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One thing about the hiring process is true: It leaves much room for speculation. Whether you got the job -- or you didn't -- most job seekers want to know why. Why were you chosen over the next guy? Or, better yet, why weren't you? Was it your experience, your attitude, your interview answers, your outfit?

We decided to ask hiring managers directly: What seals the deal when you choose to hire a candidate? Why do you choose one person over another? Their answers will give you some insight as to what you should pay attention to the next time you're up for a job.

Here's what hiring managers had to say:

"One of the big things for me is [following] up. If I'm on the fence about a candidate but they ....

You don't understand. You updated your résumé, you're applying to jobs every day, you've cleaned up your digital dirt and you network every day. Yet here you still are on the unemployment list. What is wrong with employers?

Unfortunately, many job seekers don't stop to consider that the problem might not be employers but themselves.

It's a hard concept that most job seekers have trouble wrapping their heads around, but applicants frequently (and inadvertently) display signs that tell an employer that they're not the best fit for the job.

According to a 2009 CareerBuilder survey, 47 percent of employers said that finding qualified applicants is their biggest hiring challenge. When asked to id....

Choosing your college major has never been so important. Although the economy may have turned around by the time you graduate, nothing is certain. You'll want to declare a major in something that you not only enjoy and that interests you, but also in something that will be come in handy when looking for a job.

While it's tempting to choose a broad major like engineering, English or communications, it behooves yo....

"I was fully qualified and it makes no sense."

"They simply don't know how to hire."

"They told me that I was overqualified."

Randy Block, a seasoned career transition coach and consultant in the Bay Area, hears these comments often. 

If you're an "older" job hunter, more than likely you already know that the ultracompetitive job search process in today's economy is especially hard on you. Part of the challenge you're facing is a major generation gap between baby boomer job hunters and the Gen X hiring managers of today. As Block noted, "30-somethings don't want to hire their parents. Unfortunately, that's how we ....

One common complaint among job seekers is that they go on interview after interview and never receive a job offer. If you fit into this category, consider the possibility that you might be unknowingly sabotaging yourself by offering a weak interview performance.

Below are typical interview scenarios, common job-seeker mistakes and the best way to manage each situation.

Scenario No. 1: The interviewer came out swinging, asking tough but appropriate questions regarding a professional hiccup: your employment gap and job-hopping image. The question either left you stuttering with an incoherent message or sounding defensiv....

The importance of references seems to be a hot topic these days. Employers want to make sure they are hiring the right person for the job; but some thwart the process because checking references can be  labor-intensive. On the other hand, job seekers provide references they know will give a glowing report, but employers are getting smarter and finding references you didn't provide.

So, what's the deal? Do references matter? Do employers even check them anymore? What's the protocol for providing them to a potential employer? Who are the best people to include as references? And, if an employer doesn't call any of your references, is it a bad sign?

While the definitive answer to any of these questions ....

Often, when job seekers come across job ads that interest them, they immediately submit their résumés and cover letters to the employers. Then they wait, wondering if their submission will develop into an interview opportunity or if it will slip into a black hole and never resurface again.

Unfortunately, this process is one of the least effective ways to achieve momentum in the job search, says Richard Deems, Ph.D., co-author of "Make Job Loss Work for You."

Instead, he encourages individuals to work through his five-step Deems JobGetting Skills^TM System to ensure their job hunting progresses into job getting.

"This system takes an entirely different approach from what....

Tennis and business have a lot more in common than you may think. In 1982, a tennis professional coined the term "unforced error" to describe what happens when one player who is in position to return the ball makes an error by hitting the ball out of the field of play -- or missing the ball altogether. That same kind of error happens all of the time in the business world.

Research shows that even the smartest managers can make the worst career errors. Once again, the same is true in tennis. Even the best players in the world make unforced errors in every match. In professional t....

A young woman named Lisa was frustrated because she couldn't get a job in public relations. She had just graduated and found the market flooded with people looking for work in her industry. She tried applying for internships, but came up short.  She was losing hope and considering a different field. She was giving up on her dream before she even got started. When she asked for advice, I told her: Offer a "try-before-you-buy" option to potential employers.

Fact: Employers love an offer they can't refuse

If there is one thing a young professional (actually....

