Is a thank you letter a nicety or critical business protocol? 

In days gone by, guests of dinner parties penned thoughtful little thank you notes to their hosts and hostesses, in gratitude for their hospitality.  Nowadays, those notes have gone the way of the fifteen-cent subway token, as have most of the genteel manners that we as a society seem to have lost, ignored, or simply trampled in our daily rush through our lives.  Sometimes, however, the tried and true remains valid, and that is the case with thank you letters (also called “follow up letters”) to your prospective employers.

It is not only courteous to thank the person or people who took time from their busy schedules to interview you; it is considered good business protocol.  Of the many would-be employees that flow through the offices of hiring managers, those managers are most likely to remember, and give serious consideration to, a select group of candidates.  Yes, those candidates must display the skill sets required to get the job done.  However, there are subtle differences that set job seekers apart from one another, and the thank you letter is one of those differences.

Keep your thank you letter relatively brief, and try to personalize it as much as possible.  Include the job title for which you had interviewed, and something that you had discussed with the potential employer.  Keep the tone professional and polite; you wish to be considered seriously for the job.

The timing of the thank you letter is important, so write and send it out as soon as possible after your meeting (a 24-hour turnaround time is ideal).   A quick response to the employer’s generosity will show that you are truly interested in the available position.

You can send your letter by email or fax, but for maximum impact, don’t!  Employers are besieged by electronic messages, and chances are, their secretaries will put the thank you emails and faxes at the bottom of the pile.  Instead, send the employer an actual letter (remember those?), written on nice, professional stationery such as 24 pound bond paper of a heavy cream or ivory or white stock, in a matching envelope upon which you place a postage stamp.

If more than one person interviewed you, be certain that every one in the group receives a letter.  Chances are, they are not going to compare your thank you letters, but you never can be 100% sure of that.  Therefore, edit the letters to some degree so that each recipient gets an individualized letter.

Must you write the letter out by hand?  You don’t have to, and if your penmanship leaves much to be desired, we don’t advise it.  But if your handwriting is legible and even pleasant to behold, you may go ahead and pick up your pen instead of pounding your keyboard.

A speedy and well-thought out thank you letter can indeed be the “make or break” factor in securing that great new job! 

Do you remember this scene from the great old movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?  Pursued by the law, anti-heroes Butch (Paul Newman) and Sundance (Robert Redford) arrive at a bluff overlooking a long drop ending in churning waters.   Butch screams, “Jump!”  And his partner hollers back, “I can’t swim!”  Confronted with personal questions on interviews, job applicants can be made to feel like Butch and Sundance at the end of that cliff: damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.

Decades ago, the EEO (Equal Opportunity Commission) enacted legislation to protect job hopefuls against discriminatory practices of employers.  Nevertheless, many companies — either through live interviewers or printed applications — demand to know the following about the candidates who pass or attempt to pass through their doors:

1.       Nationality

2.       Religion

3.       Age

4.       Marital status

5.       Parental status

6.       Financial status / Salary history

7.       Service within the U.S. military

8.       Penal record

9.       Distance lived from the job site

None of these questions are legal.

Some employers ask them “innocently.”   These are the companies that, ironically, must report such statistics to the government, in an effort to demonstrate that they are not subscribing to biased hiring practices.  Others, including certain organizations and institutions, must disclose this information because they rely upon governmental funds to stay in business and cannot afford to tick off Uncle Sam.  Still others ask such questions because they are seeking to weed certain “elements” out of their work force, including but not limited to women who have young children and are thereby deemed liabilities.

The best way to answer these questions is with one of the following responses:

1.       “As the EEO prevents you from asking such a question, I prefer not to answer it.”   It is easier to respond in this manner when filling out an application; you can simply refuse to check off the various categories on the form.  But if led down this road on an actual interview, you are within your rights to give the same answer.

2.       “This question has no bearing upon the duties of the job.”

Queries about ethnicity, religious affiliation, age, and marital and parental status can be addressed in the above cut-and-dried manner.  Employers seriously interested in you will conduct an investigation into your finances; it’s an ugly fact, but true.   As it’s done to gauge how responsible you are in your personal life, it is a cruel paradox for those seeking to clean up their credit histories through gainful employment.

