Volunteering for groups such as the Red Cross has become a resume-builder for many in the recession.

Once upon a time, conventional wisdom was that someone who already had a job was around six times more likely to find a new job than someone who was out of work. Unfortunately for the unemployed, things just got worse. A lot worse.

Last week, CNN Money reported that many companies and recruiters are no longer considering unemployed applicants:

Employment experts say they believe companies are increasingly interested only in applicants who already have a job. “I think it is more prevalent than it used to be,” said Rich Thompson, vice president of learning and performance for Adecco Group North America, the world’s largest staffing firm. “I don’t have hard numbers, but three out of the last four conversations I’ve had about openings, this requirement was brought up.”

Whether or not employers can legally advertise that they will only accept candidates who are already employed — by, for instance, stating it in a job listing — has become a murky gray area. Some companies have removed such language from their job materials, including one South Carolina recruiter who did so after being asked about it by a CNN reporter working on the story!

But whether or not it’s explicitly expressed, what’s obvious is that even those who have been laid off for reasons that have nothing to do with their performance have a lot to overcome.

So…where to start? Many people who haven’t been able to find a job are finding other ways to boost their resumes, as this article explains:

They are tour guides, airport greeters, hospital helpers, fund-raisers and more. They provide hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work for free. They are volunteers. And, neither the struggling economy nor summer doldrums have taken a lasting toll on their numbers or hours of service. But they aren’t always easy to find: Some area organizations have worried about finding enough help this year. Yet help has come from a strange place: the ranks of the unemployed. Many people who have lost their jobs are volunteering to stay busy and fill gaps on their resumes.

What’s most interesting to me about the article is that it tracks how attitudes towards the recession and unemployment have shifted. Initially, many people faced with job insecurity or job loss dropped everything else to focus on finances. But that has shifted yet again, sometimes for the very reasons laid out in the CNN Money report:

When the local economy hit the skids, “we initially lost volunteers - about 200,” Baugher said of the volunteer corps of nearly 2,000 people today. Then, as Lee County’s unemployment soared — to a peak of 14.2 percent in January — “we got droves of people coming in to volunteer: people who’d lost their jobs. … Quite a few got jobs through volunteering.”

In fact, entrepreneur and author of The Brazen Careerist Penelope Trunk thinks that job-hunting is the last thing you should do when you’re unemployed. She’s got five other things you should be doing, which all at their core are basically ways to prepare for your next job.

The one that makes the most sense to me is number five, “practice talking about yourself with everyone.” Rarely do people acknowledge that interviewing is a skill that takes practice, and many people — particularly those laid-off after years with the same employer — are decidedly out of practice:

High performers practice for interviews. So now you know what you’re aiming for, but you need to talk about it with everyone – parties, at the gym, on the phone with friends. When they ask how you’re doing, talk about what you’re doing like you are in the job interview. And the good news is that the better you get at talking like that, the more you will actually believe your story, the story that being unemployed is lucky because you have learning opportunities.

However, eventually most people will be back to the job search, and news like the CNN Money report can be discouraging. But it’s important to remember job-search-steps.com’s assessment of the unemployed jobseeker’s secret weapon: “Actually, you have one big advantage from a job search standpoint when you are unemployed: time.”

Are you ready to get extreme with your job search?

Stories abound in this recession about stacks of resumes unread by employers as applicants pile on to job openings. It’s not enough anymore to be qualified for a position. Sometimes it’s not even enough to make a resume that stands out. So what can you do to have a better chance of getting an interview, and of ultimately landing that dream job — or, indeed, simply a job you might like?

Here are five extreme measures for extreme times:

1. Make a list of what you will and won’t do.

Laurie Ruettlmann at Punk Rock HR argues that even when people have been out of work for a while, and start to say things like “I’ll do anything for a job,” they don’t really mean anything. She suggests making three lists: “things I would never do for work, “things I might do for work,” and “things I really want to do for work — whether I have the skills right now or not.”

My point is simple: you have to do the work and figure out the psychology behind your unemployment before you post your resume everywhere and pray that someone calls you for an interview. That’s now how life works, anymore. An honest list that outlines standards and expectations will help you to redirect and redefine your job search.

