BJC HealthCare, St. Louis, Missouri

WellStar Health, Atlanta, Georgia

Confidential Employer, New Jersey

DHR International, Springfield, Missouri

Kootenai Health, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Franciscan Alliance, Indiana

Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Franciscan Physician Network, Munster, Indiana

Presbyterian Homes, Arlington Heights, Illinois

BJC HealthCare, St. Louis, Missouri

HCR Manorcare, Marion, Ohio

Anyone who wishes to improve their intellect and accelerate their career will know that making connections is one of the most important skills to have. In today’s environment, using your social networks effectively is often the first step. Social networking allows you to enrich your knowledge through active virtual discussions and without stepping into a conference room. Better yet, strategic networking is both fun and interesting when done with social media. But it must be done correctly. When you reach out, do so with purpose. Always be sure to connect with people who have something to teach you.

When you’re looking for a job or exploring a new career path, it’s smart to go out on informational interviews. But what should you say when you’re actually in one? Which questions will help you gain the most information? Are there any topics you should avoid? And how should you ask for more help if you need it?

Hiring in health care is looking pretty good for 2016. So good, in fact, that 43 percent of health care employers plan to hire full-time workers in 2016, outperforming the national average (36 percent) for employers adding full-time staff, according to CareerBuilder’s 2016 U.S. Job Forecast.

It’s no secret that open positions in some occupations are a lot harder to fill than others — and, evidently, health care is high on that list. As many as seven out of the top 10 hardest-to-fill positions are in the health care industry, according to the latest ASA Skills Gap Index release.

First impressions can sometimes set dangerous traps that lead you straight to a disastrous hire. So how can you get beyond superficial impressions and discover the substance in the 30 minutes or so you have with an interviewee? Faced with hundreds of resumes and dozens of interviewees, sometimes you have no choice but to scan quickly when narrowing down a pool of candidates. But these gut reactions can often lead us astray because of how we subconsciously picture the new hire.