When you apply for a job, you know exactly what you're looking for. You want a company you love, great co-workers, a decent salary, a culture where you fit in and, most importantly, you want to love what you'll be doing.

But do you ever consider what the employer is looking for in its employees? These days, competition is steep among job seekers; it's important to know what employers want in an employee before going into an interview so candidates can sell how they would be an asset to the company.

"If the candidate doesn't know what the employer is looking for, [he or she] can't properly communicate why they are the most qualified candidate for the position," says Steven Rothberg, founder of Co....

Last June, the city of Bozeman, Mont., became notorious when it implemented a policy that required anyone applying to a city job to hand over logins and passwords for any social networking sites they used. We're not just talking about Facebook and MySpace, either. They wanted access to chat rooms and forums frequented by applicants. After people made a fuss about the invasive policy, Bozeman officials backed down and decided to adjust their application requirements.

That type of interview requirement doesn't seem to have caught on with other employers. Then again, Victory Christian School in North Augusta, S.C., recently announced it wants its students to hand over the same information if they might be act....

From résumés accompanied by shoes to get candidates' "feet in the door," to candidates sending cakes designed as business cards, hiring managers have seen it all when it comes to memorable job-seeker tactics.

Facing the most difficult job market in decades, job seekers are often advised to stand out among the competition by using creative and unconventional tactics to grab an employer's attention. While that advice is sound and good, it raises the question of whether or not these avant-garde approaches actually work.

Well -- it depends.

"I personally like those candidates that think outside of the box. As an HR professional, nothing makes me happier ....

Gone are the days when all job seekers had to worry about were their résumés and cover letters. Today, those documents remain a staple of the job-search process, but they are joined by a growing phenomenon: social networking.

Forty-five percent of employers reported in a June 2009 CareerBuilder survey that they use social networking sites to screen potential employees, compared to only 22 percent of employers last year. Eleven percent of employers plan to start using social networking sites for the screening process. More than 2,600 hiring managers participated in the survey.

Of those who conduct online searches/background chec....

Right now, "microblogging" is the technological term du jour. Twitter this; Twitter that. For some reason, once somebody created a Web site that told us we couldn't type more than 140 characters, we couldn't resist the challenge. It's as though we were dared to share our most inane thoughts. The birth of the pointless Tweet was born, also known as "I'm eating string cheese and watching reruns of  'ALF.'"

But remember a few years ago, when "blog" was the word you couldn't escape? Magazine covers were devoted to blogs. What does "blog" mean? Is it going to kill traditional media? Who should be blogging? Why do we care what you're blogging?

Now, blogs are something more akin to traditional (bu....

In the early 1980s the country was in the midst of a major recession as bad as the one we are currently experiencing. Unemployment was in the double digits and so was inflation. Yet I was able to negotiate a 50 percent salary increase when I took a job with a new firm in Washington, D.C.

Although I would like to be able to say my success was due to my extraordinary skill as a negotiator, it wasn't. I was still in my 20s at the time; this was the first time I ever really had to negotiate my compensation and, in hindsight, I made a lot of mistakes. The things I did do right though, were to negotiate with the right employer at the right time, and convince them that I was the right candidate for the job. Then....

Performing well during the job interview is one of the most important steps in the hiring process. Every candidate wants to impress a prospective employer, but, despite his or her best efforts, not all do. Often, a simple mistake can cause an applicant to blow the entire meeting. Here are some errors to avoid:

1. Arriving late
Getting to an interview on time or, for that matter, a few minutes early is an easy way to impress a prospective employer. Arriving late is not only unprofessional, it also shows the hiring manager that you have little regard for his or her schedule. It also calls into question your ability to show up to work on time, one o....

Recently, Stephanie Somogyi Miller was interviewing candidates for an entry-level public relations position at her company, Spread PR, a Miller/Hamilton company. Over the course of 20 candidates, Miller quickly realized -- much to her shock -- that many job seekers were unprepared when she asked them, "Why should I hire you?"

"I thought it gave people the opportunity to tell me what they wanted to tell me, versus me asking a million questions," Miller says. Only one candidate was able to give an answer without stumbling. What's worse, Miller couldn't envision any of these applicants having a coherent conversation with a ....

