According to many articles--including this one: LinkedIn and Business-- Tuesday through Thursday are prime online networking days for those belonging to the LinkedIn community.

It's also widely accepted that LinkedIn is a great tool for job and head hunters alike. Couple those statements with the fact that I find myself spending almost every Tuesday exclusively souring and reviewing resumes and you have the idea my first blog series: Tips for Tuesday!

Tips for Tuesday will be a community effort where recruiters educate not only job seekers, but fellow recruiters on everything from tips to crafting the perfect InMail to what's a quick hit recruiting trend and what's here to stay! 

Since I spent all day reviewing applications, I thought I'd focus my inaugural Tips for Tuesday on job hunters and their resumes; so, without further ado:

Tips for Tuesdays

• Brevity is key. Verbosity Obfuscates. 
  • This is a quote by which everyone should strive to live. Why say something is 10 words that can be said in 6? Even when you have an accomplished 20 year career, there's always a way to keep it under 3 pages. Just like people tell recent grads that the real world doesn't care they took home Gold in their 10th grade spelling bee; recruiters want to be dazzled by your most recent accomplishments, not your accomplishments from the job you held 6 years ago. 
    • Note: there are always exceptions, but unless you cured cancer, developed the iPhone prototype or you're James Gosling, chances are your most recent projects are the most relevant and impressive.
• Bold Type doesn't work the way you think.
  • As someone who has done my fair share of job hunting, I totally understand why bold type seems appealing. It screams, "Look here! Look at me! I really want you to see this! PLACE EYES HERE!" Unfortunately, bold type doesn't solicit my attention as much as an eye role. To the point above, if you keep your resume brief, your accomplishments will be bold on their own.
• Don't blindly submit your resume.
  • Job hunters: I don't care how busy you are or how many times you've hit the "submit" button online; if you tell a corporate recruiter you've applied to so many places you can't remember their specific company that raises so many red flags it's hard to know where to begin. I actually had a candidate with whom I'd corresponded over email to schedule a phone screen tell me in that phone screen, "I have been too busy looking for a job to research your company, who are you?" Needless to say, we didn't hire said candidate. 
  • It's one thing if a corporate recruiter calls you out of the blue from their database, but it's another if you're in the midst of a "find-a-new-job" frenzy. If you've over extended yourself in a job search, corporate recruiters include the company they work for in their email address and in their email signature. A simple Google search of the company will keep you from looking disorganized and help you sound prepared during your initial phone screen. A little organization goes a long way. 

Of course this isn't meant to be a comprehensive list, just a jumping off point for other helpful tips and discussion! Recruiters-what would you add? Job seekers--What would you change? Anyone have a fun framework for next week's Tips for Tuesday? 

Until Next Time,

Katie B.