The most recent job report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics has shown that payroll employment has increased by 216,000 in March, with unemployment dropping to 8.8%. Even with this glimmer of positive news on the labor market, many talented professionals continue to struggle with finding a job. Over the last two years, the by-product of massive layoffs and prolonged job searches has been the emergence of a more sophisticated job seeker, as these ambitious and previously employed professionals channel their energies into becoming competitive candidates. With livelihoods and lifestyles on the line, these individuals are taking the task of finding a job very seriously. This has, of course, made the job search main event - the interview - much more difficult. We'll take a look at why the job interview just got harder.

Drawn out recruiting is the new norm

While this uptick in job creation and lowering of the unemployment rate is good news, even the seasoned job seeker will still have his work cut out for him. Over 8.3 million jobs have been lost since the beginning of the Great Recession. This number is even more significant if you take into considerations that over 100,000 jobs need to be created per month in order for the unemployment rate to start decreasing. An average of 149,000 jobs have been created each month from October 2010 to March 2011, while 25 of the 33 months preceding the last 6 months have shown an average job loss of 313,000. At the current pace, it would take over 50 months for the economy to regain the jobs that were lost.

The glut of talent in the marketplace has meant that companies have become very accustomed to taking their time to select the best talent. Their interview process has become more refined as they think about what they want in the "perfect candidate." This pattern has brought an even greater expectation that candidates be a superb fit with all criteria for the job, sometimes to an impossible degree.

The sheer volume of job seekers has also meant that companies are engaging in a prolonged "sifting" period to identify viable candidates among the many that will apply to their postings. A paradox that has always existed in the employment market is the contrast between a hiring manager who feels that s/he cannot seem to find the right person and the job seeker feeling the seemingly impossible odds of landing a position, given the sea of applicants that apply. It's easy to see how this paradox of sentiment on both sides of the hiring game can be exacerbated by the current tough job market.

The market is also such that candidates are not likely to have multiple offers, with which a hiring company must contend. So the urgency to move along the hiring process once candidates are in play is much slower than it historically has been, given that companies simply have the luxury of more time to make a decision. Companies are also very wary of candidates who are looking to take interim jobs that they leave when they find a better opportunity, further adding to the level of scrutiny of one's candidacy.

Candidates have had to up their interview game

These heightened competitive dynamics have meant that each interview that a job seeker secures should be treated as a golden opportunity, one in which making sure to take full advantage of that opportunity is paramount. Competitive candidates that would normally land jobs easily are now looking for incremental advantages in the job search process. They will be analyzing their own job search productivity more closely, from the number of applications they send out per week to the candidate's performance in the interview.

Job seekers will also be utilizing networking more, as they seek to uncover the hidden job market that they've always heard about, but didn't previously bother to tap because they could find new jobs through more conventional means. Through this networking they will gain more "insider" information about firms they are interested in, and in turn, use this information to be more prepared for their job interviews. They do this by incorporating subtle details and nuances that will help them seem knowledgeable about a position, company or industry, therefore bringing them that much closer to being the ideal candidate in the mind of the hiring manager.

Along with increased rigor in interview preparation on the front-end, motivated candidates are seeking out and responding to critical feedback on their interview performance on the back-end. Those job seekers who do this will be able to steadily improve their interview performance over time. Those who don't take the time to self-reflect, and instead perhaps attribute their lack of interview success to tough competition, or are simply accepting the cursory feedback they might receive from the employer, will continue to make the same mistakes. The concerning thing is that a candidate may be committing only one or two devastating errors that eliminate them from consideration, but they have no idea what those errors are.

The job interview has gotten harder, but this doesn't mean that you can't be even better prepared as the next candidate. Check out ZoomInterviews's Resources Section for free resources that can help you gain that competitive edge.