While questions regarding service to the military are unlawful, the employer is allowed to ask if you anticipate the need to be away from the job for extended periods of time (as a member of the Reserves or National Guard might).  Inquiries concerning your criminal record are only sanctioned if the type of crime that you’d committed could impact the business conducted by the potential employer.  And the question regarding, “How far do you live from this company?” can best be answered with, “I will be on time for work, as I have been for my previous job(s).”

If you are seeking employment and feel that the interviewer has been prejudiced against you, you are within your rights to contact the EEO, which will have to make a determination about the legitimacy of your claim.   Understand that no job applicant is truly exempt from some form of bias, including reverse discrimination.  Reverse discrimination, which can be particularly insidious, always recalls a story that a friend relayed to me in the late ’70’s, along with the lesson that he’d learned from it.

Chuck, as we’ll call him here, was a young, healthy Caucasian man seeking a technical position in Washington, DC, where he had recently relocated to be with his fiancé, whose own job had transitioned there.  Chuck possessed the requisite training and experience as well as a glowing recommendation from his former employer.  However, he kept hitting a brick wall in his job search.  Frustrated, he finally asked an employer what he was doing wrong.  “This is Washington, DC,” he was told.  “We are bound to uphold certain legislation, and quite frankly, you are not a member of a minority.”

The next time Chuck was asked to fill out a job application, he came across the question, “Are you a member of a minority?”   He wrote, “Yes; I am an Italian-American,” and was hired on the spot.  Was this luck or coincidence?   We’ll never know, but we do know this. Chuck used his brain, including his knowledge of EEO regulations, to land the job.   Regardless of your skin color or any other superficiality unrelated to the job, you must do the same if you feel that you have reached a similar brick wall.

Whether you serve as consultant in the field of IT, Healthcare, or myriad other industries, your status as a consultant can prove to be a conundrum during the interview process.  As any consultant knows, one of his/her greatest hurdles is employers’ prevailing perceptions that:

a) the consultant’s skills sets are not worthy of permanent employment, and
b) the consultant has bounced around and perhaps even likes bounding around from job to job.

So as not to be seen as so much dandelion fluff blowing in the ever-changing wind, you will have to convince the employer of the benefits of consultant work .. having first convinced yourself of them, of course.  The truth may very well be that you have accepted consultancies simply because permanent positions were not available due to, for example, outsourcing of jobs to foreign markets. If this is the case, you can be honest.  But temper your honesty with enthusiasm, not a “woe is me” attitude.

Nothing can turn an interview against you as fast as a negative mindset.  Before you ever set foot in the hiring manager’s door, create the interview scenario in your mind and put yourself in the employer’s seat  What would you want to hear from a potential employee, one who is applying for any position, project-based or permanent?

1) You’d want to hear that the job hopeful enjoyed the diversity of his assignments; that he was unafraid to embrace challenge in new fields.

2) You’d want to hear that the candidate learned something of each of the industries in which he maneuvered, thereby providing him with an applicable lexicon as well as an understanding of the business cultures (including, hopefully, the employer’s own).

3) You’d want to hear that in some manner, the applicant left his mark upon each of the companies that had utilized his services.  You’d want to hear his accomplishments.

If, for instance, you were assigned a three-month project in which you served on a team charged with developing a new piece of software, you’d want to hear what the software, once tested and implemented, had accomplished.

You would not want to hear a dissertation in Technicalese.  Even technical managers want to know the bottom line.  If the application that you helped developed shortened financial reporting time by a week, and provided greater accuracy over the existing system with a series of checks and balances that was previously non-existent, you’d want to know that.

4) You’d want to know that the consultant could slip like butter into the existing workforce, not be a fish out of water.

5) You’d want to know how the consultant had solved a particular problem, how long it took him to do so, and what clicked the light bulb on over his head in the first place.  You’d want a demonstration or at least a presentation of critical thinking skills.

Think like the employer before you sit down to present your qualifications, maintain a positive outlook, and you’ll do a good job of selling yourself to those empowered to hire.

