It’s no secret companies have taken to the Net when conducting due diligence on a potential new employee. From LinkedIn to Facebook to simple Google searches encompassing every single appearance on the Web, nothing is sacred. That includes every embarrassing photo, as well as every Tweet and message board comment you’ve ever posted. Some hiring managers have even been known to review candidates’ Amazon.com wish lists. If that doesn’t concern you, either you’ve lived the life of Mother Teresa or you are completely oblivious to the potential damage you’ve done to your career.

If you’re getting a little hot around the collar, relax. I’m not trying to pass judgment on your Internet activities. The goal here is to help you overcome any online transgressions or ill-advised postings so that potential employers won’t get a negative impression of you based on what they find on the Web. The goal is to craft an online identity that reflects positively upon you as a professional.

A good starting point is to ask yourself what a potential employer would find if they were to Google your name. If you have a common name, this question may be complicated by the fact that they are likely to uncover the digital trail of many individuals in addition to you. However, they can narrow their search by filtering by location, previous jobs, etc. If you honestly don’t know how you come across on the Web, try Googling yourself. Chances are you’ve done it already, but it’s always a good idea to keep close tabs on your online presence.

If you find “digital dirt” – that is, information, comments, or images you would rather a potential employee not see – there is often nothing you can do to scrub your online reputation. In some instances, you can delete content, but for the most part, the best approach to seek to smother the dirt with positive, professional content. You should immediately start creating new and content presenting yourself as a capable professional. If you have published journal articles, add links to those sites to your LinkedIn and Facebook pages. Tweet your insights into trends and news stories that are relevant to your industry. You must be patient, however, because it can take time to achieve the desired balance.

You can further enhance your online reputation by posting a professional photo of yourself on every one of your profiles. That means a headshot taken by an actual professional photographer, not a snapshot taken by your cousin during that wild weekend in Miami. Seek to feature anything that points to involvement in community activities or that demonstrates stellar communication skills. By all means, seek to delete any previous comments that could be interpreted as critical of a former employer. Nothing turns off a potential employer faster than the possibility of hiring someone who is likely to damage their reputation.

There’s simply not enough time in the day for hiring managers to conduct face-to-face interviews with each and every applicant. Consequently, companies are increasingly making use of phone interviews as a means of thinning the herd – that is, weeding out candidates that simply wouldn’t work out. The goal is to end up with a more manageable number of applicants.

While the prospect of a phone interview can be somewhat daunting, it’s important to view it as an opportunity for you to earn an in-person interview. Fortunately, most phone interviews are relatively short. The focus is on questions that will enable the employer to evaluate you quickly. In keeping with that goal, aim for short but concise answers, ideally less than two minutes each. If the interviewer wants to know more, they will ask.

 Here are some questions you should expect to be asked in a phone interview:

 Tell me about yourself? – Typically the first question to be asked, this one is best answered by simply giving a brief work history, along with an explanation of how your skills relate to the job for which you are applying. Whatever you do, don’t look at this question as an opportunity to tell your life story.

What experience do you have? – Your goal should be to highlight your skills and experiences as they pertain to the job in question. Endeavor to steer the discussion to specific skills which give you the ability to execute your duties well.

What are your strengths? – Again, gear your response toward the specific skill requirements of the job for which you are applying. If you find it difficult to make that connection, you should highlight transferable skills, such as multitasking, critical thinking, and the ability to communicate well, instead.

What are your weaknesses? – The question that applicants always dread, this one can easily be answered simply by responding that it’s always a challenge to stay current on technology requirements. After all, that is a challenge everyone faces. Be sure to turn your answer into something positive by explaining how you have endeavored to develop such knowledge.

What are your salary requirements? – Another tricky question, this one can take you out of the running if you aim too high right off the bat. When you are participating in a phone interview, it’s best to avoid giving a straight answer. You may state that you simply don’t know enough about the position yet to make a salary request. This answer opens the door to requesting an in-person meeting, which should be your bottom line goal anyway.

