For the last 20 years, LinkedIn has been the virtual hub for professional networking, job seeking and hiring. For young professionals especially, LinkedIn has become a useful and necessary tool. In many cases, a LinkedIn profile has become a regular piece of the hiring puzzle, right along side the resume and cover letter.

But when it comes to updating, optimizing, and being active on LinkedIn, many professionals tend to put it off. That is until it comes time to finding a new job. When you neglect your LinkedIn profile, you could be missing out on key connections, important information, and even job opportunities.

Hiring is tricky. There is unspoken yet significant pressure on the person responsible for filtering candidates and ultimately choosing one. A bad hire is a big waste of money. So it makes sense that employers go to great lengths to attract top-tier talent, and will go to even greater lengths to hire and retain that person. The challenge is distinguishing between the bad apples, garden variety, and the all-stars.

The world of talent attraction and retention has been completely reinvented. After 47 million people voluntarily left their jobs last year in the US alone – from restaurants to doctors offices, the reinvention couldn’t come at a better time.

Employees in the post-COVID era are looking for something different from their workplaces – something extra. Over the past two years, people have been introduced to the idea of fully remote work. What started as a necessity has morphed into a longed-for convenience and benefit for white collar workers. Less time commuting plus more time with kids/partners/pets is desirable for most.

Job interviews can be a nerve-wracking ordeal for everyone involved. There is enormous pressure on the interviewer to sort through dozens of candidates to find the best fit, while the candidate is feeling all kinds of anxiety trying to present themselves as professional, enthusiastic, qualified and personable – all at the same time. The tension is palpable, and instincts are on high-alert.

Keeping this in mind, it’s extremely important to make a strong first impression. Given the interviewer is in judgement mode and has dozens of interviews to attend to, it’s entirely possible their mind will be made up about you within the first few minutes of the interview. That’s why preparation is so important.

Hiring and retaining talent is tricky business these days. Because of the transition to remote work and the Great Resignation, employees have been leaving companies in droves in search of new opportunities. People are more likely to leave their position if they don’t feel valued, fulfilled, or fairly compensated.