Even before the economy soured, telephone interviews were becoming prevalent as a hiring practice.  Office politics and governmental regulations often demanded that managers give a voice to applicants whose resumes painted them as anything other than perfect fits for the available positions.  Telephone interviews became an expedient means of separating the wheat from the chaff.  The wheat that did emerge (viable candidates) was subsequently granted the more time-consumptive and in-depth interviews.   Employers now facing a gut of applicants do not have the luxury of granting face-to-face interviews to every single candidate.  Thus, the telephone interview has gained even more significance in this tightened economy.

Here is our tried-and-true advice for appearing the type of wheat that employers wish to see sprouting from their company soil.

1. Ensure that your contact information, as per your resume and cover letter, are correct.  If you are unemployed and list only your home phone, you may miss opportunities.  If you don’t own or can’t afford a cell phone, be sure to at least include an alternate number on your career documents (i.e., the number of a trusted friend or family member who will accurately record employers’ messages for you and alert you of them in a timely manner).  Needless to say, return all calls promptly.  And before you do, set the stage for productive interviews.
2. Remove all distractions.  These include your screaming toddler, your hard-rock loving teen, the incessantly blaring TV, and your husband, who needs a road map (that would be you) to locate anything edible in a well-stocked fridge.  Telephone interviews are usually scheduled, so you’ll have plenty of time to arrange for a babysitter, send the teen to the mall, unplug the TV, and make a sandwich for your hubby. Better yet, tell him to make his own while you concentrate on the job-at-hand that will impact the family’s finances.
3. If you are going to speak on a cordless phone, be sure that it’s well charged.  If you think you may need a new battery, invest in one before the interview.  If your annoying neighbors are out riding their lawn mowers and blowing their leaves just before your interview, close all doors and windows to reduce the background noise.  In fact, your best strategy is to have a place of your own, perhaps a home office, from which to speak with the potential employer.
4. Do your research.  At the very least, know the company’s mission and their product or service line.  If the interview has been arranged for you by a recruiter, do not skip this step with the self-defeating thinking that it’s the headhunter’s job to do the research for you.  Thus armed, you will be able to speak more intelligently to the potential employer.
5. Don’t conduct the interview in your ratty sweats or PJ’s.  The way you perceive yourself during an interview will translate over the phone.  You don’t need to don a suit, but please, look presentable.  Ensure that your clothing is clean, ironed, and in good condition.  Men, please shave for the occasion.  Ladies, a sweep of mascara and a dab of lip gloss go a long way in the self-esteem department.  Sit up straight, like your mother taught you, so you sound more professional.  Slump and the tendency will be higher to slur your words or use slang: both of which will be the kiss of death during the screening process.
6. Take a deep breath and smile at yourself in the mirror.  Tell your reflection why you are a great candidate for this job; review your skill sets as well as your cooperative personality and ability to embrace new challenges.  Good mental/emotional preparation is key to a fruitful dialogue.
7. Have your resume, cover letter, and any other relevant documents at hand.  Use your full name to introduce yourself and thank the interviewer immediately for his or her time.  Do not use his or her first name.  This is a business meeting, so the proper salutations are Mr., Ms., Miss, or Mrs. If you are unsure of a female manager’s marital status, Ms. covers all the bases.
8. Be prepared to answer all manner of questions related as well as unrelated to the open position. Questions are opportunities for employers to learn more about you, so sell yourself properly; talk about your accomplishments as well as your core competencies.
9. Close like a pro.  At the end of the conversation, thank the individual once again for having given you the opportunity to speak to him or her, and express your enthusiasm for the open position.
10. Follow up with a thank you letter.  This one simple act will present you as a serious, professional candidate.

Now, charge your phone and full speed ahead!

In forcing job candidates to run a rather daunting gauntlet, renowned chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay always tosses in an extra monkey wrench.  As his reality TV series Hell’s Kitchen winds down, the final two contestants invariably confront some culinary horror for which they have never bargained — or been warned.

Is Ramsay a sadist?

