There are several things you should take into consideration before sending your resume. Otherwise, you may find yourself waiting only to get an unfavorable response or possibly never receiving a reply at all.

Before you send out your resume to a recruiter, consider the following tactics for your strategy:

-          First, target your information. Be honest and concise. Cover everything you are willing to accept. You may be interested in an executive assistant position, but would also consider an administrative assistant role. Let the recruiter know this in your application. That way, if you don’t necessarily get the job you applied for, you may still have other options (and maybe even a better fit).

-          Visit the employment section of the company website and follow the resume submittal directions carefully. Most company job boards will allow you to add your resume to their database (for example, we have our own job board), even when you’re not applying for a specific position. One of the perks to this is you may be contacted you at a later date if they have something that matches your qualifications. This is a great way to ensure your resume gets in the right hands and ensure that the hiring manager at least sees your name and qualifications.

A first impression can be extremely important in all aspects of our lives, whether it means meeting your fiancés grandparents for the first time, walking into class on the first day, speaking in front of a large audience you’ve never met before or in this instance, the first time meeting a potential employer.  A series of experiments by Princeton psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov reveal that all it takes is a tenth of a second to form an impression of a stranger from their face. We all know that first impressions are important, but what really stands out?

Managing and creating a good first impression takes research, planning, practice and a positive attitude. To help ensure you make the best first impression possible, here are some useful tips we’ve compiled:

We tweeted. You clicked. Here are some of the most popular tweets we sent out this week…

• “Be a sponge” says a successful young CEO! http://bit.ly/93kzzt
  
• Hiring by temp-staffing firms points to recovery – MarketWatch http://ow.ly/1n2GU
  
• Fewer Sick Days in Green Buildings – The Daily Stat – Harvard Business Review http://ow.ly/1nYNE
  
• Forget about job losses, wage growth is what really matters – http://ow.ly/1nYKX
  
• How to give your boss feedback. http://ow.ly/1rc5Z
  
• CHART OF THE DAY: Almost Half Of You Are Checking Facebook As Soon As You Wake Up http://ow.ly/1qOt2
  
• 30 Women Entrepreneurs To Follow On Twitter! http://ow.ly/1qs0H

We tweeted. You clicked. Here are some of the most popular tweets we sent out this week…

• Choose several different people to advise you on various areas of your career rather than focusing on having just… http://bit.ly/bfxQz3
• Hiring by temp-staffing firms points to recovery – MarketWatch http://ow.ly/1n2GU
• Do you have good people skills? http://bit.ly/cTctXi It may help you in this recession!
• Start complimenting those around you. http://bit.ly/dkFIA1 Flattery is effective!
• Three Good Hires? He’ll Pay More for One Who Is Great! http://nyti.ms/ac5ttr
• Are you watching undercover boss? http://bit.ly/9j8u8g What Cleaning Toilets Can Teach Execs!
• Battling the Bulge in the Workplace. http://bit.ly/cQ3UF7 Does your company offer a wellness program?
• Can a night owl become a morning person? http://bit.ly/9oG4ml Make it to work on time!

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius

If you’re one of the individuals out there who has job in today’s economy, you probably consider yourself very lucky; however, while you may be employed, can you also say you are happy? Regardless of the state of the economy, I would like to stress to you the importance of finding a job that fits your needs and gives you some form of bliss.

If you accept and work at a job that isn’t the right match, it not only hurts you, it also hurts your employer. Eventually, your entire career path may suffer as a result. Instead, find a job that calls upon your strengths and makes you happy. After all, a job that utilizes your strengths and has a working environment and situation you enjoy will most likely be a good fit in the long run.

Doing research is an important stage of preparing for the interview. If you forget or fail to do it, it may cost you the opportunity to really impress your potential employer and land the job. Once you’ve got your foot in the door for the interview, the next step is researching the company. Research not only gives you a greater insight into the company workings, it can also even help you realize how you could fit in the company culture. However, is there such thing as too much research?

It’s important to prepare, but you definitely want to make sure you don’t overdo it. You want to do enough research to know what you can expect and speak on the points related to the job you are interviewing for.

So what’s the best way you can research a company and use it in your job interview?

We tweeted. You clicked. Here are some of the most popular tweets we sent out this week…

• Take the Assessment or Just Forget It? http://bit.ly/bsqi6Y

• Former Jobster CEO in Feud With Citibank Over Gay Network http://bit.ly/bNmoIb

• Are You a Good Recruiter? http://bit.ly/95wC1o

• Are These 4 Survival Tips Helpful? http://bit.ly/c0jYXZ

• Who’s Really Getting Your Paycheck? http://bit.ly/cDMJ1B

• Have You Lost Communication? http://bit.ly/ae4

• And Google Begat… The search giant’s former employees are seeding tech startups—and shaping another wave of innovation http://bit.ly/c7PAey

As a job seeker, active networking can be crucial to finding a job. Why is networking so important? It allows the job seeker to be available and to expand relationships in terms of job hunting.

Networking doesn’t require much skill or talent, just a desire to grow and expand. Everything on our list can quickly help introduce you to new opportunities, introductions and more!

Here’s a question for you: have you ever Googled your name?  If not, you may want to take a moment to type it into the search bar and see what comes up!

In our previous blog post, we told you to Google your name. Why? When doing research prior to your job hunt, it is always important to not only research potential employers but yourself as well! Many hiring managers and recruiters do this, so that means your online presence can make or break your job search now more than ever before. Make sure positive and professional content appears under your name before someone may find something you won’t want to be seen.

As a job seeker, using popular social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can present a great opportunity for self-promotion, both on personal and professional levels. As a result, a growing number of recruiters have taken notice and scout these networks for potential candidates. When choosing to use social networking sites as a job-hunting tool, it is important to understand how recruiters and hiring managers can review your profiles to assess you as a candidate and potential hire.