The benefits of LinkedIn for job seekers have been well documented with hiring trends showing more employers seeking candidates using this site. When it comes to the specific steps to take using LinkedIn, some can be easily missed.

1. Make a unique URL. When creating a profile, you can customize your URL for your specific site. Using your first and last name can elevate your profile to the top of Google search lists.

2. Include keywords in career summary. This summary should be between 100 and 300 words long, and users should be sure to include keywords that will attract recruiters.

3. Scout the competition. Use the advanced search tool in the top right corner of the screen and enter your job title and location. This can help you size up potential competition when it comes to open positions in your field.

Ensuring that you are properly taking advantage of the various options LinkedIn provides is crucial, as a recent CareerBuilder survey found 37 percent of companies are now using social media to research and screen potential applicants.

Employment trends indicate the manner in which companies recruit new workers is changing rapidly, but the major questions hiring managers seek to answer remain relatively unchanged. A recent Forbes article highlighted three integral factors to determine how successful a candidate will be.

1. Are you equipped to do the job? The most basic inquiry, this is generally determined during a first interview. The hiring manager wants to see that your skill set matches the job description to ensure you are fully capable of completing the day-to-day tasks.

2. Can you do the job here? Fitting into the office environment and company culture are becoming increasingly critical to a candidate’s ability to succeed. Many executives prioritize a sense of humor among employees and startups in particular look for a certain kind of self-motivated individual.

3. Will you be able to do the job now? Timing is everything when it comes to hiring a new employee, so companies want to make sure your career path is well-aligned with the position you are being offered.

These three inquiries demonstrate the true importance of an interview. Being fully prepared and having a working knowledge of the company can give you a leg up on other applicants from the get-go.

Though small business hiring fell one-tenth of a percentage point across the country last month, such firms had a significant impact on Phoenix employment, according to the latest figures from SurePayroll.

Small employers in the Phoenix metro area experienced a 0.3 percent hiring increase between March and April, with year-over-year hiring rising 0.9 percent, the Phoenix Business Journal reports. Paychecks for individuals employed by small businesses in Phoenix remained flat in March, the Journal noted.

Small businesses are an integral component of the Phoenix economy, and the significant number of jobs added by these firms contributed to the lowering of the metro area’s unemployment rate to 8.6 percent in March.

Industries such as healthcare, leisure and hospitality, and technology have led the way for the state’s economic recovery, as a total of 18,900 new positions were added in March, according to the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

SurePayroll’s data includes information from more than 35,000 small business clients throughout the country. A total of 40 percent said they are having a tough time finding qualified workers for sales, technology, marketing, customer service and administrative roles.

A recent CareerBuilder survey of staffing trends found more than half of employers plan to hire new college graduates this year, the latest sign that the job market for young professionals has improved significantly.

The survey, which was conducted between February 9 and March 2 and included responses from more than 2,000 hiring managers from companies in various industries, found 54 percent said they expected to bring on new graduates. That reflects a sharp improvement over the 43 percent reported in just three years ago.

“This is the first time since the recession that we’re seeing a majority of employers planning to add recent college graduates to their employee roster,” Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America, said in a release. “Companies across industries are placing a strong emphasis on recruiting fresh talent for technology-related roles and positions designed to drive revenue – and they’re willing to pay more for high-skill, educated labor.”

College majors that employers said were in highest demand included business, computer and information sciences, and engineering.

The CareerBuilder study follows recent research from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which found companies plan to add 10.2 percent more new graduates this year than they did last year.