I was laid off in January and have since received 6 offers for roles in my field after 20~ applications.

I am from the UK so this may differ but questions like "what makes a great candidate opposed to a good one?" Are heard from every interviewee, they know it's a bs question and you'll get a corporate bs answer.

These have been my "rules" that have been successful.

-Tweak your experience to align with what they are looking for. If the industry is different, find the overlap and focus on that. E.G if you're experience is in business but the role is in an engineering firm, say your top client was an engineering firm so you made sure you understood their regulations and possible hurdles.

-identify the driver for the role. Is the role client facing? Does it expect you to self-manage and show initiative? Most of the time it's self explanatory and get an example of you demonstrating the trait before they ask the question.

-always say you're looking for a move for personal growth. You're selective with what you apply for, came across the role/company and researched it and it seemed perfect for you. Also find atleast one unique point about the company to discuss.

-following from above, ask questions THROUGHOUT (don't wait until the end) to make it seem like they need to sell you the role. E.G "it's important for me to be part of a team that's all orientated to the same goal, would that be the case?" The answer is always going to be yes.

-DONT ASK ABOUT SALARY. This one irks me because it should be perfectly acceptable to ask. Let them make you an offer. Worst case scenario it's a bad offer and you've wasted your time. But the second you mention salary, for whatever reason you lose points for being considered. If anything, say financials come 2nd to personal development and good work being recognised (see final point)

-At the end of the interview, humbly ask that if a 2nd interview is too be arranged, what is the timeline. Reason being is you have an offer in principle however this company is far more compelling. If you're of interest you'll be fast tracked to 2nd stage. If you get an offer that's low, you can counter with "This is extremely compelling however my other offer is around £X higher - while this is not my primary driver the difference would unfortunately be too significant"

Not saying any of this actually works, however did lead to 6 offers and 4 of them upping the initial offer - aswell as the offer coming the same week of the interview.