2. Put together a marketing plan for yourself.

The days of just spamming employers with blind emails whenever a new opening appears online are over. Even tailoring your resume to individual employers, though often a good idea, isn’t a guarantee. Take a cue from some of the leaps and bounds in 21st century marketing. Modern companies work hard to sell their brand, what can you do to sell your own brand better?

Jerome Young at Forbes.com has some solid ideas. He points out that everything you use to brand yourself — resume, cover letter, online profile and interview remarks — must have a consistent message. But his central theme, in a nutshell, is showing what you’ve done, rather than just telling:

Have you increased revenue or profit? Have you decreased costs or minimized risk? Tell concise success stories of how you met these goals, and you’ll make yourself an exceptional candidate. To identify those success stories, you must understand how your position and your accomplishments clearly helped the bottom line of the business. That allows you to explain the value you’ve provided in the past and can offer in the future…

Examples of what you’ve done are far more effective that just talking about what you’ve done. Websites, pictures of products, and actual products themselves grab an employer’s attention and generate interest. I have offered employers a slide show with pictures of me working, just so they can visualize me effectively laboring on their behalf.

3. Establish your credentials.

Dan Burns of Career Rocketeer reiterates that the typical application package is no longer enough to establish your brand with employers. He suggests what he calls a “credentials package” that includes a customized cover letter, customized resume and a references summary, along with two additional pieces that he calls a “summary of qualifications” and “personal profile.” The summary of qualifications, he says, can be particularly good for snaring the interview:

After you pique the hiring manager’s interest with your cover letter, you save him/her the time of going through the details of your résumé by providing qualitative, objective, and definitive reasons why you are the best person for the job. If done correctly, often the Summary of Qualifications is sometimes all that the hiring manager has to read to select you for the interview.

4. Pay close attention to even the smallest of details.

Careless mistakes, all-too-common in this era where applicants can point and click to respond as quickly as possible, can ruin an otherwise promising bid for a great job. Maria Hanson at LiveCareer has collected some ironic and painful examples of real-world carelessness on resumes, comments like “speak, read, and wright English/Spanish.” And “I’m very detale oriented”:

“Making errors on your resume just screams, ‘I’m careless, I don’t care to double-check my work or have a friend look it over, and that’s exactly the same sloppy, lazy effort I’ll give you as my employer,’” says Tony Katsulos, who keeps a file of the worst resume bloopers he’s received as head of Jetstream Public Relations.

That’s one stack of resumes you don’t want to be in.

5. No matter what, don’t get desperate.

Thinking outside the box can also go horribly, horribly wrong. Laurie Buhl at Yahoo! HotJobs has a long list of things to avoid, such as coming off like a social media stalker and standing on the corner with a sign. And don’t forget that it’s possible to make your personal branding too unique:

Executive recruiter Kim Bishop has seen a variety of wacky queries, including one large package containing the message “Will work for food,” and resumes comparing themselves to Broadway shows and to NCAA tournaments. “One person asked whether he should send an employer confetti in an envelope. I said, ‘Think about it: would you want confetti all over your desk?’”

Is HR a culture of secrecy?

A new article up at SmartMoney.com is called “10 Things Human Resources Won’t Say.” It’s interesting because it seems that more and more when people are talking about HR, they cast it in a sinister light. According to these articles, the human resources department is like some kind of secret society that is not about to let any mere employee know what’s going on. There’s a paranoid tinge to these stories—two of the items in this particular article are “You’re Not Paranoid, We Are Watching You” and “We Know More About You Than You Think”:

Many companies employ software that sifts through e-mail looking for curse words or sexually explicit language. IT monitors Web usage and can see every site an employee visits. In fact, anything you do via the company’s server—most activity on an office computer, including personal e-mail — is subject to review by your boss. Firings over these issues are on the rise, says Flynn. In 2009, 26 percent of companies reported terminating employees for violations of e-mail policy, up from 14 percent in 2001. “Employees should act as if the boss was looking over their shoulder,” says California employment mediator Michelle Reinglass.