While his public persona seems to invite debate upon that very issue, I see Ramsay as a savvy employer.  Management of a prestigious restaurant and a $250K per annum salary are what are riding, literally, on the line.  Choosy about the candidate he selects, the chef has every right to test how applicants react to an unforeseen event.  And if you think this scenario occurs solely on reality TV, think again.   With so few positions available, many employers like to play mind games with job hopefuls.

Why?  Well, beyond the contents of your resume, the manner in which you, the candidate, address these circumstances gives the employer a wealth of information about your character, including your emotional intelligence and innate problem solving skills.

One of the more popular tests is to keep applicants waiting beyond the usual few minutes prior to an interview.  If you are one of those applicants, know that the interviewer will be aware, or informed, of your behavior in the reception area.  Perusing your resume, reviewing the company’s literature, or whipping an industry publication out of your briefcase all constitute good uses of your time.  Complaining to the receptionist, plugging in your iPod to boogey to hip-hop, or sharing some gossip on your cell phone are not.

Baptism by fire is another monkey wrench for which you had best be prepared.  Any information that appears on your resume, any claim to owning a particular skill, may be challenged — right on the spot.  How well we remember several of our own clients who were: a.) commanded to speak Spanish fluently to the staff, b.) asked to demonstrate use of a new software program, and c.) taken to the plant to observe operations for all of five minutes and then told to provide recommendations for improving efficiency.  Stand ready to support anything and everything that you state on your resume and/or in the actual interview.

Even if the employer deigns not to trip you up, sooner or later, you will become your own worst saboteur … if you so choose.   Checking out the route to the interview well in advance and leaving plenty of travel time on the day of the interview will avoid tardiness on your end.  If you hit unexpected traffic or are diverted due to an accident, no employer wants to hear such excuses; he will expect you to have planned ahead for unforeseen delays.

Conversely, if you are very early for the interview (more than the customary and advisable ten minutes), do not request to be seen before the appointed time.  You will be perceived as having no consideration for the employer’s own time, and you may even be seen as desperate.

If the employer or the subordinate who set up your interview informed you that the work environment is casual, do not take that advice to heart as you dress for the interview.  Our best and unwavering advice is to wear a suit.  However, if you insist upon arriving in “casual dressy” mode, don a clean, wrinkle-free coordinating blazer, and this goes for both men and women.  Your future boss may sanction jeans in the workplace, but if you show up wearing your 501’s before you’ve been the offered the job, you risk never receiving that offer.  Look like the professional that you are and maximize your chances!

Once seated across from the hiring authority, do not give in to your nerves, base instincts, or other temptations by indulging in one or more of the following distracting/disgusting acts:

• Picking your teeth, a scab, or any other part of your body.
• Biting your nails (this habit is particularly nauseating for those who are forced to witness it).
• Dragging your children along for the interview when the babysitter bails on you at the last minute (always have a back up sitter).
• Checking your appearance scrupulously in the mirror; retouching your make-up.
• Lighting up a cigarette if the employer gives you the okay to do so.
• Stinking of cigarette smoke: your own or via some second-hand source.

While these caveats may seem to be simple common sense, they are not always, judging by the horror stories we have heard ad infinitum from those in positions to hire.

If you wish to make a great impression on your future boss, sidestep the monkey wrenches.  And for the sake of your future career, don’t toss any wrenches into your own path!

Job seekers, gird your loins: you are about to learn an ugly truth.  As one of thousands vying for the same position, the skills highlighted on your resume are the same skills highlighted on the resumes of your competitors. With so many individuals demonstrating the same core competencies, how do employers select the right person to hire?  As much as an employer may deny this, it very often comes down to the likeability factor.  While the hiring manager must place her confidence in your skills, she must also sense that you will prove to be a trusted, loyal employee who will fit well within the company structure and culture.  In other words, she has to like you.

Human nature is unpredictable, so trying to decipher every interviewer’s personal likes and dislikes is an exercise in futility.  Instead of pandering to each individual interviewer, show yourself to be the type of employee that any progressive company will value.  Here’s how:

Engage in a genuine dialogue.  Allow the interviewer to ask you questions without interrupting her, and keep your answers professional as well as honest.  After screening numerous applicants, she is well equipped to differentiate between the liars and those who are honest about their abilities, accomplishments, and weaknesses.

