The whole interview process is very two-faced

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Anyone ever notice how the people interviewing you will be anything but direct? I myself have been struggling to get a job for nearly two years now despite having a B.S. in Business Management, MBA, CompTIAProject+ certification ect...

I have no idea what my issue is really. Maybe its my aspergers putting off this weird aura or perhaps I am too geeky and androgynous looking for the shallow two faced social conservative culture that this world seems to be revolving around. I have confidence in my abilities but when there are always two dozen or more other people applying for every job position and I have no friends or job connections how in the world do I even stand a chance?

It's challenging. Keep in mind, part of the reason an employer may not be direct is their desire to be cautious in interacting with applicants from a legal liability standpoint. Also, it's human nature to avoid confrontation.

I'm guessing you'll do OK because I recently got a job I've wanted for 5 years or more, it's in tech and I have none of your qualifications. The tough bit is that I'm starting with an internship but hopefully that's just three months.

Correct on both counts.

Before every round of interviews, my staff and I review as much of the legalities that we can -- there are many, and their effects and interactions can be subtle. The questions we can't ask are mostly obvious ("Do you plan on getting pregnant?", and "How old are you?"), while some are not so obvious ("Do you smoke?", "Do you have any disabilities?"). So asking "Do you have an autism spectrum disorder?" is way out of line.

The employer also can't even hint to any candidate that he or she is most likely to get the job, as it could be construed as a verbal promise, which is tantamount to a contractual agreement. Thus, the vaguely-worded "We have many more candidates to interview..." answer to any question of the possibility of being hired.

There are so many laws, rules, and regulations that employment pre-screening is necessary -- a hiring agency will do all of the "dirty work", and just send their top three candidates; each of whom is eminently qualified for the position. Then the employer will try to see which one might make the best fit with the team. Even then, it's a gamble; and employer might take months to fill a position that needs to be filled "right now".

Keep trying, never give up

Actually they are supposed to do that when interviewing - be indirect. They ask you open-ended questions so you'll have no idea what they are looking for. Or they ask you something embarrassing to most people ("tell me about a time you felt unappreciated at a job," "tell me about a time you had a conflict with a co-worker") and that's called a "stress interview" - that's right, they are actually attempting to stress you out so they can see how you react. Pretty diabolical.

But you can arm yourself against this. Look up some books or articles on how to interview job applicants. Figure out the games they can play. Also, come up with some prepared answers. Trust me, experienced and successful job applicants do this kind of preparation, and so should you.

If you have never had any training on how to interview, see if your college's placement office has any classes for new graduates on how to interview successfully. Some places even do a mock interview on videotape it so you can analyze your mistakes.

Employers always seem to want to choose the most well behaved employee- the one who acts the part- over the more reserved counterpart. However, who do you think will be more productive. The later. (Unless you're working in fast food- then the former may be better suited- but maybe not)

Reminds me of how pepole pick dogs. instead of picking the more reserved counterpart, the obedient dog sitting at the back of the crate, they pick the most active puppy- the one who is so hyper, they might knock over their future children.

I suppose it's due to all the regulations that employers have gotten even more picky. They don't want to pick the candidate they aren't sure about. It's just as hard, if not harder (due to all the regulations), to let somebody go as to abandon a hyper dog at a shelter you love a lot. And the more regulations put in place, the harder things will get.

Sure. We rely on our employment agency (a contractor) to do all of the pre-screening for skills and background, and then send us X number of candidates to us. Then we interview each candidate to see how he or she will react to odd questions, not necessarily the answers they give. For example, how would you answer "If you could be a tree, what kind of tree would you be?"It's more like all the picky regulations that have made employers more cautious.