That idea that HR is somehow involved in a sordid conspiracy with the powers that be comes up a few times, as under the heading “We’re Not Always Your Advocate,” which cites the example of Ronica Tabor, who alleges she was discriminated against by manufacturer Hilti North America because of her gender, and that HR did nothing to correct it.

Employees should realize that HR answers to the company, says Lewis Maltby, director of the National Workrights Institute, an employee-rights organization. “HR is a spear carrier for the boss,” he says.

Wait, doesn’t everyone in a company work for the boss? And yet in many discussions of human resources, there seems to be an undercurrent of anger, as if by being answerable to their employer’s policies, HR staff have in some way betrayed other employees.

Another recent “Human Resources secrets” article has dire predictions for anyone who fumbles their experience with a company’s HR staff:

Job hunters who have committed either of these errors can expect human resources to keep their resumes or applications—for all the wrong reasons. Job seekers who later apply for another job within that organization will often find that this previous misstep will color the outcome of the new job application. If this is the case, don’t expect an organization’s hiring manager to make the same mistake twice.

Yikes! Human resources employees sure do sound scary! This has been going on for quite some time, as the book from a few years ago, “Corporate Confidential: 50 Secrets Your Company Doesn’t Want You To Know,” proves. In those pages, HR is a tangle of blacklists, double-crosses and endless spin.

Holy cow. There are plenty of horror stories out there, yes, but can we have a reality check for a minute? This article highlighting seven reasons HR is misunderstood is a must-read. All of the reasons are worth highlighting, but I think the conclusion is important both as a bottom line—HR was never some kind of employee wish factory—and its suggestion for how to improve HR relations:

An unresponsive, unhelpful HR office that avoids helping employees with their problems is not always the case. (Though I know from my readers that such organizations do exist, let’s hope they’re rare.) There are legitimate reasons why HR cannot fulfill every employee’s wishes. If the HR staff listens, communicates actively, and informs the employee why a decision is made or an action not taken, employees are much less likely to write asking how to solve their HR horror stories.

2009 was a long and challenging year for jobseekers. Unemployment reached record highs, and competition for jobs was fierce. If you had trouble landing your ideal job, you weren’t alone.

As we cross into 2010, it’s a natural time to take stock of your 2009 job search: what worked, and what didn’t; what time was well spent, and what time was wasted. If you were using methods that didn’t give good returns on your time and energy, now is the time to drop them.

Then, resolve to channel your fresh start and high energy into new habits designed to get you into your ideal job in the coming year. Here are six recommended resolutions to make your job search successful in 2010.

Resolution #1: I will create a list of targeted employers.
If you’re only applying to jobs that you see being advertised, you’re leaving key elements of your job search up to chance. Take control of your future by identifying the organizations in your industry where you would like to work — even if they don’t have any job openings at the moment. Do your research, and make up a list of 8-12 target employers with products or cultures you admire. Devote time to introducing yourself to them as a future candidate. Get on their radar now, before a job is even open, and sow the seeds for them to call on you later on when something opens up. This is one of the best ways to take advantage of the “hidden job market.” It requires time and planning, but the end result is a position with a company you hand-selected as a good match for your skills and desires.

Resolution #2: I will carry job-search business cards.
A person’s job is a large part of their identity, and sometimes displaced workers feel lost without the security of a title and a business card. But do you really want to be scribbling your contact information on a napkin or index card when you network in public? Increase your poise, confidence, and professional appearance by creating and carrying a personal business card just for your job search. They are easy to produce at home with a printer, or simply use a free service such as Vistaprint, which offers jobhunters 250 cards printed free (pay only shipping and handling). Job-search cards are the perfect positive marketing tool — shorter than a resume, but something physical for people to take away and remember you by. This leads to our next resolution:

Resolution #3: I will expand my network.
No matter how much you are networking, you could undoubtedly do more. Jobseekers are often shy about expanding their network, but people are typically flattered to be asked for their expertise or connections. So take the plunge: if you haven’t made the time for Facebook or LinkedIn, now is the time (keep it professional on Facebook, of course). And don’t just concentrate on online, either! Whenever you talk with a friend, peer, neighbor, or relative, aim to get at least one informational contact (not a job interview, but a person you can call and chat with for 10 minutes or so about their industry) out of the conversation. While jobseeking, you should aim to have a short informational call or coffee meeting at least a few times a month. People will be impressed with your initiative, and flattered by your attention. You may be surprised where these short, no-pressure meetings can take you.