While it may seem that a phone interview does not allow for much opportunity to impress a potential employer, it’s actually a great chance to introduce yourself without all the stress of a face-to-face interview. After all, you don’t have to worry about your appearance or your body language over the phone.

That said, it’s still helpful to smile during the interview. The interviewer may not be able to see your face, but they will hear the smile in your voice. You will be perceived as more open, friendly, and enthusiastic about the job. Also, stand up and walk around while you are on the phone with the interviewer. Not only will it help you relax, walking around actually makes your voice clearer and louder. The interviewer will better understand your answers and you will come across as more confident.

Looking for a job? Then chances are you’ll come in contact with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Nearly all major corporations now use some form of ATS to help automate the recruiting process. Even small to medium companies have begun relying on ATS applications through Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings.

In today’s economy, employers can easily receive thousands of applicants for a single job opening. An ATS is a software application designed to handle job applications and manage resume data. Its primary function is to provide a central location and database for the company’s recruitment efforts, allowing human resources to track applicants from their initial contact all the way through the hiring process.

For the employer, an ATS makes it easier to monitor and coordinate job openings and manage the recruitment process. Jobs are posted online and then data is either collected internally from applications or extracted from applicants on job boards. Resumes and applications are stored inside the secure database, allowing for searching, matching, and routing of applicants. This allows for faster and more reliable hiring decisions.

Job seekers benefit from an ATS because it allows them to search open positions by location and entity and upload required materials. They can even check their status electronically. Applying for positions is even easier for internal applicants because the system automatically adds information the company already has on file. Once a positions has been filled, the system automatically removes the posting, eliminating endless guessing over whether a candidate is still in the running.

Here are a few tips for increasing your chances of getting a job by optimizing your resume for an ATS search:

• Be Simple — Steer clear of a highly formatted resume. Most ATS will scramble the tables, graphs, and graphics you worked so hard to compose. Instead, stick to a simple format. If you feel you simply must exhibit your creative flair, save a highly formatted resume as a .txt (ASCII) file.

• Be Concise – Avoid the temptation to add all kinds of extra headings. Most ATS will only recognize the most common headings: Work Experience or Professional Experience, Education, and Professional Summary. Other headings won’t be stored, so include certifications, community activities, publications, and the like under the Education heading.

 • Be Uncommon – Go beyond the common keywords for your position, level, function, or industry. Many ATS will peg uncommon, unique-to-the-job-posting words or phrases as keywords.

• Be Complete – Don’t rely on acronyms or abbreviations alone. If you mean to say “unique selling points,” don’t say USP. Use the full language. Also, don’t forget to mention where you heard about the job. An ATS will track sources. Some, such as employee referrals, are ranked higher than others.

Addressing a group of graduating students in the spring of 2001, George W. Bush uttered the now infamous comment, “To all the C students, I say, ‘You, too, can be President of the United States.’” Bush supporters got a big chuckle out of the remark, as they felt it demonstrated the man’s sense of humor. For those detractors already convinced the former Texas Governor was a few brain cells short, the comment served as further evidence that the wrong presidential candidate was occupying the White House.

Regardless of which side of the political fence you reside, Bush’s comment opens the door to an important conversation: Should a person’s GPA really matter when they are applying for a job? Is it truly an accurate predictor of what kind of employee they will be?

Naturally, it depends who you ask. According to a CareerBuilder survey, just half of employers have a specific GPA requirement. Of those that do, 25 percent received a GPA of 3.0 or higher, while 12 percent required higher than a 3.5. Just 1 percent was looking for a perfect 4.0.

Some fields prize a high GPA more than others. These include accounting, nursing, and highly technical fields like engineering and computer science, where a mastery of the body of knowledge is necessary. Large companies which are likely to receive thousands of applications for each opening may look to GPAs to help them weed out less-desirable candidates.

Where you are in your career also matters. A recent graduate may be judged by their GPA simply because they don’t have much else for the employer to review. However, an experienced professional is far more likely to be judged on their experiences and accomplishments than a two- or three-decade-old GPA.

