Let joy be unconfined!

Meet Jeff. He's a good looking chap of around 26 with a car, and a nice suit with matching shirt and tie. Until recently Jeff was employed as an Account Manager for a gym equipment company until they were bought out by one of their competitors and Jeff was made redundant. Although he was professional and composed about the decision at the time, Jeff was really devastated when his job finished up. He really loved visiting his clients regularly, seeing positive results from his sales and getting to know their customer base.

Fortunately for Jeff, he had developed a great reputation in the gym equipment market and had no difficulty scoring interviews with other suppliers in the industry. Jeff knew his stuff, they knew him and he was cool and confident about getting back into work.

Unfortunately this is where Jeff made a big, blustery mistake. He believed that his expertise and experience would show that he was an invaluable candidate to the new potential employer. He expected that his local business and industry acumen would be pounced on and savoured by the people who were once his competitors. He loved the gym equipment industry and was very frustrated with being out of the loop, so he was putting his most professional hand out for the better offer available to him.

This approach was a mistake for several reasons. Jeff is right in knowing his value as an agent in the industry and a great asset for a new company, but his prospective employers are looking for something different that Jeff just wasn't putting out there. Although Jeff knew within himself that he really enjoyed the gym equipment scene and loved his clients, his professional demeanour didn't allow that to come through. His prospective employers are probably better off hiring someone fresh who is new to account management or gym equipment who will have to prove their passion for the industry in order to succeed. So Jeff's achievements are now not looking so hot.

This is an entirely made-up example, but the difficulties Jeff faced are described to me all the time. Regardless of whether you are continuing a career in a field you have prior experience in, or changing to a new area - the most vital ingredient in an interview is passion. Love for your art. Excitement for your trade. Enthusiasm for making a hobby into a job. Energy to get started! The importance of putting life into the impression you make cannot be overestimated here - it is just about the most important ingredient in converting that interview into a job offer.

No, that is not to suggest that we just scrap professionalism like last week's newspaper stack. But many job candidates mistake professionalism for woodenism. Robotism. Politeism. Pleasantism. Starchedism. Courtesyism. Rigidism. The sort of soothing voice at you normally use for children and dogs. Who do you think is already employed with this company - a team of cyborg drones with no personality? Don't try and conform to a mould that you only imagine. Let your love for what you do spread out all over the interview table and get your interviewer excited about having you on board. Please do this. I would like to phase candidate cyborgs out completely if possible.

Next time: Channeling rage into something helpful.