According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 598,000 unemployed U.S. workers in January 2009, spiking job loss since the recession began in December 2007 to 3.6 million. Unemployed in August 2008, Kelly Mitchell, a financial analyst in prime brokerage sales and hedge fund consulting, expected to remain in finance. "I was exposed to all areas of hedge funds," she says, "and had done a lot of hedge fund business consulting.
Interviewing is an issue fraught with myth, controversy and sweaty palms. There are a myriad of books and articles on the subject, many of which conflict with one another. One expert will tell you to be yourself while another will intone with a flourish, "Job search is theater!"
Back in the 1950's, a Time Magazine reporter interviewed a world-famous pianist about his work. The reporter asked: "What's most challenging about playing the piano?" The pianist thought for a moment and replied: "I do OK with the notes, but the spaces between the notes give me lots of trouble." What he meant, of course, was that he was very competent at the mechanics of playing the piano, but found the subtlety and nuance of making music, getting the "spaces between the notes" right, a continual life-long challenge.