Increasingly, employers are looking to factors other than GPA when reviewing applicants. They are more interested in a potential employee’s relevant professional experience (including internships), portfolio, presentation skills, and writing skills. Time management is also a key indicator, as is how the employee learns, their ability to give and receive feedback, and their ability to apply theory to real-life situations.

Regardless of whether your GPA was stellar or lackluster, don’t leave it off an application if an employer asks for it. Such an omission will only lead them to assume the worst and you may find yourself eliminated from the running unnecessarily. Never inflate your GPA, although you can fudge things a bit by listing your Major GPA, rather than your overall GPA, as long as you designate it as such.

Team interviews are becoming an increasingly common recruiting strategy. Recognizing that hiring should be a team sport, companies are incorporating a number of different stakeholders in the process. These extend beyond HR into the candidate’s potential new supervisor and teammates. Some organizations even invite an objective third-party, like a member of the Board of Directors, to participate, depending upon the level of the hire, of course.

The rationale behind this strategy is simple: The more eyes and ears, the more thorough picture of the candidate will emerge. Different people tend to notice different things, so bringing multiple people together to interview a promising candidate makes for a wise hiring decision. It can also help build consensus that the best person for the job was, in fact, the one brought onboard. And having future teammates help select their future co-worker builds commitment to helping the new hire succeed.

But having a diverse team present for the interview doesn’t do any good if no attempt is made to elicit their input afterwards. Therefore, it’s crucial to conduct a post-interview review to gather their insights and concerns before making any kind of hiring decision.

Here are a few tips for conducting an effective post-interview review:

1)      Take Notes – Prior to the review, ask each person who participated in the interview to make extensive notes on the candidate. Encourage them to note their experience, specific capabilities (technical or otherwise), past accomplishments, and anything in particular that struck them as impressive or concerning during the course of the interview. If the team is going to be reviewing more than one candidate, ask each stakeholder to rate them.

2)      Together Is Better — Bring all the constituents together in one room. Talking to each stakeholder separately is only somewhat effective. It’s far better to hold a free-flowing conversation. What one person shares may jog another’s memory, leading to a more thorough review of the candidate.

3)      Sharing Time — Begin by going around the table, allowing each person to share their impressions of the candidate. Ask specific questions like: What impressed you? Which of the candidate’s answers did you find unsatisfactory or incomplete? What lingering questions did you have following the interview?

4)      Foster Honesty and Openness – You don’t want anyone to hold back, so have the senior-most participants wait until the end to share their impressions. Otherwise, junior members of the team may feel pressured to fall in line with what the bosses think.

5)      Narrow It Down – The goal of the post-interview review should be to whittle down the candidate pool. If this was the first round of interviews, you should look to create a short list of those you have selected to bring back for a second interview. Aim to exclude those who clearly don’t qualify for the job or who were simply so unimpressive in the first interview that you can’t imagine ever hiring them. You may wish to shake up the hiring team for the second round of interviews, incorporating other stakeholders to ensure an even more thorough review of the candidates.

High unemployment has resulted in a slew of professionals who would otherwise never be out of work scrambling to find a job. Consequently, the current labor pool is a hodge-podge of highly-qualified go-getters mixed in amongst the expected population of unmotivated slackers and the simply unqualified. So how can you go about unearthing the gems and enticing them to join your company? The answer may be right under your nose.

Employee referral programs are a great way to tap into your existing workforce – especially those valued employees you would love to replicate – and find out who they would like to see working at the company. Not only are such programs a cost-effective means of recruiting new blood, but more often than not, the candidate recommended is just as awesome as the employee themselves. After all, birds of a feather flock together, don’t they? And besides, they wouldn’t want to risk their standing with the company by recommending a less-than-stellar person for the job.

Devising a successful employee referral program need not be difficult. At its core, it entails keeping employees abreast of current openings and encouraging them to consider who they might know that meets the requirements and has what it takes to succeed in the organization. Just follow these few simple tips and you’ll find yourself swamped with top-notch candidates in no time:

• While some people will be happy referring friends, relatives, and former colleagues just for the sake of bringing more great employees into the organization, it’s always a good idea to offer some kind of incentive. A portion can be paid when the referred candidate is hired, with the rest awarded once they’ve proven to have staying power – a retention bonus to the referring employee, if you will.

