In recent weeks, recruiters for Consolidated Container Co. have seen job candidates arrive up to an hour early for interviews. Other candidates have alluded to financial hardships while in the hot seat, and one person even distributed bound copies of documents describing projects he completed for past employers.

These sorts of tactics aren't exactly winners.

In today's ultracompetitive job market, even getting an interview is a feat. Yet recruiters and hiring managers say many unemployed candidates blow the opportunity by appearing desperate or bitter about their situations -- often without realizing it.

'People are becoming a lot more aggressive,' says Julie Loubaton, director of recruiting and talent management for Atlanta-based Consolidated Container. 'They often wind up hurting themselves.'

At an interview, you want to stand out for the right reasons. To do so, you'll need to leave your baggage and anxiety at the door. For starters, wait until 10 minutes before your scheduled interview time to announce yourself. Arriving any sooner 'shows that you're not respectful of the time the hiring manager put aside for you,' says Ms. Loubaton, adding that a candidate who arrived an hour early made workers uncomfortable. 'Companies really don't want someone camped out in their lobby.'

Signal confidence by offering a firm handshake, adds Wendy Alfus Rothman, president of Wenroth Consulting Inc., an executive coaching firm in New York. Focus your attention on the interviewer. Avoid looking around the room, tapping your fingers, or other nervous movements.

No matter how you're feeling, keep your personal woes out of the interview process, asserts Ms. Alfus Rothman. Instead, always exude an upbeat attitude. For example, if you were laid off, instead of lamenting the situation, you might say the experience prompted you to reassess your skills, and that's what led you here. 'You want to demonstrate resilience in the face of unpredictable obstacles,' she says.

Meanwhile, show you've done your homework on the company by explaining how your background and track record relates to its current needs, adds Deborah Markus, founder of Columbus Advisors LLC, an executive-search firm in New York. This is particularly important if the firm is in a different industry than the one you worked in before. To stand out, you'll need to look up more than just basics on company leadership and core businesses. You'll also need to find out -- and understand -- how recent changes in the marketplace have affected the firm, its competitors and industry overall. Read recent company press releases, annual reports, media coverage and industry blogs, and consult with trusted members of your network. 'Companies that may have been performing well just a few months ago might be in survival mode now,' says Ms. Markus. 'You want to understand how [they're] positioned today.'

Also, be sure to show you're a strong fit for the particular position you're seeking, adds Kathy Marsico, senior vice president of human resources at PDI Inc., a Saddle River, N.J., provider of sales and marketing services for pharmaceutical companies. Offer examples of past accomplishments -- not just responsibilities you've held -- and describe how they're relevant to the opportunity. 'You must differentiate yourself like never before,' she says. 'You need to customize yourself and make yourself memorable.'

Sherry R. Brickman, a partner at executive-search firm Martin Partners LLC, says a candidate recently impressed her with this sort of preparation. 'He knew the company's product line and what markets it was already in,' she says of the man, who was interviewing for an executive post at a midsize industrial manufacturer. 'He clearly and effectively explained how he could cut costs, increase sales and expand market share based on what he'd done in his current job.' The candidate was hired.

Be careful not to go too far, though, in your quest to stand out. For example, it may be tempting to offer to work temporarily for free or to take a lesser salary than what a job pays. But experts say such bold moves often backfire on candidates. 'Employers want value,' says Lee Miller, author of 'Get More Money on Your Next Job . . . In Any Economy.' 'They don't want cheap.'

Your best bet is to wait until you're extended a job offer before talking pay. 'In a recession, employers are going to be very price sensitive,' says Mr. Miller. 'The salary you ask for may impact their decision to move forward.' Come prepared having researched the average pay range for a position in case you're pressured to name your price, he adds. You might say, for example, that money isn't a primary concern for you and that you're just looking for something fair, suggests Mr. Miller. You can try turning the tables by asking interviewers what the company has budgeted for the position.

In some cases, you may be looking just for a job to get you through so you might consider a less-than-perfect fit. But if you aren't really excited about an opportunity, keep it to yourself, warns David Gaspin, director of human resources at 5W Public Relations in New York. 'I've had times where people come in and it's clear that if they really had their preference, they'd be doing something different,' he says. 'You don't want to put that out on the table. Nobody wants to hire someone who's going to run for the door when times get better.'

After an interview, take caution with your follow-up. If you're in the running for multiple jobs at once, make sure to address thank-yous to the right people, career experts advise. Also look closely for spelling and grammatical errors. In a competitive job market, employers have the luxury of choice, and even a minor faux pas can hurt your chances.

If all has gone well, don't stalk the interviewer. Wait at least a week before checking on your candidacy, adds Jose Tamez, managing partner at Austin-Michael LP, an executive-search firm in Golden, Colo. Call recruiters only at their office, even if their business card lists a home or cell number. Leave a message if you get voicemail. These days, recruiters typically have caller ID and can tell if you've tried reaching them multiple times without leaving a voicemail. 'There's a fine line between enthusiasm and overenthusiasm,' he says.

