Yeah, writing good applications are a true skill, so if you can make it stand out you have a much better chance at getting a job. This is easy here in Finland since most jobs doesn't have a standard form for you to fill out, so they just ask you to send in a CV and a free-form application. A little word wizardry, and you've almost certainly nailed the job. I usually have a "other" field in my CV where I add experiences, interests, hobbies and awards that are relevant to the job at hand. Most employers use information like that to both disqualify applicants and weed out suitable people from the mass of applications. So outsmarting them and only adding information that will benefit you is then the key. Luckily, with that plus making a really smart word document (I usually make them a little bit prettier than what the employer bother with when they do similar stuff in word since I work in a IT-field) that you then mail to the employer usually lands you the spot.