Hiring can be a humbling experience. And costly. Just ask the former editor of The New York Times. Or the former editor of USA Today. Both lost their jobs recently because of the misconduct of reporters who fabricated an incredible number of exclusive stories.

Someone thought these fictional journalists were not only good enough to hire but to hype as well. I sympathize with management's plight because, in truth, hiring has always been a crapshoot.

No matter how much you grill candidates, check their references or study their work samples, the final decision usually boils down to one thing - the feeling in your gut.

Is this the person for the job - or is this the person who will become your cross to bear? Unfortunately, the ability to do well in an interview, line up some favorable references, and in general make a winning impression are not necessarily any guarantee the person you are about to hire can do the job. Certainly they can be strong indicators - but not an ironclad guarantee.

Blown Away

Lord knows I have been fooled often enough. There was the erstwhile sports editor who wore a toupee, which blew off during a baseball game. He was so embarrassed he never returned to work. Never even called. Then there was the young woman reporter who had a thing for sheriff's deputies. I'll just leave it at that.

My personal favorite was the cub reporter who stood up at a public meeting and told everyone they were fools. When I asked her if she hadn't learned better than that in Journalism 101, I discovered she had never taken beginning reporting. Her master's was in journalism, but her undergrad work was in psychology. I felt like I'd been scammed as I recalled the glowing recommendation her instructor had given me.

My management experiences, however, happened years ago. Certainly, with so many people still out of work today, things have changed. Aren't the odds improving that employers will find a good hire?

Guess again. According to many employers, chances are increasing daily that the person they bring on board will not survive probation. Employers are so frustrated it has become a regular topic of discussion at the job fairs produced by HIREvents, a division of California Job Journal. Workers, it would seem, have gotten good at being bad.

The challenge to find good people actually gives the conscientious applicant a golden opportunity. Companies, it seems, are more anxious than ever to find quality people who have demonstrated a good work ethic.

Entitlement Issues

But it seems that while employers have become more selective, too many jobseekers have become casual and cavalier in their approach to employment opportunities like job fairs. Karen Dawal, HIREvents' job fair coordinator, finds herself increasingly confronted by haughty jobseekers expecting to have a job handed to them simply because they showed up - often in jeans and tennies. It's as if Dawal were a fast-food clerk who should deliver up a job pronto.

"They have an attitude of entitlement," notes Dawal, who doesn't hesitate to remind jobseekers that such behavior will get them nowhere fast with prospective employers. It's as if they have it backwards - they are the ones who should be asking what they can do for an employer, not vice versa.

Check Your Attitude at the Door

At other times, Dawal has encountered applicants with a chip on their shoulder. They are often highly educated professionals who have been laid off from upper-level positions. She turns them around quickly. One well-dressed, well-qualified accountant complained that there were no banks represented at a recent job fair. She pointed out that many of the companies still needed his financial skills. "I told him, if you want to find work, you can't limit yourself."

He followed her advice to be more persistent. He visited each booth and discovered Dawal was right. There indeed were companies looking to hire people with his talents and background.

Sometimes Dawal has to provide on-the-spot counseling to help applicants better articulate their goals. One fairgoer told her she

wanted a sales job. Person-to-person sales, Dawal asked? No way said the applicant. Phone sales perhaps? Nope - she didn't want that either. What other type of sales was there? Finally, it came out that the person had worked the counter at a fast-food chain. Dawal counseled the jobseeker to go for a position in customer service, an opening easily found at most career fairs.

At other times, Dawal feels she should act as a fashion consultant. "I see some applicants and I want to say take that do-rag off and pull up your pants," she grumbles.

Candy Land Contingent

Then there are those who arrive at the job fair and think it's a festive fun-filled carnival. They bring their kids, they want the balloons, and they fill up on the candy and freebies typically dispensed at many booths. Employers are particularly disheartened by such conduct.

Unprofessional conduct - whether it's a slovenly appearance or a sense of entitlement - reflects a poor work ethic, Dawal believes.

She wonders if some of the applicants are participating in the Welfare to Work program or have never had a good role model to show them how to seek or keep employment. She also worries about the message children receive when their parents decide to use a job fair for family entertainment.

What final words of advice does Dawal have for those with plans to attend future job fairs? "Fairgoers should treat the event as if they were going on a job interview. Because that's what a job fair is."

The other thing to remember is that the ongoing employer quest to find good people should be welcome news for the qualified, presentable and positive job applicant. Apparently, your next employer can't wait to find you.