最近幾周，包裝公司Consolidated Container Co.的招聘官注意到一個現象，某些應聘者提早一個小時就來到面試現場，還有一些應聘者在面試時暗示自己經濟上遇到麻煩，一位應聘者甚至將過去做過的項目編印成冊進行分發。

其實上述舉動并不是面試成功的上策。

在如今競爭異常激烈的就業市場上，獲得面試機會本身就是一個成就。但是不少招聘官和人事經理反映，很多失業的應聘者對于自己的處境所表現出的絕望或痛苦毀掉了他們的機會。而他們常常意識不到這一點。

亞特蘭大Consolidated Container公司招聘和人力資源管理經理朱麗•魯巴頓(Julie Loubaton)說：“應聘者比過去激進多了，不過他們常常事與愿違。”

如果想以正確的方式在面試中嶄露頭角，就要把心理負擔和焦慮情緒扔在門外。如果你是職場新人，那么請等到指定時間前的十分鐘，再出現在面試地點。魯巴頓說：“早到10分鐘以上，說明你不尊重人事經理為你留出的時間。”她補充道：“提前一個小時，會讓面試方的員工感覺不舒服，哪家公司都不希望有人在自己的門廳里安營扎寨。”

紐約高管培訓公司Wenroth Consulting總裁溫迪•阿爾法斯•羅斯曼(Wendy Alfus Rothman)的建議是，用一個有力的握手來傳遞你的自信，將注意力放在面試官身上。避免東張西望或用手指敲桌子等表現緊張的舉動。

羅斯曼強調道，無論心情如何，面試時一定要表現得蓬勃向上，把個人的不幸全部忘掉。例如，如果你被裁員，與其悲嘆時局，不如告訴面試官，裁員的經歷激勵你重新評價自己的能力，并促使你申請這份新工作。羅斯曼說：“在不可預知的挫折面前，你要表現出越挫越勇的精神。”

紐約高管獵頭公司Columbus Advisors的創始人德博拉•馬庫斯(Deborah Markus)補充道：“與此同時，還要解釋你的背景和履歷為什么符合對方當前的需求，以此說明你已針對招聘單位做了功課。”對于跨行業的應聘者來說，這一點尤其重要。為了脫潁而出，應聘者不僅要了解對方的管理模式和核心業務等基本信息，還要進行更深入的研究，弄清近期的市場變化如何影響招聘方、其競爭對手和整個行業。這就要求應聘者查閱招聘方的最新新聞稿、財務年報、媒體報導和行業博客等，并向社交圈里值得信任的人士進行咨詢。馬庫斯說：“幾個月以前經營良好的公司，現在可能已經掙扎在生死線上。你應該掌握他們目前的經營策略。”

PDI公司人力資源高級副總裁凱西•馬斯科(Kathy Marsico)的建議是，一定要顯示出自己是所應征職位的最佳人選，向對方提供能證明過去成就的案例，不僅要指出你過去的職責，還要說明這些職責與應聘的崗位有什么關系：“你必須用全新的方式讓自己脫潁而出，一方面要根據對方的需求塑造自己，另一方面還要讓自己表現得令人過目不忘。”總部位于新澤西州薩德河地區的PDI公司向制藥企業提供銷售和營銷服務。

高管獵頭公司Martin Partners合伙人莎莉•R•布利克曼(Sherry R. Brickman)表示，最近一位應聘者就用上面提到的方法給她留下深刻的印象：“他了解招聘方的產品線，以及所在的市場。”這位應聘者面試的是一家中型工業制造企業的高層管理職位。“他結合自己在目前職位的工作，明確而有效地解釋出他將如何幫助對方削減成本、增加銷量和擴大市場。”這位應聘者最終被錄用了。

但是切記，即使你想讓自己獨樹一幟，也不要過猶不及。比如，提出為對方免費或者低薪工作一段時間，也許聽上去很誘人，但是專家們指出，這種魯莽的舉動可能適得其反。

《如何跳槽到高薪的職位》(Get More Money on Your Next Job . . . In Any Economy.)一書的作者李•米勒(Lee Miller)說，“雇主們想要獲得價值，而不是便宜貨。”

最保險的做法是拿到錄用通知之后再談薪水。米勒說：“經濟衰退時，雇主對錢非常敏感，你的目標薪酬可能影響他們作出進一步決定的決心。” 米勒補充道，面試前，你可以搜索相關職位的平均薪酬范圍，以防萬一被迫回答薪酬問題。米勒還建議道，你可以說，錢不是你主要考慮的問題，你只想獲得一份公平的報酬。你還可以把問題拋回去，問對方到底留了多少預算給這個職位。

有時候，你只不過想找份工作作為權宜之計，而沒有追求最完美的職位。即使你對面前的機會并不那么感興趣，也要把這種想法埋在心底。這是紐約公關公司5W公司人力資源主管大衛•加斯賓(David Gaspin)的警告。“我遇到過這種情況，一些人一進來，我從他們的表現中就能看出，他們對這份工作并不真正感興趣。應聘者不應該把這種心理表現出來，因為誰也不想雇用一個只要經濟形勢好轉，就立刻轉身走人的員工。”

面試之后的跟進也很重要。職業專家的建議是，如果你同時面試幾個職位，記得要對恰當的人表達感謝。拼寫和語法錯誤也要嚴格避免。在競爭激烈的就業市場上，雇主們擁有眾多選擇，微小的失禮也可能毀掉你的機會。

如果一切進展順利，也不要對面試官追得太緊。科羅拉多州高管獵頭公司Austin-Michael公司執行合伙人約斯•塔姆斯(Jose Tamez)忠告應聘者，至少在一周后再查詢面試結果。另外，即使面試官的名片上有手機號或家庭電話，你也只能打辦公室電話。如果是語音信箱，就留個口信。如今，招聘官們電話大多有來電顯示，他們知道誰打了很多電話卻不留口信。塔姆斯說：“要把握好熱情和過度熱情之間的界線。”