Listening and Attention to Details

One of the costs of a desperate attitude is that one stops paying attention to the critical details of the advertisement's description of the job and the subtle hints about what lies ahead. Believe it or not, advertisements do reveal a small amount of the company's culture. Words like "fast paced," "stays cool under strenuous situations," "ability to multi-task," within words of "good communication skills" actually paint a very precise picture of the work environment. The person is overworked, takes the blame for everything that goes wrong, has little to no time to double check things, gets yelled at often.

When responding to ads that have those types of red-flag words, it says the ad wasn't read very carefully. Chances are those words will not be questioned during the interview. The applicant will be willing to come in for an interview at just about any time they're offered. They'll drop everything to come in.

Cover Letter Details

No matter how stellar the resume is, there will be certain things that are not quite up to the same par as with those who have a higher self esteem. The accomplishments that would normally be enumerated in the resume will be missing and the resume will read like a job description. Anything and everything will be thrown into the box for consideration. The cover letter won't go into any details about why this resume and the posted ad are a match. To some people, these missing details siimply scream, "I need this job. Call me."

Personal Communication

The stress level in the voice will become obvious. The voice will have strained sounds. If not, the choice of words will be a give-away that this applicant will take anything that's offered. Otherwise, the desperate applicant will be far too accommodating as far as interview arrangements. They will tolerate some things that are simply outside the scope of courtesy and mutual respect. Even after all of these signals have arisen, the desperate candidate will overlook things like lack of responsive answers during the interview.

Wait Time

Additionally, the interviewer will have the candidate wait an inordinate amount of time or be completely unresponsive to follow-up messages.

Body Language

The desperate candidate will be too smiley. They will laugh at things that aren't funny. They will strain to come up with a positive response to everything. There will be little analysis of the information that is communicated because they don't care about the information. The only thing they care about is getting in the door -- no matter what's on the other side of it. The body language will also be strained. Even though during the personal interview, one should sit comfortably in the chair, with the back resting against the back of the chair, the desperate candidate will lean forward slightly as if about to spring out of the chair. There will be subtle signs of muscle tension over their entire body. Again, there will be stress in the voice; it may even be a few tones higher than normal.

Indicia

Many times, a collection of these warning signs are arrows pointing to a danger zone ahead. Although not 100%, a collection of these behaviors can indicate the manager or supervisor is an abusive personality. This type of person has their own set of insecurities that they impose on everyone else around them in various ways. This could be abusive communication, unreasonable work demands or schedules, argumentativeness, rude behavior, lack of attention to detail, taking credit for someone else's good work, inability to give compliments or credit for good work, secretiveness, disorganization. This will also be a person who cannot be relied on to give accurate information, they will find it difficult to be true to their word or any agreement they purport to establish.

Offers and Follow-up

When it shows that there's an inordinate amount of importance placed on getting a particular job, the salary that is offered will be lower. There will be no discussion of potential raises. Even if there were, it is highly unlikely those representations will be valid. When desperation is part of the candidate presentation, any outrageously inadequate offer will be tossed out like a bone to a hungry dog. If the offer is accepted, the act will be yet another invitation to be abusive once the candidate is "owned" by the company.

Fate Is Never Sealed

All of this may sound like a death knell. Only if one goes into vying for a position as a desperate candidate. Even if you get hired and have this attitude in the back of your mind, it is not the end of all jobs for the rest of your life. Just view this as one more step toward reaching your goal.

Set a milestone for yourself if you get hired under these circumstances. Make it a three-month milestone and stick with a regimen and schedule. Make certain you are scouring all possible venues carefully and with discernment. Apply to situations that are full of the proper descriptions and that you're qualified for them. Before you apply, assess yourself and then translate that assessment into why you are qualified for the position in the body of your cover letter -- as well as during your interview.

If you don't find a new and better situation within three months, don't panic. Simply expand your search horizon. But don't let it fall off and, whatever you do, do not be desperate when you apply for your career (next) position.