• Once an employee has presented a referral, act quickly. Your current employee has essentially already completed the initial screening on your behalf, so contact the potential new employee within 48 hours and invite them to come in for an interview. Employee referrals should be put on the fast track with an eye toward bringing that person into the fold – assuming they are as good as you’ve been told – as soon as possible.

• Throw out conventional wisdom with regard to nepotism. Remember, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, so don’t discount referrals to relatives of current employees. Intelligence tends to run in families, so don’t be afraid to bring in a brother, sister, cousin, son, or daughter for an interview. They may not be a clone of their revered relative, but chances are they possess some of the same great qualities.

• Always keep the employee in the loop with regard to their referral’s status. And be sure to recognize them for their efforts, regardless of whether the candidate is ultimately hired. Not only is recognition a great motivator, it will ensure that they step forward the next time they have a brilliant suggestion.

• Market the program throughout signage, emails, and public recognition of those whose referrals have led to a great new hire. And be sure to have senior leaders openly talk up the program.

Employee referral programs can be an essential component of a company’s recruiting initiative. Cost-effective and highly successful, they help boost morale and retention among current employees, while sourcing quality candidates for the organization. The next time you find yourself needing to make a hire, remember that the best candidate could be right under your nose. Sometimes all you have to do is ask.

In today’s economy, it may seem unfathomable to turn down a job offer, but there are times when an offer just isn’t right and it’s best to move on to greener pastures. You may be hot commodity fielding several offers at once. Or you may simply find that the salary, benefits, or working hours are just not to your liking. Either way, the goal should be to politely decline the offer, while protecting your reputation and your relationship with the company in question. Whatever you do, don’t burn any bridges. After all, you never know when you may end up applying for a position with them again or dealing with them as a potential client in the future.

Here are some tips for maintaining proper etiquette while declining a job offer:

Be Timely – As soon as you have made your decision, it’s best to share the news with the individual making the offer. Don’t wait for them to contact you. Informing them as soon as possible not only gives them the opportunity to hire one of the other candidates who applied for the job, it also casts you in a positive light, which will keep you in their good graces should you end up working with them in some capacity in the future. 

Put it in Writing – You may initially find yourself turning down an offer over the phone, but it’s always best to follow up with a formal letter. Be sure to address the letter to the person making the offer – never simply “Human Resources” or “To Whom It May Concern.” Thank him or her for their time and consideration and then provide a brief explanation of why you will not be accepting the offer. End the letter on a positive note because chances are you will run into them again sometime in your career, particularly if you intend to stay in the same industry.

Be Honest – Don’t make up excuses. Your decision is based on the fact that you feel another organization would be a better fit for your interests and goals, so simply state that as a fact. Even if you don’t currently have another offer on the table, it still holds true that another company would be better for you both personally and professionally.

Maintain Your Confidence – In making your decision, you have put your best interests first. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, so don’t apologize for the message you have to convey. That doesn’t mean you have to be gruff or rude, simply that you should avoid sounding like you feel guilty about turning down the offer. Be prepared to stand your ground if the hiring manager tries to get you to change your mind and never use phrases like “maybe in the future,” as doing so undermines your decision and makes you appear indecisive.

Keep it Positive – Even if you’ve found yourself completely turned off by the recruiter, the hiring manager, or the entire organization, you must endeavor to stay on the high road. They may be the most unprofessional and overbearing person you’ve ever met and their workforce may consist of equally obnoxious people, but you must resist the temptation to tell them exactly what you think of them and their company. Tell them you enjoyed learning about the company and do your best to sound appreciative

Not that many years ago, a business could post a “Help Wanted” sign in the window and hire someone on the spot if they had the desired qualifications. Sadly, those days are ancient history. In this era of identity theft, data breaches, embezzlement, and workplace violence, it’s become absolutely essential to perform thorough background checks on any potential new employees. Insurance providers frequently offer a discount to companies who conduct background checks as a routine part of the hiring process.