Ask any hiring manager, recruiter, human resource executive or career coach, and they'll all say the same thing: Never lie in an interview.

But maybe you got into a bar fight in college that went on your permanent record and you don't want to include it on your application. Maybe you got fired for standing up for what you believe but you're worried a potential employer won't see your side. Or, maybe you quit your job but haven't updated your résumé to that effect because you've found employers find you less desperate.

You're not supposed to lie, so how do you explain away all these things and remain in the running for a job? Or, the better question is, can you?

"The honesty police may arrest me but I'd have to say that everyone has probably shaded the truth in an interview," says Alan Guinn, managing director of The Guinn Consultancy Gro....

"I'm not wanted in this state."
"How many young women work here?"
"I didn't steal it; I just borrowed it."
"You touch somebody and they call it sexual harassment!"

"I've never heard such a stupid question."

Believe it or not, the above statements weren't overhead in bars or random conversations -- they were said in job interviews.

Maybe you were nervous, you thought the employer would appreciate your honesty, or maybe you just have no boundaries. Whatever the reason, you can be certain that you shouldn't tell an interviewer that it's probably best if they don't do a background check on you. (And yes, the hiring manager remembered you said that.)

We asked hiring managers to share the craziest things they've heard from applicants in an interview. Some are laugh-out-loud hysterical, others are jaw dropping -- the majority are both. To be sure, they will relieve anyone who has ever said something unfortunate at a job interview -- and simpl....

You did it.

You landed an interview, dressed to impress, had great conversation and you think you might actually have a shot at getting a job offer.

But is there any way to actually know if the interview was in your favor?

Many times, job seekers are so focused on what they did wrong in an interview that they don't think about the many things they did right. While no signs are 100 percent foolproof, there are definitely some indicators that you have won over your interviewer.

Justin Honaman, director of customer intelligence at Coca-Cola Customer Business Solutions, says that although you may think you've executed well in the interview don't stop the process there. Even if all signs point to a job offer, you should follow-up effectively to complete your career transition.

Here are 10 signs that indicate you rocked your interview:

1. Round two
The easiest way to gauge short-term suc....

There's a viral video that probably everyone has been e-mailed: A cyclist nearing the end of a race raises his arms in excitement ... then falls off the bike, struggles to get back on and watches someone else cross the finish line first.

The tumble is a real-life example of counting your chickens before they're hatched and putting the cart before the horse. Basically, make sure you've done everything you're supposed to before claiming a victory.

When you're in the final stages of landing a job, keep those arms down and your brain thinking. As excited as you are to receive a job offer, you still have plenty of work to do before the first day of work.

Here are five mistakes you want to avoid once....

In the decades that I've been advising people on job hunting, I've collected some questions I haven't seen answered elsewhere -- or at least not to my, my clients' or my students' satisfaction.

Thank goodness a few brave souls have dared to voice these concerns that often go unspoken -- from managing their professional image, to rallying their references, to handling embarrassing situations at the interview. I want to help people present themselves effectively on and off paper and I'm not afraid to be direct.  I'm on their side.  From my teaching background, I've learned to say to people "your behavior isn't working for you" and then help them figure out strategies that will lead to success.

The following are 10 serious job hunting questions that most people are afraid to ask:

Question No. 1: Can I wear my nose ring to the interview?

A. I say, sure, wear your nose ring -- just understand that at least 50 percent of employers or more may not hi....

"Dress professionally."

"Make eye contact."

"Research the company."

"Have a firm handshake."

Any of these pointers sound familiar? They should because you've heard them thousands of times. While the above suggestions are great (and valid), the truth is that this kind of advice can get a bit generic.

We decided to turn the tables and make you -- the job seeker -- the expert. After all, you're the ones out there interviewing, so really, it's not too much of a stretch. We asked you to share what you've found to be successful during your interviews.

Check out these interview tips from real job seekers around the country. Have you tried any of them yet?

Ask the important questions
"One thing I always ask at the end of the interview is, 'Have I said anything that would lead you to believe I'm not the best person for this position?' This gives me an opportunity to clear up any misunderstandings and it also gives me a chance to redeem ....