Sometimes in life, you might find yourself in a position where you really need a job. You need to know about the many methods that employers use to select employees from their pool of applicants. Here are some of the most common techniques that you should be familiar with.

Credit Checks

Most employers do a credit check on their employees. This will be a soft credit check, so it shouldn’t affect your credit in any way. But your credit score may affect your potential employer’s decision, so you should be careful. Credit is something that can be tricky, to say the list – the system it’s based on is not entirely fair and sometimes doesn’t make sense. But generally, if you make credit payments well on time, and make sure not to spend beyond your means, you should be okay. If for whatever reason, your credit score is not stellar, you should be always working towards getting it up. You can do better in other areas to improve your chances.

Combing Through Social Media

Half of employers today screen applicants’ social media accounts. This is because social media is increasingly commonplace, and often will show peoples’ true behavior, intentions, values, and beliefs. Facebook can be the easiest to locate people because it most often uses your real, full names, and can be searched based on location. While Instagram and Twitter accounts can be harder to find, you still want to be careful – because you simply never know. Don’t hesitate to go back through old posts that you feel could be damaging to your job prospects and delete what you need to. You can also rename accounts and change locations to make them harder to recognize as being yours.

Interviews

Most likely, at some point in the application process, you will have to do a face-to-face interview at least once – if not multiple times. Prepare for these as best you can, since the in-person impression can make or break your chances. Dress formally or semi-formally, depending on the culture of the job. Be respectful and make eye contact. Be polite and well-spoken. Interviewers will likely ask questions along the lines of, “Why do you want to work here?” or “What are your greatest weaknesses?” Use internet resources to prepare.

It’s best to do everything you can to be the ideal candidate, on all possible fronts. That being said – sometimes the circumstances just aren’t right. The important thing is that you keep improving and keep trying.

Check out this article on how to keep your professional skills sharp when you’re older!