You have been contacted by a recruiter, or you have sent your resume in response to a job posting. Where did it go? What happens now? Did it disappear in the "Black Hole"? It is a frustrating feeling not knowing where you are in the process, not being informed. At Cohen Search Consultants we do understand your need to be kept in the loop and strive to keep you in constant contact during the entire hiring process.

Making a career decision is an important one and we will treat it with the utmost respect.

Arrive early for the interview, but not too early. Get to the site 30 minutes early to allow for any surprise disasters. It is better to sit in the employers parking lot and get your thoughts together than arrive flustered and late to an interview. Don't enter the building until 15 minutes before your interview unless requested by human resources.

Eye contact is one of the most important aspects of nonverbal communication and can make a significant difference in how you present yourself. If you look away when speaking to someone, you're viewed as lacking confidence or interest. If you have a problem looking into your interviewer's eyes, try looking at the "third eye" right above and between the eyes.

Listen through eye contact -- stay with the person.

Listen with nonverbal expressions -- nod and appear interested.

Listen until the speaker is finished -- do not interrupt.

Most candidates are so nervous about answering interview questions correctly that they forget to listen. Listening is one of the most underused interview skills.

Follow these tips:

• By focusing on what is being said, you can gather valuable information that will help you formulate better, more intelligent answers and questions of your own.
• Preparing your stories is one of the most beneficial exercises you can do to become focused before your interview. If you say you're good at something, prove it with a story. You should be able to back up anything you say on your resume or in an interview with a story or an example of how you have soared in a sticky situation.

Great questions to ask early in a job interview:
"What are you most hoping to find in the person you hire?" "What would be my first priorities on the job?" "What would be my goals for the first three months, six months, a year? What might be impediments to my reaching those goals? The earlier you can ask these questions, the sooner you can start tailoring your answers to the employer's priorities. Based on the answers to those questions you can bring up examples of how you had similar goals and problems in the past and what you did to succeed. At the end of the interview, ask, "Based on what we've talked about today, I feel good about the position. Do you have any concerns about my ability to do the job?" Often, that gives you a chance to counter any objections.

How many quarters -- placed one on top of the other -- would it take to reach the top of the Empire State Building?

When Jeremy Solomon was asked this in an interview, he didn't have a clue as to what would be the correct answer. Nonetheless, he remained calm.

First, he asked the interviewer exactly what she meant by "placed on top of the other." After she said on their sides, Solomon began to explain his logic step-by-step to the interviewer. He estimated that a quarter is about an inch in diameter and guessed that there are 120 floors in the Empire State Building, with each floor being 10 feet tall. Then he did the appropriate math.

Did Solomon give the right answer? Not quite -- the building only has 102 floors, and they aren't 10 feet tall.

Did he nail the question? Absolutely.

Divulge Your Thought Process
"Really, what interviewers are looking for is how somebody thinks through the problem," explains Jean Eisel, director of the Career Management Center at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. "Whether somebody gets the answer or not, it's more looking at how [job candidates] think through the problem. Don't try to get the answer. Focus on how you're going to divide the problem up. You don't necessarily have enough information to give the answer. They're really looking at how people process information."

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