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call back the same day you hear from them, and if it's a bad time to talk to someone, offer to call them back in ten minutes.

If asked about money, be direct about your experience and financial requirements. If you're trying to get more money than at your last job, practice saying the amount until it comes out naturally and without coughing. If you do flub it, just laugh it off: "I'm supposed to say that without choking!"

People say that interviewers make decisions about candidates within thirty seconds of meeting them, but in fact it's much shorter than that. In the time it takes you to walk across the lobby and shake hands with your interviewer, they have already decided subconsciously whether or not they're interested in hiring you. At that point, you have a lot of power to be true to yourself. If they don't want to hire you, there's very little you can do to make them change their minds. If they are interested in you, then being yourself won't hurt your chances much, if at all.

So, if they decide within seconds of meeting you, there probably isn't much you can actually do to prepare, right? Sure, but, you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't want some tips to sink your teeth into:

* Shower the morning of the interview and dress appropriately. Brush your teeth. Tuck in your shirt. Never wear jeans to an interview, even at the rodeo.

* Get to the interview site ten minutes early. If this means you leave too early and are waiting around for thirty minutes early, so be it. I have never gotten a job when I was late to the interview.

* Bring a book that you're interested in reading for fun to read while you wait. If it's something you're actually interested in, the interviewer will notice and probably ask you about it. This is a chance to tell them about your personal side. Most employers want to know that their employees are human beings.

* Put your cell phone on silent or vibration mode before you walk into the building. You do not need your mother calling you during the interview to ask you how it's going.

* When you meet the interviewer, always shake hands, smile, and make eye contact with them immediately. Stand up straight. Stand even straighter if you're short.

* Be positive and up-beat. This is hardest to do when you've been out of work for a while, but attitude really counts- if your attitude is good, it will show in those first thirty seconds. For the week before your interview (actually, the whole time you're job hunting), look yourself in the mirror every day and say "I deserve a role where I can help a company by doing the thing that I do best." Affirmations seem hokey, but they work. And even if it doesn't, five seconds of cheesy affirmations is hardly the most embarrassing thing you'll think of doing when you're unemployed.

Above all, know your abilities and be confident when you express them. Employers value candidates who are honest and professional, even if they don't hire them that day.

Learn more about this author, Stephanie Bryant.
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