Networking is one of the most important skills you can develop.  It will help you with your career now and later in life.  It's a skill that will help you develop communications skills and assist with business development skills as well.  Most people struggle with networking so it's very important to develop the skill now rather than later.

What turns a recruiter off?  SHRM (Society For Human Resource Management) asked talent acquisition professionals what the red flags were during an interview.   The meeting between a candidate and a recruiter is an extremely important one.  It is the meeting that decides if the candidate will move on to meet the hiring manager.  A recruiter's input could also play a big part in whether the applicant is hired or not.  It is crucial to create a favorable impression during this step.  The following items are recruiter's biggest turn-offs:

Have you been FOUND by a recruiter lately?   You may not be actively seeking a new position but sometimes that's when the best opportunity knocks.  Whether you are looking or not, a recruiter should be able to find you. 

Employment agreements may be in your future. But what are they?  They are contracts that limit an employer's right to fire an employee by setting a term of employment or by detailing the grounds for termination

Interviewing questions can be routine or complete surprises and everyone struggles with having the perfect answer.  You don't want to sound rehearsed but you don't want to be caught off guard.  You definitely don't want to say anything that won' t get you the job.  And, I'm sure, you often said to yourself, "That question again."  Well, there is a method to the interview questioning madness.  Behind every question, the interviewer is hoping to learn more about you - what's your real personality, how do you think,  how do you handle yourself.  The next time you are asked the same question yet again, here's what the interviewer is trying to find out:

The new LinkedIn interface changes quite a few items on your profile.  With the new look and format, you must change your thinking from resume to marketing piece.  You will have to focus on the important information and let go of the non-relevant and older information.  These five areas will need your attention:

Buzzwords should be eliminated from your resume, online profiles and cover letters.  These words add nothing to your brand and can distract a reader from the more important facts

The hiring season has begun and hiring trends are emerging.  While some aspects of interviewing will stay the same, technology is starting to make a huge difference as are the skills employers need and want. Understanding  how the interviewing process is changing, will give you an edge.  According to the Addison Group,  expect the following trends:

Resumes are extremely hard to write.  You must decide if you want the same type of job or something different.  This will determine what skills you will list, how long it will be, etc.  What you don't want your resume to be is a job description of everything you have done over your whole career.  While a professional can work with you to eliminate items and help you focus on what should be included,  you are the one who ultimately must decide what represents you.  Here are some general rules to follow on what you should eliminate from your resume:

Interviewing etiquette can be stressful.  You don't know what is to come and you want everyone to like you.  It can be a recipe for disaster.  What you have to remember is that everyone interviewing feels this way and hiring managers and recruiters take it into consideration.  But, as the interview approaches, the nerves come out.  What can you do to help this?  Well, there are a few tips to follow that can help you through the process.

Using social media in your job search can be a very powerful tool.  It can connect you to recruiters, hiring managers, alumni, like-minded professionals and even to organizations where you want to work.  What is most important on networking sites is making sure that you are utilizing your profile to the maximum advantage.  The site or sites you use must show you off so that people can notice and/or find you.  Here are some tips for leveraging LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest an Google+ :

Every potential employer will ask you for references.  While a reference can confirm your employment at a company, you want a reference who will get you the job.  Someone who will confirm to your potential employer how great you are.  A reference should be able to speak to how valuable you were.  It's someone who you've worked with on a consistent basis and knew how you impacted the work being done.  It's very important that you pick your references wisely.