In their most basic sense, pre-screening or “background checks” serve to verify the identity and background of a potential employee. They include a host of information, including criminal records, academic records, credit records, driving records, and workers’ compensation history. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 96 percent of companies now conduct background checks on new hires, up from 66 percent in 1996. There are lots of good reasons for that increase. In today’s economy, companies can’t afford to make a bad hire. Recruiting and training a new employee is an expensive proposition and one which shouldn’t be undertaken on a whim.

However, background checks do far more than cut down on bad hiring decisions, they also protect your company and minimize the risk of lawsuits. They are of particular importance when it comes to those employees who come into direct contact with customers, especially in sensitive positions like daycare or healthcare workers. An employer may be held liable if such an employee does harm to a customer. Thus, it’s even more critical that a thorough background check be undertaken to uncover if a potential new employee has a history of wrongdoing.

With so much on the line, it’s crucial to select a trustworthy background screening company, as that will ensure that you are receiving accurate, complete information. A professional background screening company will also help you navigate legal requirements, including federal and state regulations such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Working with a trusted partner may also give you limited legal immunity if you make a hiring decision based on what turns out to be inaccurate information. Thus, it’s crucial to do proper due diligence upfront. Ask trusted friends and colleagues whose services they have employed – and request to speak with past customers of any potential vendors. Do a quick Internet search to learn what others are saying about any companies you have in your radar.

However, you should resist the temptation to simply “Google” a potential employee and trust that you’ve learned everything about them – or that everything you’ve found is accurate. It’s all too easy to enter false information about yourself – or others. Also, be aware that “instant” public record searches available throughout the Internet by dozens of different vendors are not appropriate sources of information for employee background checks. Such databases have not been fact-checked or updated and are notoriously unreliable.

Therefore, it can’t be stressed enough that Internet searches are not trustworthy and cannot replace a formal, professional pre-employment background check. That said, a quick web search can supplement a formal background check, as a review of an individual’s social networking profiles or blog posts may provide valuable insight into what kind of person they are. You just may discover they are exactly what your business needs.

Landing a coveted job begins with getting yourself noticed. While most of us would like to think our qualifications are enough to impress a hiring manager, the truth is you probably need to do something extra to make your resume stand out from the pack.

In today’s economy, job seekers are increasingly adopting a somewhat wacky approach to make their resume the one that gets noticed. According to a recent survey by Robert Half International, executives have seen more than their share of unusual job-hunting tactics. One candidate offered a money-back guarantee if he didn’t perform as expected. Another handed out personalized coffee cups, while yet another sent a cake designed to look like a business card bearing his picture. One cheeky individual even mailed a shoe along with his resume in an attempt to get his “foot in the door.” Another candidate went so far as to stage a sit-in in the company lobby and demand a meeting with a director. The Dallas Morning News told the story of a woman who spent $1,200 to rent a billboard in the hopes of getting potential employers to take note of her.

These days, hiring managers have seen it all. The question is whether such tactics are creative and appealing or tacky and unprofessional. It really depends on the industry and the individual employer. While differentiating yourself from the competition is always a good thing, you need to realize that you are walking a fine line between getting people’s attention and getting people annoyed. While some hiring managers view out-of-the-box strategies as creative and admirable, others may consider them gimmicky or, in some cases, even a little creepy.

Here are some simple guidelines to ensure that your creative job search tactics don’t cross the line or smack of desperation.

• Steer Clear of Lavish Gifts: A simple coffee mug bearing your business card or headshot is one thing. A pair of Ferragamo shoes is another. When applying for a job, gift giving is never appropriate. Even if your intentions are pure and good, giving a gift to the person who has the power to hire you is considered a bribe. So avoid the temptation to send flowers or wine or a home-baked pie. It won’t get you the job and more likely than not, it will get you barred from future employment with the company.

