, where decisions are made: in your resume, your LinkedIn profile, in the interview, and during the trial day.

In 2026, your resume isn't just a "career chronicle," it's also a "proof of impact." Task lists all look pretty similar. Impact is the differentiator. This doesn't mean every line has to contain a KPI. It means: Where relevant, clearly state the result and your contribution. What was the context (team/region/complexity)? What was your contribution? What measurably changed afterward—or at least demonstrably improved? A sentence like "Introduced CRM" is neutral. A sentence like "Responsible for CRM rollout for 150 users, improved data quality, significantly shortened sales cycle" shows impact.

LinkedIn will be the first screening point in many processes by 2026 – often even before someone opens a PDF. A good profile is therefore not about creativity, but about clarity. The headline should state what you do and your area of expertise. The "About" section isn't a novel, but a concise positioning statement plus two supporting examples and a search direction. And if it's relevant to your role, a small portfolio is invaluable: an anonymized one-page project summary, a sample framework, an excerpt from a presentation, a flowchart. Not to impress, but to demonstrate substance.

In an interview, visibility trumps structure. Those with a clear positioning don't tell "everything," but rather the relevant stories. I advise candidates to have a few well-prepared situations: an example where something went wrong and you learned from it; an example where you convinced stakeholders; an example where you prioritized under pressure; an example where you delivered measurable results. Visibility here means making your thinking and actions comprehensible—not just the outcome.

And yes, AI will play a role in 2026. As a tool, it's useful – for shortening, structuring, and optimizing language. But it doesn't work as a substitute for clarity. Texts that sound "perfect" but lack real substance quickly fall apart in conversation. What matters are not brilliant formulations, but coherent, verifiable statements.

The connection: A job application is the translation of your employability.

If you take this three-pronged approach seriously, your job application process will fundamentally change. Orientation ensures you don't get bogged down in details. Positioning makes your profile stand out. Visibility ensures this differentiation is visible – because your contribution is recognizable. This is the core of a professional approach in 2026: not "doing everything right," but clearly stating what's right.

If you want to take a practical approach, start with a simple exercise: Formulate two target roles, write your positioning statement on one line, and then collect two pieces of evidence for each CV entry that support your statement. Once that's done, the rest (CV revision, LinkedIn refinement, interview preparation) is just detail work.

Be digital, act social

During the application process itself: Embrace the process, do your best, work digitally, neatly and professionally. But stay authentic.

Social skills aren't only demonstrated in face-to-face interactions. An email, a phone call, a WhatsApp message: use these opportunities to build a connection.

If you truly want to understand the background of a job offer (and you should with every proactive application, otherwise it's "random"), go the extra mile, take an interest in the company and your interviewers. And learn from experience! What didn't work in your last application? Was it the choice of job offer? The company structure? Cultural aspects? All of this will help you plan your next actions more effectively. And that directly translates into increased motivation, focus, and results.