Don’t offer a plethora of compliments.  If you like the view from her office or the pin she is wearing, it’s fine to break the ice with a succinct, heartfelt compliment.  But gushing about the interviewer’s hairstyle, makeup, wardrobe, and family photos will only make her uncomfortable and paint you as a sycophant whose sole agenda is to get hired.  Which brings us to our next point …

Explain why you are there.    Both you and the interviewer know why you’re really there: you need a steady income and God willing, some type of benefits package.  But so does every other applicant.  A little research on your part will yield information as to the company’s immediate and long-term objectives.  Explain what you can do to help to achieve those and be enthusiastic about it.  If given the choice between a passionate candidate and one who seems halfhearted, guess which one the manager will select?

Don’t be a George Costanza.   You may remember George from the popular Seinfeld sit-com. In addition to being star-crossed in his love life, George was constantly seeking work; more often than not, he was unemployed.  Hunting for the perfect job, George had an unrealistic list of demands for every employer, designed to make his jobs as cushy as possible.  Don’t be George.  Show that you are willing to work some overtime, if need be, and assist with a special project that may not have appeared in the formal job description.  Thus, you will present yourself as a “value added” employee.

Take the high road.   Many potential employees self-destruct on interviews by bad-mouthing former employers and/or co-workers.  When we advise you to be honest, we mean for you to balance the truth with common sense.  If you have issues with your former employer, determine in advance of your interview how you will frame your responses.  For example, “He was a filthy old man who grabbed me every time I walked by his desk,” “She had her pets and promoted them instead of me,” or “He was senile; I did all the work and he got all the credit” will not garner points with your potential employer.

“Up” your likeability factor and increase your chances for employment! 

Despite the concept of a justice system being a contradiction, the United States has the finest justice system in the world.   It works best when it operates as it was meant to, in protecting law-abiding, hard-working taxpayers from predators of all kinds, including the big boys in Corporate America.  Bear this in mind as you venture into the arena of interviews, particularly if you have not interviewed in quite some time.

The aftermath of 9/11 engendered the controversial Patriot Act and other less noticeable, but no less significant acts of invasion of privacy into the lives of private citizens.  With so many job hopefuls and so few jobs, corporations attempt — illegally — to squeeze very personal and usually irrelevant information out of job candidates as they are screened for potential employment.   Know that the EEOC (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) protects you, the job seeker, against such practices.

The regulations established by the Commission state that it is illegal for potential employers to ask you to divulge information concerning your age, religion, nationality, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital and family status, and disabilities that will not hinder your performance as an employee, as per the formal job description.  In addition, employers may not specifically ask you how far your home is located from the job, if you are willing to relocate, or if you possess a criminal record unrelated to the functions of the job for which you are interviewing.

Questions about your military status are not as cut and dried.  You may not be denied employment because you are a member of the National Guard or the Reserves, but companies do retain the right to ask you if your military obligations will necessitate extended stays away from the workplace.

Traditionally, women have been asked if they have or intend to have children and if so, the ages of said children.  Additionally, married women were often asked about how their husbands felt about such issues as overtime or traveling for business.  If faced with such questions, you might respond, “You know you can’t, by law, ask me these questions.”   However, a better approach might be to add something similar to the following:  “I have nothing to hide, so I’ll just tell you what you want to know.”  Of course, in so doing, you should tell them only what You want them to know.

By adopting this approach, you put the prospective employer on notice that you are intelligent and wily.  In a better economy, I would tell you that these traits would be desirable in a potential employee.  In this economy, however, I’m not sure that that is still true.  When you yourself face this line of questioning in an interview, your intelligence will be insulted and you may sense discrimination at work.  Indeed, it may be.  Head it off at the pass by remaining calm and professional.  Your best counterattack is to ask the interviewer what bearing your marital status or your children, for example, have upon the responsibilities of the position.   You can refer to the formal job description that you will have found on the company’s website, and can point to the fact that the requirements include a college education and at least three years of experience in the field, but that nothing is stated about an applicant’s marital or parental status.         

If you are pressed, you may plead the Fifth Amendment.  It is your right to refuse to answer any illegal question, and you may do so — politely but firmly.

