Yes, You are hired! Now, can you do headstands?

Yes, the economy! Still tanking, still reeling under the economic crisis, still sucking! So if you are out there still looking for a job, The Wall Street Journal has some ideas on how not to suck at an interview.

Tips include the famous

- Don’t arrive late

-Don’t dress sloppily

-Don’t act over familiar

-No typos in resume

-Don’t talk about salary or benefits off the bat

-Don’t be fidgety, keep a pen and notepad handy, and always take a copy of your resume with you

- A follow up thank-you email is enough, no need for cards and balloons.

But more than these tips, I found this survey- of 500 HR managers of the Society for Human Resource Management- insightful.

• 30% of hiring managers will decide whether to hire you within 15 minutes (Aha! So need to babble about thinking out of the box, or being a team player, post 15 minute mark, methinks!)
• 40% of hiring managers say a cellphone ringing in the middle of an interview is a “deal breaker” (Duh!)
• 70% prefer job candidates to have unpaid internship experience directly related to their companies’ work versus paid employment in an unrelated field (Yes, so please slave away at an unpaid internship, denying yourself the chance to make any real money, to keep your head above water, in a sinking city; so that when you meet said HR manager, you can show them how serious you are about finding a job in the field you are applying for.)
• 39% say “chemistry” with a job applicant accounts for half of their hiring decision

But, we at indiejourno.com are positive, you will hear something positive soon enough. And when that happens, we want you to be prepared. So, here is some dope on how to ace that interview when you get a call. The info, courtesy, careermag.com.

1. Conduct Research – It’s important to be confident and prepared. Conduct research on companies of interest before applying to a job or showing up for an interview. By understanding and showing interest in the company, you can customize your pitch, demonstrate the value you will bring to the organization and confidently convince employers that you are the right candidate.

2. Practice Interviewing – Prepare for an interview by running through commonly asked interview questions. Understand that interviewing is a skill and as with any skill, practice makes perfect!

3. Dress Professionally –When you are on an interview, you are marketing yourself as the best candidate for the job, so it’s important to dress professionally. Appropriate attire and good personal hygiene demonstrates that you are not only willing to take that extra step to look your best but also do your best.

4. Make a Positive First Impression – First impressions are critical. Arrive early, give a firm handshake and make eye contact throughout the interview. It is important to be confident, but most importantly, be yourself!

5. Go Beyond the Canned Response – Behavioral interviewing is an ever-growing interview technique. Rather than merely telling the interviewer what you would do in a situation, demonstrate your knowledge, skills, and abilities by giving specific examples from past work experiences.

6. Ask Questions – Express interest and willingness to learn about the company by asking questions and listening to details about the organization. This portion of the interview is your chance to shine. Not having any questions for the interviewer can show that you are uninterested and unprepared.

7. Follow Up – Reinforce to the employer that you bring value to their organization by developing a well-written thank you note. A thank you note is an easy and surefire way to show your appreciation, reiterate you are the best candidate and demonstrate your initiative and follow-through. It is also appropriate to make a follow up call, unless instructed otherwise by the employer.

While we have been carping about the financial crisis, nerds of all hues and heights have gotten together to bust out their creative juices.

According to Wired, New York City’s tech scene has got a huge leg up due to Wall Street’s harakiri.

According to Wired, New York City’s tech scene has got a huge leg up due to Wall Street’s harakiri. Investors that used to dole out millions to larger institutions are more than happy to toss a few pennies (read: a couple of hundred thou) to scrappy start-ups.

Investors that used to dole out millions to larger institutions are more than happy to toss a few pennies (read: a couple of hundred thou) to scrappy start-ups.

The start-up themselves also find themselves in the unique position of being able to hire that hot-shot engineer, who has been laid off, or a marketing specialist who now spends his time walking his dogs and willing to work for less.

So, if you are a tech start-up, finance (check), hiring new talent for cheap (check) – ready for launch? (check , check and check!)

And if you thought you need to be on West Coast to make tech crackle, think again, New York may well be emerging as the new tech hub.

Some of the buzzy new tech ventures include:

EkoVenture, that signed up 450 of the estimated 40,000 eco-tourism operators around the world to create a network of eco-friendly destinations, where eco-tourists can travel to.

IvyExec that lists jobs for “top-tier professionals. The founder, Elena Bajic, tells Wired that employers are inundated with “hundreds or thousands of applicants for jobs they post online,” so some are gravitating toward this smaller network, the majority of whom she says have an MBA from a top-20 school.

For the full list of  start-ups, go to Wired

We won’t tell you to stop cribbing – go ahead- whine all you wan’t ‘coz we know how rough it is out there.

It’s a like a cranky grizzly bear that’s swiping it’s giant paws at everyone! Ok..so lets toss that grizzly a sandwich and hope it goes away.

In this case, sandwich = career advice and I had a chance to speak with Caroline Ceniza-Levine, co-founder of SixFigureStart.com, a career coaching firm comprised of former Fortune 500 recruiters and she had a bunch of interesting things to say.

Nail That Internship!

If you’re looking for a job and can’t seem to find one (surprise, surprise!) Ceniza-Levine advises to go for broke and find an internship. “In booming times, if you had an internship, it was slam dunk, you would get hired by the company,” she said, “but even in a down market, an internship still puts you at an advantage.”

She urges students and recent grads to take up freelance work, temp jobs and unpaid internships in order to put something down on the resume that shows “that you are still in the game, not sitting on the couch.”

Know What You’re Looking For

For students or recent graduates looking to enter the job market, it also pays to know what sort of a job one is looking for. “There is nervousness about being specific,” she says. “People apply to everything and that hinders your prospects.”

Keep Your Job Search Specific

She urges applicants to keep their search specific. “It gives you direction, gives you very clear marching orders, what to see, whom to call,” adding that when you’re not specific about the kind of job you’re looking for, you will sound non-committed.

Be Focussed

“It makes you sound like you know what you’re talking about.”

Use Your Networks Carefully

“There is a less tolerance for people being called out of the blue just to talk. People don’t have the time right now,” she says, referring to upper level management that would, in normal circumstances, indulge a call from someone from the same network.

Be Bold, Bust Out That Superhero Costume!

“The approach that works best in this market is be bold.You have to do some heavy duty-networking. It’s a very sales and marketing oriented approach.”

Half a dozen tips to make that sandwich! Go ahead, Grizzly, piss us off now!