Focus On Their Objectives: Make note of specific job requirements both before and during the interview.  Then use story telling to relate specific accomplishments, including results, that testify to the fact that you have the skill, knowledge, experience, and character needed.  You can also use demonstrated behaviors, such as going the extra mile, change agent, etc. based on performance and results from past assignments.

Also, early in the interview, especially if the type of person they are looking for is not clear, ask what kind of an individual they desire for the job.  Now you are armed with specifics about the candidate they are looking for and should take every advantage of emphasizing your proven qualities against those requirements using examples from your past career.  Remember, sometimes it’s easy to forget the purpose of the interview given the dynamics of the interaction.   Stick with their objectives and your achievements and communicate that you are the most qualified candidate for the job.

This tip was provided by James Simak, a coach here at 360JobInterview.com with over 20 years experience as a recruiter and hiring manager.  Find out more about James and schedule an appointment with him on his 360JobInterview.com Coach’s Profile.

With the web running at full speed, we’re seeing the traditional form of networking and job hunting turning tech. The question is: How can you utilize these developments to assist in accomplishing your goals?

In this series of posts, we’ll go over five useful tools available free on the Internet that can help you grow your network, refine your resume and communication skills, and get your career moving.

This is the one site that you must add your resume to. Oh, and all of your past and present professional connections, as this is more than just a website, it is a social network.

First, create your resume by “edit[ing your] profile.” Fill out as much as possible, and be honest. Job titles, descriptions, and your skills are very important and must be worded carefully. Adding a good quality head shot photo, editing your contact settings, and letting folks know “what you’re working on” will enhance your ability to connect with the right people. The applications available can help showcase your work, availability, and more, so don’t ignore this great feature.

Sample LinkedIn profile

Connect with friends, colleagues, and other associates to expand your own personal network. Join a few relevant groups and add applications that you may find to be of use. And the most important thing – ask for recommendations from former employers, coworkers, and other folks in the industry who know your working style. These can be used as some great references. Don’t forget to return thoughtful comments to each individual who takes the time to give one to you.

Go check out some of their LinkedIn groups. Join the ones that are relevant to you and your career. Try getting into one specifically for your region, your niche in the industry, and even ones created for alumni from various extracurricular affiliations. They are a great way to connect and will even post job opportunities available that may be more appropriate for you.

Sample LinkedIn group

By fully optimizing your LinkedIn profile, you will have a full, strong resume available online for viewing. There are even settings to change your public profile, the one that will come up in search results for those who are not in your network. It will build your image online, the one that you want there, as it usually becomes one of the top search engine results when searching for an individual’s name.

Check it out and get linked in to the social network for professionals. Happy hunting!

Other Articles in this Series:

• Twitter
• Meetup
• RSS
• Blogging

Over 4 million jobs have been lost as a result of our crumbling economy. While many families are trying to be optimistic during this financial crisis, many people speculate that the number of job losses will continue to rise exponentially throughout the coming years. People are undoubtedly fearful for their careers, knowing that companies are constantly being faced with having to make difficult decisions on how they are going to save money in order to keep their businesses afloat; including the possibility of widespread layoffs.

There is no foolproof method to ensure you will keep your job in an unforgiving economy, but it is possible to regain your employment status if you do find yourself cast off by the company you’ve been dedicating yourself to and that is to take it into your career into your own hands.

While it’s definitely a lot easier to work as part of a company, our current financial crisis and massive, widespread job loss has proved that people are resilient and will do all they can in order to provide for themselves and their families. It is a fact that small and independent, home-based businesses thrive in an unpredictable economy and people excel when they are actively building their own businesses and furthering their own careers.

A layoff gives you the ability to dedicate your time to something you truly want to do. If you were stuck at a job that you were not particularly happy with but continued your employment with that company to make ends meet, not having that job commitment to meet every day could turn out to be one of the best occurrences in your life; even if it may not seem like it at the time. Instead of waking up every morning and commuting to your regular nine to five job, you could wake up and immediately begin applying yourself to searching for your next endeavor or building your own business.

Whatever industry you worked in when you were part of a company, it is completely possible to begin actively working in the same field outside of a company. Better yet, the chances for your individual success have risen greatly simply by using the internet as a marketing platform. By creating a website for yourself and business and taking advantage of the social media phenomenons that have already worked for countless other business professionals, you cannot go wrong in effectively branding yourself and marketing to millions of potential clients and customers.

If you believe that your ultimate calling in life is from a different direction and you are ready to leave the career and tasks you are experienced in behind, a layoff could give you the opportunity to seek job training and coaching for a profession you’ve either always wanted to be in or a career that you just recently thought could be right for you.

While many speculate that the number of job losses will continue to rise in the coming years and that we will not see our present state of cutting corners to save money come to an end as soon as we may have hoped, the economy has nothing to do with what you can do when it comes to your career. This could be a time where you feverishly search for a replacement job to go back to simply managing to stay afloat, or you could use this experience as a jumping off point to do what you truly wish to do with your life. The choice is yours.