Invariably, these people fall into four categories:  extremely personable and charming; extremely attractive; well-qualified but lose interest quickly; or well-qualified but don’t know what they want.  Simply, they’re better interviewees than employees.

A recent jumper:  she called me from her car while she was arguing with the driver next to her in a bridge traffic jam, holding her own with both of us at the same time.  Interesting and engaging, she has a gift for winning people over immediately, but her technical skills are not as developed.

Another jumper:  outsized personality, enthusiasm and energy; employers are enthralled during interviews that he will be an impact player and shake things up.  Once employed, he eventually rubs too many people the wrong way and wears out his welcome.  
What’s our take on jumpers?

If you’re not a jumper, in fact if like many accountants, you consider a job search and interview to be roughly equivalent to having a tooth removed with pliers, the easiest and quickest ways to make yourself more marketable are:

•    Have a professional overhaul your resume with action words, achievements and without ‘accountant-speak’.  It’s a sales document not a financial statement footnote.

•    Improve your interviewing skills.  Maybe you will never have movie star looks or be talk show host smooth, however you can quickly improve your interviewing.  Prepare fully by learning all you can about the company, job and interviewers; know your strengths and selling points; anticipate questions and have answers ready.  Seek to engage the interviewer in conversation rather than a question and answer session; don’t interrupt; maintain eye-contact; present yourself as professional and reasonable.  If necessary, use a professional to critique your interviewing technique, perhaps even videotape yourself to view how you come across.  Bottom-line:  managers and employers hire people they like, people they want to work with and people that will make them look good to their peers.

If you are a jumper, best to figure out why and deal with it.  It becomes progressively harder to keep jumping, and well nigh impossible in a serious economic downturn.  Continuing education, training, Dale Carnegie, toning down your personality, listening not talking, deciding what it is you want, the list of possible fixes goes on and on.  Whatever it is, it’s best for your career to become as good an employee as an interviewee.

Oh, and the movie was "ok", not great. Hayden Christensen kind of ruined it like he ruined the first three movies of the Star Wars saga. Seriously, how does this guy keep getting work?