February 8, 2010 – Forbes – New York, NY, US

David Lewis, president of OperationsInc, a human resources consulting firm, has seen his share of embarrassingly bad job candidates. He says one woman crossed her legs, looked at her feet and realized she had forgotten to change from sneakers to heels before the interview. She stopped him mid-sentence to change her shoes. Another brought her lunch to the midday interview and proceeded to eat it in front of him. When he asked what she was doing, she responded: “You know I am here on my lunch hour!”

Extreme, yes, but these examples highlight the myriad gaffes, mixed signals and wrong impressions that could happen in your one shot at proving yourself. With unemployment rates hovering at 9.7% in January and 8.4 million jobs lost in the last two years, job competition has skyrocketed. Fewer jobs and more applicants require job seekers to have packed résumés and impeccable interviewing skills.

Some women, in an effort to avoid stereotypes that paint them as overly emotional or indecisive, overcompensate with chilly professionalism. If the woman appears too stiff or standoffish, the interviewer may have trouble relating to her. “Women are a little reticent to let energy and passion show,” says Gail Blanke, CEO of Lifedesigns, an executive coaching firm. “This is the time. People are looking for that because things are so bleak.”

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