Resolution #4: I will build my personal brand.
This is a fairly new element of the job search, and as such, many older jobseekers are not aware of it. The candidate’s role now goes far beyond their resume; it is now common for employers to do preliminary research on you on the Internet before you are contacted. Your competitors are building their personal brand online, and so should you. Start commenting on an industry with a Twitter account or on a free blog at WordPress or Blogger; establish your expertise. Benefit #1 is that you’ll make great industry connections. Benefit #2 is that you’ll shape your online image for those who are researching you. Both are necessary for your successful 2010 job search.

Resolution #5: I will revamp my resume and cover letter.
When was the last time you really gave these crucial materials more than a simple update? Adding your last position is the bare minimum, and for 2010, you owe yourself an upgrade. Research current job ads for the hot keywords are in your field, and make sure your terminology matches the current jargon. Evaluate the entire document, even older sections that have served you well for years — these are the very sections that could benefit from a re-write in the context of your later accomplishments. Aim for a clean, simple look. When you’re done, save a formatted version for printing and email attachments, and a plain text version for online forms.

Resolution #6: I will genuinely seek out feedback.
Many jobseekers get “stuck” on some issue that they don’t even know about. Maybe it’s the presentation of their resume; maybe it’s some interviewing quirk. The point is, they won’t ever know about it unless they ask their “support squad” for constructive criticism. Unfortunately, due to rejection in the job market, these same people may feel too vulnerable to ask for any feedback. If this sounds like it might apply to you, turn to trusted friends and family for resume critiques, mock interviews, and ideas about where your talents might be useful. They know you better than anyone, and you should resolve not to let any insecurity prevent you from asking for their excellent help and perspective. Ask for feedback, and you may get a surprising boost!

Do you have any job-related resolutions for the New Year? We’d love to hear about them. Share your inspiration and progress in the comments.

The scenario: You’ve been called in to interview with a company that you know virtually nothing about — and the interview’s tomorrow. While you’re excited that they want to recruit you, you’re sweating bullets at the thought of giving meaningful answers about this mysterious organization.

The answer is quick, simple, and painless. Just turn to your computer. Research nowadays is easy, and often free. There are a wealth of great sites and services that specialize in getting you up to speed on an organization.

Here’s the RiseSmart guide to making the most of the 24 hours before your interview.

1) Start with your basic homework.

• Read the company’s website, paying special attention to the annual report and press releases.
• Hoover’s has free look-ups of businesses with in-depth reports about them. Input the company name, and read away.
• Do a search for news stories about the company, written by an objective journalist. Try Reuters and this compilation of business trade articles.
• Review what you’ve learned. You’re going to want knowledge of products and services, market positioning, company leaders and organization, culture, and compensation.

2) Then get a little more advanced.

• Look up the company’s leaders, and the person interviewing you, by name on ZoomInfo. Don’t tell them that you did this, but use every morsel you find.
• I like this easy pathfinder for company research from the Los Angeles Public Library.
• If it’s a publicly held company, they must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• WetFeet is a fantastic resource. Check out their list of major employers.
• Google the organization on the “wonder wheel” setting to show you related searches you might not have thought of (and the company might not WANT you to think of).

3) Check out what current and former employees say.

• GlassDoor has anonymous reviews of company culture and insider salary info.
• Look through your contacts on LinkedIn, and see if anyone in your greater circle works there, or has worked there. Ask for an informational interview, perhaps a 10-minute phone call.
• Run searches on the company name plus positive and negative terms such as “great place to work” or “sucks.” You might be surprised what you can find.
• Search on Twitter for the company’s name as a hashtag.
• Utilize Google’s Blog Search function to find out what regular people are writing about the company.

