You're so unique. Next. (Score 1)

Here's the deal. I run *lots* of big IT projects all over the country. I or my team hire somewhere around 75-100 people every single month. We have a very capable HR / recruiting department that scrubs candidates for technical skills, availability, etc - and then I or one of my team need to sit down with them and see if they are the kind of person we think we can work with to get the work done. If I had the time I'd like to get to know everyone of these people. Many of them are very interesting, some are quirky and a few are just deadly boring. But the deal is pretty simple - I just don't have the time. If you're at either end of the bell curve (green hair and tongue piercings or so deadly boring I want to cry) - you're out. That's it. I just don't have the time. Look reasonably normal. Get in the door and show that you can add value. When you're here and proving yourself we DO have the time to get to know you better and believe me - the toleration for eccentricity goes way up when you're a proven performer. But if your MO is "Prove you accept me before you hire me" then go someplace that's afraid to tell you yo get lost. A state agency, a big insurance company's infrastructure group - someone that's more worried about offending an applicant than they are about getting the job done. Employers have the money. You have the skills. That's the transaction.