Be sensitive to what happens next in term’s of the interviewer’s attitude.  If you feel that the tone of the interview has changed, and that the hiring manager is no longer taking you seriously as a candidate, it may indeed be a case of discrimination.  You have recourse by way of a potential investigation and lawsuit, by accessing the EEOC’s information page  The site will also provide you with detailed information concerning Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), and the ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act).

Knowledge is power.  To educate yourself is to protect yourself as well as the people who depend upon you to bring home a paycheck.

Practitioners of past life regressions often ask their clients, in their relaxed states, to look down at their feet as they embark upon their journeys into prior incarnations. The rationale is that the state and style of one’s footwear will signify a specific period of time as well as one’s general position in life. Although hiring managers confine their interview questions to applicants’ current lives and fairly recent job histories, don’t assume that employers do not place great emphasis on candidates’ footwear, for it is a fact that most do!

Worn heels, scuffed toes, and fraying laces indicate that the wearer has a tendency to overlook details or shove small, unpleasant tasks under the rug (obviously, not good qualities in potential employees).  Any type of sandal, including open toes, sling backs, or God forbid, flip flops, announce a somewhat carefree applicant who is not completely serious about the job.  The same, and worse, can be said of stiletto heels.  No industrious employee can get much done in a pair of skyscrapers, and that includes the male employees ogling the killer heels.  Thick, shear-lined boots are suitable for Alaskan pikers, and construction boots are for those laboring on a worksite, not seeking employment in an office or field sales environment.

With the transit strike of the early ’80’s, running shoes became a staple in the professional wardrobes of New Yorkers forced to take to the streets and bridges in order to commute to and from work.  However, once in the office, the Nikes® and Reeboks® were stashed away in desk drawers and replaced by more suitable footwear.  Therefore, avoid running shoes, tennis shoes, and sneakers while interviewing.

Men, unless you’re auditioning for a role as Buster Brown or The Little Dutch Boy, deep six shoes with buckles and tassels.  Ditto metal studs or another features normally donned by bikers, hard rockers, and cowboys.  And remember the rule of thumb pounded into you by your fashion-savvy significant other: wear no shoes of a color “not found in nature.” What we ladies mean is, please confine your color choices to black, deep brown, or dark gray in a tasteful lace up or “tongue” style.

Vegetarians, we have bad news for you: tanned leather is the material of choice when interviewing.  Patent leather smacks of grade school…including yes, the legend told by the nuns.  Reserve funky wedges, platforms, rhinestones, and flower accents for a revival of Hair or the dance floor, not the job interview.    

Your best and safest choice is to invest in two pairs of decent, black leather shoes: sensible pumps for women and classic styles for men.  With all the running around you’ll be doing while interviewing, your shoes are going to incur some damage.  Have a spare, pristine pair waiting in the wings while you have the first pair resoled, polished, and buffed.

Budget-conscious job seekers will want to visit discount retailers, such as DSW, which carries a dizzying array of styles for both men and women. Sign up for the store’s rewards program and you’ll receive discount coupons periodically in the mail. 

The process of interviewing for a job is akin to auditioning for a coveted position among a reality talent show such as American Idol.   A job applicant competes as one among hundreds, if not thousands, is granted but a few minutes to demonstrate his talents, and faces judges armed with solid job criteria as well as personal preferences.   Knowing that your livelihood may ride upon how you perform during an interview, if you are a job candidate, we urge you to prepare well for this critical screening process.

Our most important advice revolves around the time-honored lyrics of The Rolling Stones: “Time is on my side.”   In readying yourself for an interview, ensure that time is on your side!   Have your suit dry cleaned and hanging fresh in your closet at least several days before sitting down with the hiring manager.  We have all heard of or experienced incidents in which a heretofore-reliable dry cleaning service has given a customer the wrong garment, a garment that is not always returned to its proper owner.

Review your resume the day before the interview, not in the reception area of the company as you count down the minutes before the interrogation.  If you have followed our recommendations outlined in previous articles, your resume reflects not only your skills but also genuine accomplishments.  As you peruse your employment history, envision the questions you may be asked, and form honest, supportable answers.  Plan to be interviewed by more than one person, so bring multiple copies of your resume.  Forewarned, as the saying goes, is forearmed.

