Today there are more qualified candidates than there are job openings.
Employers can afford to be selective and they are less willing to take a chance on an applicant that appears to be marginal. There are considerable costs associated with the recruiting, selecting, hiring and training of new employees. Therefore, employers are being more careful about hiring decisions, taking longer to evaluate applicants while looking for the maximum skills they can hire for the wage they have to pay. This means that today's job seeker needs the best preparation possible for the job search.