4) Don’t forget about researching the entire industry and the top competition…

• Hoover’s has more than 600 fantastic free “industry overviews”  to place your hiring company in a wider context.
• Capital IQ, Lexis-Nexis, and OneSource can all help with this, but usually require a license to use.
• WetFeet has a free directory of industry guides to check out.
• Do a search on the company’s name plus the term “poach.”

With a small amount of intelligent, targeted research, you can be ready for a surprise interview with just 2-3 hours of research conducted the night before.

Tips compiled from my own experience, and from the excellent job research articles at:

• Quint Careers’ “Guide to Researching Companies, Industries, Countries”
• Gotta Mentor’s “Researching the COMPANY”
• The Job Hunter’s Bible “Web Sites for Job Hunting Research
• Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management “Company Research FAQ”

My worst interview ever, as a hiring manager in an editorial group, went perfectly… on the surface.

I didn’t know it had actually been a complete disaster until the candidate called me up two hours later. Was he calling to thank me, or had he possibly left something behind?

No. The candidate suavely asked me to dinner that evening. I stammered, “You do understand that I am the supervisor of the position you interviewed for, right?” “Oh, yes,” he replied, “but I had so much fun speaking with you that I thought you would like to go on a date with me as well as consider me for the job.”

His inappropriate actions did not win him the job — or the girl. And more importantly, it was an unmistakable wake-up call for me that I needed to adjust my interviewing skills into something more structured, and less like a friendly chat. I worked hard over the next two years to learn how to convey authority better.

A lot of hiring managers interview poorly, truth be told. For one thing, “hiring manager” isn’t a job title, it’s a role all managers have to play from time to time. They’re usually not trained to do it, and it’s a drain on what they consider their primary responsibilities.

Their interviewing offenses range from asking illegal questions about protected status, to stretching the decision out interminably, to being notoriously unstructured in their interviewing style.  Recruiting blogger Kiran Gali offers some hands-on advice on this last point in “Interview Tips for the Hiring Manager.” He writes:

Often Hiring Managers do not have a structure around their interviews. When I say structure I don’t mean the sequence of questions, but I am referring to more about the logic. For instance, not many hiring managers know about the concept of using CAR (context, action, result) or STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result ) models which are really helpful. If the candidate says that he has been able to hit a revenue of X Rs (or $) in the very first quarter of his last job, asking context related questions such as what was the target, how well established the product is, what was the most sales done by anybody in team.

Action related questions would be something like, what did the individual do get that sales, was it any different from anyone else, what specific actions he has taken to cross sell or up sell the product. Questions related to Results center around, what percentage of total sales he contribute, was there any dip in costs related to their sales or did it cost more, did he end up exhausting the sales pipeline, has success allowed good references and hence a perennial pipeline. To put it simply, what was the context, which actions the individual took that made the difference, and how did it impact the top or bottom line.

This seems to me like a very helpful methodology that many hiring managers may not be familiar with. The same post also gives advice on hiring managers’ tendency to keep candidates on hold, the need for hiring managers to take notes throughout the interview, and on training your hiring managers to engage in company branding. Recommended reading!

“Hiring Managers Don’t Know Interview Questions,” from the Cube Rules blog, focuses on reassuring candidates that their impressions are correct: many hiring managers really don’t know what they’re doing. Don’t worry too much  about the occasional weird question, awkward silence, or meandering conversation, they say. The key, they stress, is that there are really only 3 basic interview questions that you have to answer. They all boil down to: Can you do the job? Will you love the job? And, what people do you like to work with? If you can bring anything the hiring manager asks back to this, they say, you’ll be golden. (Still, it couldn’t hurt to start training hiring managers to be more talented as interviewers!)

To help your people move toward success, check out this amazing article from CIO magazine. It’s called “The Hiring Manager Interviews,” and it is a collection of 16 interviews with high-ranking tech execs from such well-known organizations as the American Diabetes Association, Pacific Gas & Electric, Northern Trust, US Airways, Kohl’s, and many more. Highlights: exactly how Facebook’s head of technology grills applicants; how the CIO of Harvard Business School gets team buy-in by involving his whole staff; and how the CIO of Jack in the Box learned from her own hiring mistakes. It’s high-quality material that is sure to enrich the interviewing practices of anyone who takes the time to read it.

