It funny how people get so anxious and nervous about interviewing.  Sure the people you meet with during an interview aren’t people you know and it won’t be easy to judge the meaning of their words and inflections much less their body language, but is it really that different from what you do everyday?

In your current position you’re constantly making sure your boss, peers and clients/customers are pleased with your work, attitude and effort.  So aren’t you really interviewing everyday by default?  I certainly believe so, in fact I think if more people looked at their job in this light they may put in just a little more effort, be just a bit more attentive to the needs of their boss/peers/clients and maybe (just maybe) have that extra effort allow them to be just that more effective in the current job.

For months we’ve been talking with those unfortunate IT professionals that have been affected by the economic downturn through RIF, layoffs, outsourcing, etc. about being flexible in their search.  Flexible in the type of work they’ll do, their commuting distance, the salary they’ll accept…and finally we told them to be flexible in where they live and that while selling a house may be daunting there career livelihood may depend on it.  However, after hearing Paul Krugman speak last week I have a new appreciation to understanding why it’s both good for the candidate, but also good for the broader US economy as well.

As the Q& A session was about to come to an end Krugman answered a question about the pros and con’s of a single global currency.  Now I won’t bore you with all the details, but in discussing the con’s he equated Spain with Florida (as they both had their real estate bubble’s burst) and that Spain will have many years of deflation due in part to a single EU currency, their inability to devalue their currency and other social, cultural and language barriers preventing them from moving to other EU countries while Floridians can simply pick up and move to areas of the US with more job opportunities and growth.

So if you find yourself unemployed (or underemployed) do what’s good for you and your country and move.

Making placements is hard and recruiters always have various theories for their anticipated success or failure on any given position search.  Most typically it begins with such things as their depth of knowledge of the company, the hiring process, position requirements, their knowledge of the available talent pool, experience working with the hiring official and the preferred personality traits of the team in addition to many other moving parts.  However, the hardest placement that you’re ever likely to make is the one that follows a recently successful placement with the same company and manager.  What typically occurs is that the hiring official’s job description includes the phrase “if I could just clone (insert your candidates name here) then I’d have this position filled”.

Since cloning humans is still science fiction I’d love to tell to run away from this job order, but we know you can’t….because they’re a client.  So do yourself a favor and reaffirm the realities of the market place with the client, remind them that while you’ll be striving for that “perfect” fit that no two people are alike, and that they need to be realistic about candidates and compare them against the job description and not your prior placement when determining their viability.  In short if you can get your hiring official to look at your candidates realistically, then you can make this placement.

I had a hiring official call me back on a marketing call to discuss a position that was going to be created in his group just six months after his company had had layoffs and he himself had to let one of his team members go.  Unfortunately he told me he wasn’t going to be able to use my services to fill the position, and not for a typical reason like no funding for recruiters fees, but because he was bringing the team member he had let go back in as a contractor.

Sure you’re thinking that why wouldn’t a company bring back a former employee if they were still available? In reality there are many reasons…they were the weak link on the team, the skills needed now no longer match those of the departed and finally more often than not because they got an employment divorce.  As we all know divorce can be emotional and messy and most candidates and companies don’t know how (much less want) to cross the divide created and to do what’s necessary to get back together. 

So why does this manager wish to do so?  Because even though the employee had been an employee with the company for his entire career (26 years) he didn’t get mad about them letting him go.  In fact, he told his boss that he completely understood and that if he was the one making the decision that he’d do the same thing.  He then went on to compliment his boss’ work upon his departure to both his boss and the VP above that. 

Now I’m sure most people wouldn’t go quite this far and handle their own layoff with the grace of this individual, but it doesn’t mean we all shouldn’t handle the situation better.  Especially since you never know when your company might come calling again. 

Etiquette: The rules and conventions governing correct or polite behavior in society in general or in a specific social or professional group or situation.

However Interview etiquette is the ability to not come off like an A. Jerk B. idiot C. egomaniac D. all of the above.

Needless to say in all my 22 years in this business I’ve had (like most of you) some strange interview situations, but I don’t think any candidate that I’ve prepped for an interview has managed to stumble over as many typically easy interview obstacles as the one last week. In one 3 hour session my candidate managed to get caught snacking on a pop-tart in the middle of the interview, have his cell phone ring (on three separate occasions) and not show up in the appropriate interview attire.

So while the good news is that his skills outshone his behavior and he’s still under consideration questions about his personality and just what he’d be like as a teammate remain and in the end they may prove pivotal in their decision to hire him or not.

So for the record: No cell phone during the interview, no food or drink (unless they offer it to you), mind your manners, dress the part (business attire for professionals), bring a portfolio to take notes, show up early and send a thank you note to the hiring official (emails ok for speed).