Less is (almost) always more.

That point is driven home in the provocatively-titled post on Brazen Careerist, “If You Really Want To Make Your Point, Start Stripping.” It’s not about taking off your clothes, of course, but about stripping your job application down to its bare essentials.

“For your resume…commit to one page and stick to that. It will force you to keep your most relevant experience and ditch the fluff.” Yes. As Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch once famously said, and has been repeated in every freshman comp seminar since, “murder your darlings.”

Same with your elevator pitch. Sixty seconds is good. Thirty is better. Shorter, writer Tim Murphy says, is even better. Can you distill who you are and what you’re looking for into 15 seconds?

The advice can even be applied to interviews. If you’re rambling, stop. It’s OK to ask for a second or two to collect your thoughts before launching forward. Remember, companies aren’t just looking for the “right” answer–they’re looking for someone who can communicate that answer effectively, and brevity is key.

We’d say more, but that would make us less than brief. Good luck!