With a bit of effort and training of your management team, you can help them become great interviewers who make wise choices. As a plus to you, you’ll soon have a team of excellent interviewers available to help you make the right decisions for your organization’s staffing.

Just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don’t need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don’t need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free

– Paul Simon

One of those job interview questions that candidates fear the most (right after, “What’s your greatest weakness?”) concerns their current — or most recent — job.

“Why do you want to leave your current job?” or “Why did you leave your last job?” are both fraught with peril, as they can lead you into negative territory, which is never a good place to be during an interview.

But you have to provide a substantive answer. “Made a new plan, Stan” won’t cut it.

Maybe you want to leave your current job because there are no remaining challenges, no way for you to progress further in the company. 

Maybe you lost your job because your company downsized; no shame in that, especially in this economy.

Regardless of why you left (or want to leave) your old job, your No. 1 goal should be to convince the interviewer that your commitment to the new position is 100 percent.  You are ready to go above, beyond and into the future.

But what if you did something you shouldn’t have — like just walked out on your old job?  Did a “Jack” move and just slipped out the back?

According to Lisa Rosendahl, who addressed this question recently in her HR blog, Simply Lisa, this is the time to be very honest:

You walked off a job and there really isn’t a way to sugar coat this at all. You have to disclose this in an interview and when doing so, be prepared to address a question that may be largely unspoken, ‘what makes me think that she won’t do the same if I hire her here?’

Rosendahl says to be prepared to explain all the circumstances and offer assurances that you won’t do the same with the new employer.  The door isn’t closed, but the interviewer is “looking for actions that show a sense of responsibility, initiative, and professionalism in the face of adversity.”

If you haven’t left your current job, you still have time to make sure you do it right.  Doing so can be a bonus in your interview, according to Andrew  G. Rosen, author of The Exit Guide:  How to Leave a Job the Right Way.

Leaving a job is an art form — one that most people will never perfect.  Why?  Because it’s something we only do a handful of times in our lives.  Practice is not an option.  That’s why it is imperative to get it right.

According to the exit guide, there’s an orderly process to a successful departure, including a proper way to say goodbye, write a resignation letter, gather references, and even clean out your desk.  There’s also an art to keeping in touch with those for whom and with whom you have worked.

So, before you drop off the key, Lee, you might consider laying the groundwork for a successful transition.

Rare is the job offer that presents itself in the form of a smile, handshake and “sign right here” moment at the end of the big interview. More likely, the job candidate finds himself out on the sidewalk in front of the building he or she hopes to call home, waiting for a call-back, an e-mail, a follow-up . . . something.

The fact that we’ve all been there is not really that comforting.  What to do while we wait?  Take in the dollar movie?  Visit Mom and Dad in Utah?  Redo the landscaping?  Get a dog and take walks in the park?

According to Robin Ryan, author of the updated edition of  60 Seconds & You’re Hired,  the best thing to do while waiting for the offer is to keep on looking for a job. Says Ryan:

Even if you’re certain an offer is coming, do not stop hunting. These things have a tendency to fall apart.

Ryan says to follow up with the hiring manager and then follow up on what you learn in the follow-up:

A hiring manager may be stalling you while an offer is out with someone else for the same position.  You also may be promised a job only to learn that the funding  for the job is no longer there.

While the waiting game is not easy to play, the time the potential employer spends analyzing your worthiness and determining whether you’re a fit is also a good time for a little self-analysis of how you’ve done so far.  It will make you more fit for the follow-up interview, or, if things don’t work out, interviews for other positions.

It’s important to keep in mind that hiring decisions are not easy, especially in large companies where the bureaucracy can add weeks to the process.  Not only are you being reviewed; you’re being compared and winnowed.  Pleasant thought, but someone — maybe you — will get the job.

