Huffpost Business   Natalie Thomas Headshot  Attention
Employers: Please Look Past the Pedigree  Posted: Updated:  Up
until several months ago, I could count on two hands the number
of interviews I've had in my life. Every few years, there'd be
something: college visits, a new job but, thankfully, I usually
passed the proverbial test the first round to avoid additional
probing. That all changed when I recently left my job of seven
years.  I've been out of the mix for a while but, apparently,
it's a bit like dating. I'm back in the pool with thousands of
others, forced to up my outdated and rusty game. A once
confident, self-assured, "I've got this" woman reduced to a
second-guessing, over-analyzing, fidgeting fool. "Will I be
liked?," "How do I stack up to the others?," "What should I
wear?" and "How much of my true self do I reveal?"  And that's
before walking in the door. Then there's the butterflies, the
nausea, the "Do I have any food in my teeth?," "What's my hair
doing?," "Am I appearing too eager?" and