CE News presents a special section in this month’s issue called, "Find the Job, Get the Job," sponsored by AECWorkForce.com, an online career portal for architects, engineers, construction professionals, and students. In this selection of articles, we prepare job-seeking candidates with salary information, interviewing tactics, and job searching trends.

The results of the CE News 9th Annual Salary Survey kicks off the section. Here job seekers—as well as those professionals who aren’t looking, but want to make sure their compensation is competitive—can find comparisons of salaries, bonuses, raises, benefits that are typical for their level of experience, market sector, education, title, and more. This information can help you assess your current compensation package, or that of a position you aspire to have.

While researching salary and benefits norms is important for job seekers, preparing for the many interviews you will likely go through is crucial. Certainly, it’s always a good idea to review common interview questions and develop well-thought-out responses, research the firm so that you can ask intelligent questions, and, of course, be punctual and well-dressed. But there is more to executing a winning interview. Jennifer Hu, a principal with ZweigWhite’s Human Resources Advisory Services, shares tips about how to turn an interview into a job offer, based on her experience as an executive search consultant.

Also included in the special report is data about how job seekers are finding jobs. While referrals or word-of-mouth is still the most prevalent method, use of online resources is growing. Check out my article, "Job search strategies for 2007".

One thing job seekers may not realize is that employers aren’t just using the Internet to connect with potential candidates; they are also using it as a screening tool. In the newly released A/E Recruitment & Retention Cookbook, a guide to the best practices successful A/E firms are using to attract and retain qualified professionals (published by ZweigWhite), it says that doing Internet searches for candidates’ names can be "extremely insightful," as hits returned from social networking sites, like Facebook, MySpace, and Friendster, "function as a window into the personality and personal life of the author." It says, "These profiles can be quite revealing and may provide some evidence as to the candidate’s level of maturity, professionalism, and responsibility." So job seekers take note: Make sure that anything that you post online is well written and doesn’t show a side of you that you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see.

You should also be aware of two other increasingly common tactics among hiring managers, according to the A/E Recruitment & Retention Cookbook: running credit checks (which require signed authorizations from candidates), and conducting psychological tests and personality profiles. As is evident by these trends, firms aren’t just looking for any candidate to fill an open position; they want the best candidate who will fit their culture. You have to be prepared to stand out among the crowd.