Here are five smart things to do while waiting:

• Keep up with your industry — read newsletters, join professional organizations.
• Check out conferences — you never know who you might run into and where it may lead.
• Enhance your skills — this is a good time to consider additional degrees or certifications.
• Connect — yes, some time interacting on the industry blogs and within the social networks is helpful.  You won’t feel as forgotten.
• Get coaching — be open to feedback and direction from career placement professionals.  They make their living by successfully placing the right person in the right position.  Practice a little humility and you may gain confidence in the process.

Ronnie Ann, on her blog, Work Coach Cafe, suggests volunteering as a fulfilling way to pass your time as well. She says:

I often suggest volunteering as a great way to try out a new career path or simply direct our energies to something we care about other than our full-time job, if we’re lucky enough to have one. It’s also useful in helping keep ourselves feeling good about ourselves while looking for that next job.

And what if you do happen to receive an on-the-spot offer at a job interview? Dr. Robert Hanzen, the Career Doctor, says that you should still wait — take a little time to think it over.

My advice for all job-seekers would be to ask for time to consider the offer — if only to give you some time to think about it with a clear head. The stress of job interviews is enough to push some of us over edge, but combine that with the excitement over getting the offer, and you have a job-seeker’s brain which is not function at peak capacity.

Looking takes time . . . waiting takes time.  The important thing to remember is that it is your time . . . and you decide how to use it.

May the wait be short and the rewards great.

When a new hire walks in the door, they know what the job requirements are, and HR has determined that they’re a skill match. They’ve probably been screened as to personality type, too. But just as they get comfortable at the new desk, and start to settle into their workplace behavior, they’re likely to find that there is a mass of unwritten expectations that come from the people sitting around them. These expectations are the “role” that each person is expected to play — and it’s a lot more than just a job description.

Getting good people who are happy in their jobs long-term means knowing (1) their personality, (2) their workplace behavior style, and (3) the unwritten rules and roles of the position. That last one is often the kicker.

Let’s take a look at all three:

1) Your personality type: WHO YOU ARE

Personalities are inherent and ingrained. No one can help bringing their personality to the table.

Personality typing has many different methodologies, from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to the Enneagram to the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and beyond. These measure your degree of introversion or extroversion, your propensity to think in an abstract or concrete way, and many other qualities. They may differentiate between types such as “Artisan, Guardian, Idealist, Rationalist” or “Achiever, Helper, Individualist, Peacemaker,” and more.

These are very helpful for developing the talent pipeline, as HR can match individuals to certain teams or managers with personality in mind. For others in the organization, it’s great to have a working knowledge of personality psychology to understand coworkers and their motivations.

2) Your workplace behavior style: HOW YOU CHOOSE TO ACT

We start with raw personality, but we move into workplace behavior styles. These are not inherent personality types, but rather adaptive behaviors within the work ecosystem.

You’re probably familiar with some common archetypes of office behavior: the backstabber, the mother hen, the gossip, or the kiss-up. Serious study is devoted to this topic, with much management literature devoted to classifying these different workplace behavior styles. Francie Dalton writes in “The Seven Classic Types of Workplace Behavior” about Commanders, Drifters, Attackers, Pleasers, Performers, Avoiders, and Analyticals. The book “The Purpose Linked Organization” covers “ten passion archetypes.” This list covers The Mother Hen, The Joker, The Dude, The Cheerleader, The Realist, The Link, The Geek, and The Innovator.

The terms get even funnier as we slide into the realm of pundits: the writers over at Details magazine came up with this hilarious slideshow covering such workplace styles as The Untouchable, Switzerland, Kryptonite, and others.

You’ll see yourself, and many of your coworkers, in these descriptions. The best takeaway is reading about what motivates them and what they need to have validated about their approach.

3) Your role: HOW YOU ARE EXPECTED TO ACT

Personality and workplace style involve what people do, but their “role” is what they are ASKED TO DO. You may have thought you were just looking for a marketing associate with certain software skills and a good phone manner, but what do her coworkers expect her to do, in her “role”? Are they interested in having an innovative go-getter around, or will it alienate them? Is the role secretly only going to work out for a yes-man type? Perhaps they just want someone to sit down and shut up. It’s hard (but crucial) to know if you’re going to make a match.

