> Partly, they don't want to know. The worst thing in the world is to be
> unemployed for a over a year and all of a sudden realize that there is very
> little you can do to change alchemy. You can't study for it, you can't plan
> for it, you can do nothing except do your best. It's out of your control
> and unemployed, discouraged workers don't want to know that they might just
> get a job, not because of a pretty resume or key words or their talents and
> skills, but because they had on a pair of socks someone recognized the
> brand of, a conversation started, and "clicking" started to happen. To
> realize that you're in that position is to realize that there's little you
> can rationally do to alleviate your situation and someone might get the job
> instead of you because they clicked and you didn't. There's no explanation.
> It's unnerving and could set these folks (long term unemployed upper level
> managers and professionals) into a bout of serious depression.
As the Susan Lucci of web developers and librarians, I can attest after *years* of seeking employment that getting a job has very little to do with your resume. My resume is excellent and I get a good number of interviews for the number of applications I make. I just can't move on beyond the interview stage.
Much of that has to do with the sheer level of competition for jobs and the shortage of librarian jobs. The employer I interviewed with back in December told me that they had gotten over 200 applications. The head publisher said he was interviewing around a dozen people. After all that, the company re-listed the job at several job sites in January.
If you get 200 well-qualified applicants and can't settle for one, then you are obviously looking for God herself to work for you.
You have a good point about alchemy and how hard it is to change how you come across in interviews. At the same time, not every interviewer is the same and you yourslef have good days and bad days.
I find it much harder now, after years of looking, to play along and try to be an outgoing candidate who is conscious about the "will he fit in" type of interview. I was very relaxed for my interview last week. I did no prep and I really didn't want the job. That attitude probably took off my edge. The person who interviewed me may have been trying to see if I would fit in, but this person was a rather distant, serious, friendly geek. In the past, I woud have joked around more, but in some interviews you don't get a chance to open up and connect as a person.
Joanna's point about the ""are you a member of the club" type of interviews is on target. I've experienced my share of that type. I'm not sure if I find those interviews easy or the more formal kind. At the other end of the spectrum is the super formal interview, which I commonly find for paraprofessional government jobs. There is always an interview committee and they ask you a list of questions. They can't deviate from that list, so you are off the hook when it comes to probing questions about specific oddities on your resume or work experience. It's harder to make personal connections during formal interviews.
It is pretty hard to put up an act for the "are you a member of the club" interview if you aren't naturally outgoing. I try to read the personalities of the interviewers and then up my personality a few notches.
I can't tell you all what works, but I've been to many, many interviews.
One last anecdote: Back in 1996 I was looking around for my first webmaster job. I managed to get an interview with a new Internet startup in Virginia. This office was your typical small corporate office with new money. They had those stupid waterfall things in the reception area.
I don't remember where exactly my interview happened, but at one point I was taken back to a cubicle to be tested on my knowledge of HTML. The office environment was definitely young, male and post-college. I instantly felt like a middle-age guy, even though I was 31 at the time. These baby geeks had tricked out their cubicles with all kinds of posters, toys, and other stuff that screamed "dorm room."
I remember looking at all of this crap and thinking: "Must be their first job. After a few employers, you learn never to treat your workspace as a comfortable extension of home (or the dorm room)."
Chuck -------------------------- Bread and Roses Web Design serving small businesses, non-profits, artists and activists http://www.breadandrosesweb.com/