Using an Internet mapping application or your GPS system, chart your route to and from the interview.   Understand that the site’s or your GPS system’s directions may not be 100% accurate.   A day or two before the interview, drive to your destination.   If the company is in a large industrial complex, you may need extra time to locate your potential employer.   Road construction will cause delays and possible detours.  Allow time for these; avoid unpleasant surprises.  Should the road to the company be unobstructed on the day of your test run, don’t assume that it will be clear sailing the day of your interview.  Accidents occur, and commuter buses break down.   It is far better to be early for an interview and wait in your car, if need be, than to be tardy.  Latecomers are viewed as poor planners, and poor planners rarely ace interviews.

Before you leave your house or apartment, eat something light and healthy; a growling stomach is distracting to the employer and embarrassing for you.  The day before, as well as the day of, the interview, avoid ingesting foods containing onions and/or garlic.  Body chemistry varies from person to person, and some of us retain the odors of these sulfurous offenders for a full twenty-four hours after eating, toothpaste and mouthwash notwithstanding!  Coffee also contributes to bad breath, as does most sugar-based foods.  If you are a smoker, avoid cigarettes; the unpleasant smell of smoke will cling to your hair and clothing.  In addition, smokers are perceived as greater health risks than non-smokers, particularly to companies that still offer health benefits.

Candidates of both sexes who sport body art should cover their tattoos.  Ladies, if you have visible body piercings, remove all jewelry on and around the face other than a single, tasteful pair of earrings.  Gentlemen, forego rings and studs, period.  If this caveat puts your nose out of joint, remember that the interview is your time to shine professionally as a potential team member, not display your uniqueness as The Illustrated Man or one of his close relatives.  

Once you have arrived early for the interview, use your time wisely.   Visit the restroom so as to be comfortable as you speak with the hiring manager.  Take a long look in the mirror to double check your grooming.   Smile at yourself (seriously) and mentally recite six good things about yourself.  Make three of them career-related and the remaining three about your overall character.  Bring a positive outlook with you into the interview and the manager will sense that.   Look him or her in the eye, smile, give a confident (not crippling) handshake, and prepare to wow your future employer. 

Too many women bought into the fairy tale that we could have it all.  We wanted to believe that we could truly balance a family and a house with well-paying, growth-oriented careers and interesting, extra-curricular pursuits.  Now we know that there is no such thing as having it all without sacrifice to our sanity or physical well being…or that of our loved ones!   But employers have yet to learn the lesson driven home to erstwhile-liberated women seeking perfect lives; employers still desire, indeed demand, perfect employees!

Criteria for perfection include a solid base of practical and relevant experience, verifiable accomplishments, sterling references, and untarnished credit histories…and that’s just for starters.  They also require team players who can take charge, leaders who can roll up their sleeves, and multiple personality types willing to take risk for the benefit of the company while still towing the corporate line.  Finally, employers want to know what kind of person you are in your private life.  Because legislation governing hiring practices prevents employers from grilling applicants concerning very personal matters, many couch their inquiries into a single, seemingly innocuous question of sorts: “Tell me a little about yourself.”  This is code for “Prepare to self-destruct!”

If you wish to avoid a meltdown during the interview, anticipate this question and know how to respond properly.  And, know how not to respond.

If your answer sounds too rehearsed, trite, or sycophantic, the interviewer will view you as a robotic apple-polisher instead of a critical thinker.  Straightforward answers rampant with minutiae will bore the hiring manager and diminish your chances of employment.  And, if your answer paints you as anything other than a professional, you can look forward to an extended stay on the unemployment line.

Do your research before the interview; an hour spent perusing the company’s mission, history, accomplishments, and objectives is time well invested for the serious job seeker.  The hiring manager will not expect you to memorize this data verbatim, but the information will give you a solid basis for a genuine dialogue.   Prepare well; balance professionalism with honesty and circumspection.  This approach will allow you to interweave your interests, experience, and goals with those of your prospective employer.