Career Blog

Practical career advice, every Monday

Honest, recruiter-tested guidance from the NTC team. CVs, LinkedIn, interviews, negotiation, written by people who place candidates for a living.

Junior team member gaining trust during a senior team meeting

Featured

How to Stand Out as a Junior in a Senior Team Quickly

Concrete behaviours junior hires can adopt to earn trust fast in senior teams: predictability, judgement, concise proposals and steady follow-through.

September 28, 20267 min read

Read article

Person packing a laptop into a bag at an office desk, calm and organised

Career AdviceLayoffs

Navigating layoffs: a practical first 72-hour checklist

A calm, practical checklist for the first 72 hours after a layoff: what to check, who to tell, immediate finances and quick steps to keep momentum.

September 21, 20267 min

Person doing calculations with a laptop, notes showing equity and salary figures

Career AdviceStartups

How to Evaluate a Startup Offer: Back-of-Envelope Method

A practical method to compare salary, equity and risk using a simple back-of-the-envelope calculation and six quick checks before you sign.

September 14, 20266 min

Candidate and recruiter discussing CV over coffee

Career AdviceRecruitment

Working with a recruiter for the first time: what to share

Practical guidance for first-time candidates on what to tell a recruiter, what to keep private, and how to protect your job search and reputation.

September 7, 20267 min

Person in a meeting with a small team, illustrating a move from a large company to a smaller one

Career AdviceCompany Culture

Switching to a Smaller Company After Years at a Big One

Trade-offs when leaving a large company for a smaller one: responsibility, pay, stability, support and title. Practical, recruiter-tested advice and checks.

August 31, 20267 min

Person editing a CV at a desk with a calendar and coffee

Career AdviceCVs

How to Explain a Career Gap on Your CV: Three Honest Framings

Three recruiter-tested ways to explain a career gap on your CV, with sample CV lines and interview scripts you can adapt confidently for applications and interviews.

August 24, 20267 min

Person at a desk setting clear boundaries, calm expression, organised workspace, soft Nordic tones

Career AdviceBoundaries

Quiet quitting vs quiet thriving: boundary-led promotion

Practical steps to set healthy boundaries that prevent burnout while keeping you visible, reliable and promotable, with scripts and measurable actions.

August 10, 20267 min

A recruiter annotating a printed job description with highlights and notes, desk background

Career AdviceJob Search

Reading a Job Description Like a Recruiter: Spot Must-Haves

Learn how recruiters read job descriptions, distinguish must-haves from nice-to-haves, and spot red flags so you can target applications and avoid poor fits.

July 27, 20266 min

Person composing a professional follow-up email after an interview at a tidy desk

Career AdviceInterviews

Recover from a Bad Interview: Follow-up That Saves Offers

How to recover from a bad interview with a follow-up note that can repair your candidacy, rebuild rapport, and often save an offer when done correctly.

July 20, 20266 min

Person reviewing a digital portfolio on a laptop with notes and coffee nearby

Career AdvicePortfolios

What Hiring Managers Really Look for in a Portfolio

Practical guidance on what hiring managers want in a portfolio: scope, ownership and outcomes, plus concrete actions to improve your case studies.

July 13, 20266 min

Person reviewing an offer letter at a desk with a cup of coffee and a laptop.

Career AdviceCounter-Offers

How to Handle a Counter-Offer Without Burning Bridges

Practical framework to evaluate counter-offers, ready reply templates and tactful phrases to accept or decline while preserving professional relationships.

July 6, 20267 min

A professional moving from an agency desk to an in-house office, unpacking a box

Career AdviceInterviews

Switching from Agency to In-house: Day-to-day & Negotiation

Practical guide to moving from agency to in-house roles, what changes daily, common traps, and the clauses and benefits worth negotiating.

June 15, 20267 min

Employee discussing salary with manager in office

Career AdviceCompensation

How to Ask for a Raise: Timing, Evidence, Opening Line

Practical steps to ask for a raise at your current company: pick the right moment, prepare evidence, and use a clear opening sentence to start the conversation.

June 8, 20266 min

New employee taking notes at a desk during a small meeting in a bright Scandinavian-style office

Career AdviceOnboarding

First 30 Days in a New Job: Habits That Build Credibility

Practical habits for your first 30 days in a new job: build credibility by managing priorities, communicating clearly, learning context and delivering small wins.

June 1, 20266 min

Person typing a polite LinkedIn message on a laptop, neutral office background

Career AdviceLinkedIn

Networking on LinkedIn Without Sounding Desperate: Practical Tips

Scripts and timing rules for LinkedIn outreach that stay polite and professional, with ready-to-use messages and clear follow-up timing you can start using today.

May 25, 20267 min

Person editing a cover letter on a laptop, notes and coffee on the desk

Career AdviceCover Letters

Cover Letter That Recruiters Actually Read: Structure

Clear structure, smart openers and exact lines to remove. Recruiter-tested tips and examples to write a cover letter that gets read and gets replies.

May 24, 20266 min

Professional candidate sitting in front of a ring light during a video interview

InterviewsRemote work

The Video Interview Checklist Recruiters Wish You Knew

A recruiter-tested video interview checklist for 2026: lighting, framing, audio, pacing and the small habits that make a remote interview feel like a confident in-person meeting.

February 2, 20269 min

Confident professional speaking during a meeting with colleagues in the background

Career changeCareer advice

Changing Careers After 30: A Calmer, Smarter Playbook

A practical playbook for changing careers after 30: how to reposition your experience, manage the income gap, retrain efficiently and convince a hiring manager that a pivot is a strength, not a risk.

January 26, 202610 min

Two professionals shaking hands in a bright modern office

SalaryNegotiation

Salary Negotiation Without Burning Bridges

A simple, recruiter-tested script for negotiating a job offer in 2026, how to ask for more without ultimatums, what to negotiate beyond base pay, and when to stop.

January 19, 20269 min

Person working calmly at a sunlit home-office desk with plants and a laptop

Remote workCareer growth

Remote Work Habits That Quietly Get You Promoted

The unglamorous remote work habits, visibility, async writing, monthly manager check-ins, that separate the employees who get promoted from those who get quietly forgotten.

December 29, 20259 min

Two professionals having a friendly job interview across a clean modern table

InterviewsCareer advice

7 Interview Questions You Should Actually Be Asking

Seven end-of-interview questions that reveal whether a company is genuinely worth your next two years, and that make you look sharper, more senior and more interested while you ask them.

December 22, 20258 min

LinkedInPersonal brand

5 Rules for a LinkedIn Profile HR Actually Likes

What recruiters look for in the first six seconds of opening a LinkedIn profile in 2026, and five concrete fixes (headline, photo, About, outcomes, Open to Work) that move you to the top of their list.

December 15, 20259 min

Modern printed CV on a clean white desk next to a pen and smartphone

CVResume

How to Adjust Your CV in 2026

What changed in CV expectations in 2026, from AI screening to skills-first formats, and a practical, recruiter-tested one-hour checklist to update yours, with examples and what to delete.

December 8, 202510 min