Q: I read with sadness your articles. I say “sadness” because industry has gotten away from looking within the potential employee. If a potential employee is too polished, giving all the right answers to personality tests and interview questions, an employer doesn’t have the privilege of seeing the “real person” until it is too late. – Jeanette

Kate: Yes, the job hunter who’s not looking for a good fit, but trying to con the hiring team is likely to fail. Your comment makes me think of our latest round of hiring, and how we almost offered a job to someone who we decided was an “empty suit.” Instead, we hired someone who did not make the best first impression, but who has all the skills needed.

Dale: Employers, like everyone else, tend to be swayed by first impressions, both visual and verbal. In fact, one study showed that “attractive” people get paid significantly more than the rest of us. We all need to do what we can to counter such cultural shallowness. When I do seminars for employers, I remind them, “The person you interview is never the person you hire.” The best managers find ways to look past appearances and see the work.

Kate: That said, our job in offering advice to potential employees is to give them as many options as possible – and that means showing them what’s necessary to get offers and how to then choose wisely from among those offers.

Dale: There’s the notion of “choose” versus “get” sneaking in again. We want to help job hunters surmount the silly tests or cutesy interview questions and get to the point of having choices as to where their “real person” will blossom.

Q: Beancounters downsized me after almost a decade at my job. The problem is that my job was created for me, cobbling together tasks in marketing, legal and research. This hybrid position just does not seem to exist at other firms. When I apply for something in the same ballpark, they end up disqualifying me. Any ideas for breaking through this barrier? – G.K.

Kate: Here’s the problem with your search: “When I apply for something ….” Most jobs are created for people – especially in situations like yours. When you answer an ad or work with recruiters, you are contacting prospective employers who already have something fairly solid in mind. Then you hope to meet with them and hope to change their minds.

Dale: Your cobbled-together job history is confusing to them. Imagine yourself in the market for a Volvo, and someone calls and says: “It’s not a Volvo. It’s something I made up from parts of a Piper Cub, a forklift and a pickup truck. It’s much better than a Volvo – trust me.” And it might, in fact, be better, but they are busy picking the best Volvo and don’t want to re-think the entire decision process.

Kate: What you need to do is contact employers via a mailing and follow-up calls.