What is Kittle Group looking for? Six tips for ambitious applicants

Kittle Group aspires to be the best bid writing consultancy, for both our clients and our staff. To achieve that, we know we need to hire exceptional people. Over the last 5 years we have received over 1,700 applicants and hired over 35 people new to bid writing. To put this in perspective, our hiring rate works out at approximately 2%... whilst Harvard’s average acceptance rate is currently 4.6%.

We know applying for jobs can be a stressful experience, so we have put together some advice from our Director and hiring manager, Sam Nimmo.

Interested in applying to be a bid writer at Kittle Group? Here are Sam’s six top tips:

Research the company and show me (in your application and initial call) you have done so

• We really believe in our business and are looking for people who are just as excited as we are about working at Kittle Group.

Follow the instructions of the job ad – submit a CV and tailored cover letter

• Even for a small company, we still receive thousands of applications and must filter them out. Identifying candidates who have followed the instructions of the job ad is an easy way to do this.
• Writing a cover letter works twofold; we get to learn about you, and you get to really consider why you are interested in bid writing.
• The application gives us our first insight into your writing ability.

Research bid writing as best you can – What is it? Why does it exist? How is it done?

• Don’t worry, many of us weren’t clear on it in the beginning! Our website is always a good place to start learning more.
• This isn’t just a writing job – there is a lot of client management, project management, interviewing, and research included.

Ask questions, ideally intelligent ones – this shows me you’re interested and invested

• This will be new to you - you are allowed to ask us anything and everything. The more curious you are about the role, company, and industry, the more it tells me you have seriously considered yourself doing this job. You are more likely to be invested.

Do not submit a bloated application filled with unnecessary information – keep it concise, relevant, and impactful

• Important for any application but can be a major red flag if you are applying for a role in technical writing which revolves around these skills!

 Avoid overly flowery language. Keep it simple and readable.

• Again, this is key for our understanding of your application, but also central to the role of a bid writer.

If you're interested in applying to Kittle Group, this is what the process might look like:

1.       Job adverts posted via Indeed or LinkedIn

2.       Submission of CV and tailored cover letter

3.       Initial informal phone call

4.       Technical writing assessment (conducted remotely in a timeslot convenient to you)

5.       Invitation to in-person interview

… and if all goes well…

6.       First day at Kittle Group!

As we have mentioned above, questions are encouraged! We want to give you the chance to really get to know the company and the role.

To get you started, here are some answers to common applicant FAQs:

‘Do I need to have Bid Writing experience?’

With our unique training, led by Joel and Zoe, we can hire candidates with the greatest potential and hone their skills for writing outstanding bids. We love training new people, it allows us to start from a blank slate – no need to unlearn bad habits!

‘What expertise do I need?’

We do not expect applicants to be expert bid writers when joining in a graduate role but have learnt that those who are most curious and committed learn the quickest. 

‘Do our bid writers get assigned to multiple bids at once?’

No. Our bid writers are dedicated to each project they have. One at a time. Juggling bids is very rare and only done by Seniors, and at the knowledge of our clients.

‘Will I have to specialise in a particular sector?’

Part of what makes consultancy so exciting compared to in-house bid writing, is the range of sectors you can dip into and learn about, first-hand from Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). 

We hope you have found this helpful and really look forward to receiving your application.

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact us, either on LinkedIn or by email, hello@kittle-group.com

We are currently hiring! We post open job vacancies on Indeed, and are always open to connecting with talented individuals.

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