You should be so lucky!

If you do all the things outlined in this Handbook, you will be prepared for a smokin' 30 to 60 minute interview. This is an intense period during which you expect to be evaluated based upon the answers you give to questions and, as we have seen, many other unspoken criteria. Possibly it may happen that you will suddenly realize, half-way through the interview, the recruiter is doing all the talking. The thrust is toward telling you about the history of the organization, the advantages of the company, the excellent reputation, the fringe benefits and popularity of the overall employment situation there.

As you listen to this stream of public relations material, you should also be making a judgement, because at this point the recruiter has made a decision about your candidacy. A normal reaction is: "Hey, this person likes me, wants me to come to work for this company, and is trying to tell me how good it is."

You could be dead wrong.

The chances are equally good the interviewer has decided not to pursue you and is using the time to tell you how good the company is for public relations reasons only. After all, there is a given period of time to talk to you, so why not get in a free commercial advertisement? As you have read in the profile on recruiters, a secondary function of this position is to promote good public relations.

The smart approach to the situation would be to resist the temptation to believe the positive and assume the recruiter is still undecided about you and to continue to utilize all the pursuit techniques you have learned in this Handbook.

This is a good time to ask career-oriented questions.

This is a good time to ask about the next interview.

This is a good time to be smart and not sit back and assume you are on greased tracks to an offer.

There is another perspective to be considered. I hesitate to write about it, because the hiring environment can change so quickly. Right now today as I am writing this (2006) it is true, by the time this edition is in your hands, it could be untrue and I’d be doing you a disservice. But here goes anyway.

The other perspective is that the recruiter/employer really, really needs you. I mean competition for competent people is at an all-time, cut throat level high. As a former military person, your maturity is a quantum leap above the 20-somethings that are coming out of school. Rivalry for outstanding candidates is intense. You may experience the employer’s sale in a way unheard of in the past three decades