Hiring managers and recruiters will not infer you are qualified just by showing the amount of experience you have. That may have worked in the past, but you have to do better to be competitive in a modern job search.

When you are asked this question or any question where the interviewer is trying to understand your behavior around a specific circumstance or skill, it is best to give an example to illustrate what you did. That way, going back to the reasons why you may be asked a question, you can craft an answer with a specific experience that best shows your expertise, skills, or abilities.

In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday in November. It is a great time to review the happenings of the past 11 months and give thanks for the good things that have happened. It has been a fascinating year for those of us helping job seekers find exciting and fulfilling work. 2021 has been the year of the "Great Resignation," hybrid work, and vaccine mandates. There have been several positive trends in employment and recruiting that I am pleased to see.

Be strategic when it comes to LinkedIn. Understanding how to use LinkedIn to your benefit can have a big payoff. According to Richard van der Blom, having a strong profile can result in 30-40% more reach and a higher ranking in search results. Who wouldn’t want that?

You need to understand what work cultures are best for you and whether an organization can meet your needs. While you can read about a company culture online, that should never be a substitute for what you feel, see, and hear through the interview process? Make sure you get a good sense of what it is like from the people who work there. Then you can decide whether it is right for you and if you accept an offer, then up your odds that you will enjoy and feel content working there.

Most people are a bit nervous when it comes to being interviewed. Nerves are not necessarily a bad thing. It is telling you that you are putting importance to your meeting. What you do not want to do is to have your nerves derail your interview. Choose one or more of these techniques to help you tame your nerves, so you can show how awesome you are to this prospective employer.

I conducted thousands of screening interviews during my time as a Recruiter. What always amazed me was the lack of preparation job seekers did for these interviews. These are important interviews. Recruiters are the gatekeepers. If you cannot answer the questions posed and show you are a potential fit for the job, you will not move forward—end of story.

LinkedIn has 774 million users. That is a lot. But it is small compared to the 2.89 billion users on Facebook or the 1.86 billion users of YouTube. Many people do not think of LinkedIn when they think of social media powerhouses. But you really should think again, especially if you are interested in advancing your career. LinkedIn is powerful for building connections and learning about your profession or industry.

Often references are an afterthought in your job search. You may be so focused on making your resume stand out from your competition or practicing hard interview questions that you forget that employers may want to check your references. Then when you see this ask on an application or after an interview, you scramble to come up with names and contact information.