• Don’t Become a Stalker: When you are desperate for work, it’s easy to inadvertently cross the line from job seeker to stalker. While continually showing up at someone’s office is bad enough, some hiring managers have actually reported being followed home or approached in restaurants or hotel swimming pools by all-too-eager job seekers. The hard and fast rule is DON’T DO IT. EVER.

• Be Relevant: If you are applying for a job in an oncologist’s office, don’t show up for your interview wearing a clown suit (unless you are applying to entertain ailing children, that is). Maybe that example is a little extreme, but you get the idea. If you’re seeking to get hired for a position with an advertising agency that’s known for its fun-loving atmosphere, that may be a good time to flex your creative muscle and do something off the wall. If the job you desire is with an uber-conservative financial services company, you may want to think again.

Whether you decide to break out of the mold and take a creative approach to your job search is up to you. Just remember that such tactics will only get you so far. It’s still up to you to impress your potential new boss in the interview and then each and every day on the job.

In an ideal world, all new hires would fit seamlessly into the corporate culture, get along with their colleagues, and be instantly integrated into their workplace team. That’s a tall order to fill, however, as interviews don’t always reveal a candidate’s true personality.

When sitting face to face with a corporate recruiter or their potential future boss, job seekers may not feel completely comfortable being themselves. It’s not always a matter of “putting on airs” or being deliberately deceitful. Sometimes, a potential new employee simply feels nervous or uneasy in a traditional interview situation.

In an attempt to bolster their recruiting efforts, a growing number of companies are employing peer interviews. This technique involves having current employees meet with job candidates in a relaxed setting. Both sides ask each other questions, thus giving the potential new employee the opportunity to learn what it’s really like to work at the company, while current employees get a feel for how this particular individual would fit in.

As with any recruiting strategy, there’s both an upside and a downside to peer interviews. Let’s take a closer look:

The Upside

• Candidates are more likely to relax and let their guard down when they are chatting with peers instead of a member of HR or a supervisor. As a result, they are more likely to be themselves and provide a glimpse into their real self.

• New employees are less likely to harbor unrealistic notions about the company when given the opportunity to ask their future peers what it’s like to work there. This eliminates impractical expectations that could make for a difficult working relationship down the road.

• Giving workers the opportunity to aid in the selection of new employees empowers them. It makes them feel appreciated and important, resulting in improved morale and retention. These newly minted interviewers also have a vested interest in helping the new hire succeed and will be more likely to help them become part of the team.

The Downside

• Peer interviews are a two-way street. If you choose a disgruntled employee to do the interviewing, they are likely to share their dissatisfaction with the candidate. Their candor could end up discouraging a desirable candidate from taking the job.

• Some employees may feel threatened by a candidate if they view them as potential competition for future promotions. They may also be prejudiced against the candidate if the job was previously held by a favorite co-worker. As a result, the best candidate may not be recommended for the job.

• If an employee (or group of employees) is enthusiastic about a candidate, but management feels he/she wouldn’t make for a good hire (or vice versa), you have a dilemma. Do you trust your gut or that of your employee(s)? While it’s important to maintain that the final decision rests in the hands of management, you must be careful not to give the impression that the opinion of your peer interviewers doesn’t matter.

Helpful Tips

• Remember that the candidate is also sizing up the company, so choose your peer interviewers carefully. Only select enthusiastic and articulate individuals, who possess great people skills, are upbeat about the company and have a firm grasp of where it’s headed. Also be sure to choose a group of employees who represent a cross-section of the workforce in terms of race, sex, ethnicity, and tenure.

• Be mindful that employees are not HR professionals. They may inadvertently ask questions that have been deemed illegal under hiring laws, such as an applicant’s age and whether they are married or have children. Before they participate in any interviews, make sure you review a list of prohibited questions with them.

• Peer interviews are not intended to intimidate the candidate, so avoid having an entire panel of employees conducting the interview. You should also endeavor to keep the interview short and to the point. While there should ideally be some give-and-take, few candidates will appreciate a three-hour interview. Whenever possible, limit peer interviews to 30 minutes.