The “role” of a certain job is probably the least understood, and most ignored, aspect of hiring. I’m not sure why it’s so hard to talk about – perhaps it’s because it delves deeply into team psychology. Also, it can be hard to acknowledge that employees expect emotional, intangible things from their teammates.The stickiest part is that the “role” is usually an unwritten requirement, which no one expresses directly, and yet the incoming worker is made aware of it through indirect (often uncomfortable) means. Sometimes, they may feel they are being asked to take on personal qualities of their predecessor.

The best place that I have seen this written about is in the blog post The Life Cycle of Roles — Not All Roles Are Created Equal, written by HR change expert Charles Van Heerden. Van Heerden really understands that each job has its own “role” that is unrelated to job duties — the new team may need someone to listen, or to lead, to continue something, or to end it decisively. Worst of all, HR may have no idea that the team feels this way.

So go on and learn if you’ve stepped into the role of the Rower, the Slave, the Diplomat, the Player, the Actor, or the Explorer. The writing is humorous, but dead-on, and it will make you think.

The Rower. This is an on-going role. The seat was still warm and everyone expects you to simply pick up where the last person left off. Works best if you share the same name as the previous incumbent, saves on working to create an impression, as well as email – charles@.

Far from just being joke material, you can use these concepts when you are chatting with your own hiring managers about what they seek in a candidate. If you get a clear picture of the role that exists, you will have greater success in matching your skilled candidates to the position.

Do you tend to get tongue-tied in job interviews?

It would be nice if sitting across the desk from your interviewer on Monday morning was more like playing charades with your friends on Friday night. So whenever your mind went blank and you couldn’t find the right words, the hiring manager would jump up and down and say, “Oh, I know it! I know this one!”

But I’m afraid it’s not charades, and the interviewer isn’t going to try to guess what you’re trying to tell them. You’re just going to get a blank stare — and you’re not going to get the job.

Be Prepared

Having command of your words at a job interview starts with preparation. You need to get plenty of sleep. You should arrive early. You should have researched the company in advance. And you should have worked on those bad habits you know you have — like saying “like” too much, for example.

Your interview was no accident.  You know who you are.  Research a particular subject of significance that you can expound on with professional insight.  Learn the vocabulary so you can use it with ease. 

An “expert” in one area has the expertise to become one in another.  This gives you an opportunity to show your commitment to learning.   Practiced phrases ready to make you shine are fine. Just make sure you practiced.  You need to learn to express your experience in a convincing way, according to Evil HR Lady, who recently advised someone re-entering the job market to “use the language of HR.”

Know a Little About a Lot

Current events quizzes didn’t end with 8th grade social studies.  Read the paper; learn to pronounce difficult names and places; form opinions — not overbearing ones — on the issues of the day. 

Give the impression you didn’t jump out of bed and race to the interview.  You’re up on the things of life like you will be on the life of your job.  What’s really happening in the interview is that the interviewer is determining whether you can indeed communicate.

Drop the quizzical expressions that can trip you up in an interview.  Don’t let your face say “huh?” for you.  Practice in front of a mirror if you need to:  calm and steady does it. 

I once knew a very intelligent manager who begged forever to sit in on a meeting with the president of the company.  He asked her a question; she didn’t know the answer and her mouth fell open wide.  He never forgot.  She never got back into his office.

Power Words and Disaster Words

Make two lists and keep them around for your down time so you can read them over for reminders. On one, list the “power words” that impress — “maintained,” “negotiated,” “developed” — and on the other, list those words that do not impress — “like,” “um,” yeah,” — and, well, “you know.”

Power words will help you keep from getting nervous, which can, according to Stephanie Loyd, who posted on Lindsay Olson’s HR blog, cost you the job: 

Do not appear nervous or desperate! A client recently told me that their top candidate for a particular position was ultimately not given the offer because he appeared so desperate during his interviews with the hiring manager.

He might have won if it had been charades.