By Judit Price, MS, CDFI, IJCTC, CCM, CPRW

This may not be the light at the end of the tunnel but the job situation in our community has markedly improved.  Not only are recruiters and hiring manager sending more hiring notices, but overall activity is increasing in a very encouraging way.  In fact, it appears more job seekers are out there and they are getting interviews, many interviews in some cases.

In these days of awful uncertainty any job interview can be a lifeline.  Unfortunately, the hope associated with an interview, the position itself and the interviewers perspective will often not meet a candidate’s expectations.  So the question arises as to how hard should you pursue an opportunity when the signals say move on to the next opportunity.  Job hunters have no special insight in a decision-makers thought processes and sometimes there is the great temptation to translate rejection into something else.  The interviewer may be saying no, while the candidate is thinking maybe.

The truth is interviewing is very difficult for both the interviewer and the interviewee.  My experience with managers is they have been on both sides of the desk and understand the complexities and the delicate nature of the interview process precisely because they have been on both sides.  They understand that much of what the candidate hears is exactly what the interviewer intended them to » Read more: Interviews: Listen to the signals the interviewer is sending