At sirius technology we know a career move is a big step, and we aim to make the process as smooth and as easy as possible. The job seeking process starts once a candidate has located the job or jobs they wish to apply for. The time, effort and planning that goes into the preparation of the application are more often than not the key to getting the opportunity to impress the ultimate decision makers at the organisations of choice.

How to apply for a role

When speaking to a recruitment consultant, you should treat this initial conversation as you would a face to face interview with a client. As we are working on behalf of a client, it is more likely that a recruiter will represent a professional and enthusiastic candidate than a rude and/or arrogant candidate which may tarnish the recruiter's reputation and the recruiter's relationship with the client.

Submitting your resume

When submitting your resume, you are competing with many other job applicants for the role in question, so your application will need to stand out from everyone else's!  Hiring managers are generally extremely busy and receive many applications for their vacancies.  A recent study showed that over 85% of hiring managers and Human Resources professionals spend less than 10 seconds looking at a resume so the more relevant and more eye catching the resume the better.  Recruitment consultants receive hundreds of applications a week so the same rules apply here too!

How to present your resume

• Include all your contact details on the front page not in the header or footer
• Include a BRIEF summary of your career in one or two small paragraphs
• Use a easily readable font
• Include job specific details i.e. For a sales role include relevant sales targets and achievements
• Put your current position first and work backwards
• Include full dates e.g. May 2003 - April 2005 not 2003 - 2005
• For each role include your title or job position, dates, duties/responsibilities and achievements
• Use plain white paper not bright coloured or patterned paper with fancy fonts
• Use MS Word as not all companies have multiple software options
• Keep it short 4-5 pages maximum otherwise your resume will not be read!
• Achievements and strengths should be real ones. Do not put "hard worker" or "punctual" These are a given!
• Make sure your entire work history is covered without gaps. If you travelled for two years make sure that is in your resume.

The cover letter

It is extremely important this is polished, error free and attention grabbing as it is the first piece of communication a prospective employer receives from you.  All employers want to hire effective communicators so ensure:

• You always address the letter to an actual person ( not "to whom it may concern") Call the company and get the correct spilling and title of the
• hiring officer beforehand if necessary
• Use simple, professional and uncomplicated language
• Be specific and concise - don't give everything away - you want to have something else to talk about when you get an interview!
• Be positive and don't complain about your previous jobs or use the word "boring"
• Proofread your letter many times. Get someone else to proofread it too.