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Patience might be a virtue but she doesn’t always pay the bills.

There is a certain excitement that comes over you when you see your ideal job being advertised. Maybe you are currently in a position that no longer cuts it or have been out of work and dying to get back in the game. Like a good little applicant you send over a clean resume which in fact awards you a follow up and interview. You do everything you can to shine brighter than Rihanna’s diamond — saying the right things, highlighting your accomplishments and exude the necessary confidence and team player capabilities. With that gut feeling in place, you think you nailed what you needed to do and the job is yours.

But did you do everything necessary in the protocol handbook?

Some people are a little clueless when it comes to job follow-up etiquette, and that’s okay so long as you make some changes in your approach to help ensure you do not seem too desperate or uninterested. Here are some do’s and dont’s to following up on a job interview.

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You get everything in order to make the best impression possible for that job interview and go at it with courage and poise. Everything appeared to go okay so you wait in expectation of an offer. Then, the rejection comes.

Ouch.

Rejection may be a part of life, but boy is it a mother, especially when you thought a job had your name on it. Hearing a flat out “no” or however else employers dress up turning you down can make you rethink so much. Did I do everything I could to land the position? What could I have done better?

There are tons of questions you can ask yourself that will get you nowhere (maybe you’ll develop an ulcer). While you can’t always control the outcome of certain situations, there may be some reasons for the rejection. Here are ten reasons you probably did not get the job.

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Anyone can come up with a good idea. But, selling that idea is what stands between most people and success. A pitch is a short presentation of your idea. It could be a 10-minute presentation along with audio/visual assistance in front of a crowd. Or a two-minute fast-talking sell in an elevator.

Whether you’re selling yourself to an employer for your dream job, or wooing investors for your startup idea, it’s important you know how to convince your audience to believe in your product. Again, having a good idea is not enough. We live in a competitive world. If you can’t communicate your idea (or who you are) and its value to your audience, you might as well have not thought of it at all.

Daniel Pink, author of five best-selling books about changing the world of work, identifies six new pitches for the 21^st century in his book To Sell is Human. Think of pitching as an intriguing invitation to have a conversation. We profile the six pitches here and look at ways to prepare for the big sell once you have your audience’s attention.

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Looking for a job can be a nerve-wrecking experience, and the actual interview even more so. If you get the job interview jitters, there are some tips and tricks on how stay calm.

Before The Interview

First to the two Ps — plan and prepare. Make sure you have printed out extra copies of your resume, select and try on your clothes, have directions to the company, and confirm your interview time. The less you have to worry about on the day of the interview the less stressed and nervous you will be. Check out the company online—get as much info as you can so you can ask pertinent questions as well as give substantive answers on how you can benefit the company. Practice some the questions you are most likely to be asked. Also prepare a list of questions you’d like to ask.

And skip the coffee. The caffeine will only give you too much of a jolt. “A cup of java will actually make you jittery because of the caffeine. Instead, chew a piece of gum to help make you more alert (just remember to spit it out before your interview),” suggests The Grindstone.

On the day of the interview give yourself plenty of travel time and arrive to the interview early. “When you arrive at the interview site, allow yourself plenty of time to sit in your car, gather your thoughts, breathe, and to center yourself,” Kim Heitzenrater, director of career and leadership development at The University of the South told Forbes Woman. “Remind yourself that this is a conversation to determine fit on both sides.”

During the Interview

Although you are going after a job, there is a fine line between being enthusiastic and overly aggressive. Try to think of the interview as a conversation with a new friend. “Learn what you can about the person interviewing you—and make them into a human being rather than being a rejection machine. You’ll be able to relax more and be yourself when you remember that they need you; they want to learn about you to see if you’re right for the job,” Dr. Tamar Chansky, author of Freeing Yourself from Anxiety suggests to the magazine.

See yourself nailing the interview. “Visualize yourself blowing your interview out of the water and sitting at that desk as the new hire,” writes The Grindstone.

Have a positive and confident attitude. “If you experience shaky hands, then fold them and place them in your lap. If you have a trembling voice or butterflies in your stomach, take several deep, calming breaths. Try to maintain a natural smile,” Ashley Strausser, associate director of the Center for Career and Professional Development at Otterbein University, tells Forbes Woman. Your posture and body language is very important. Sit up, and try to keep your hand gestures to a minimum.

And most of all, don’t be so hard on yourself. You don’t have to be perfect.

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As if getting a job wasn’t difficult in today’s economy, we now have to deal with those ultra-weird interview questions potential employers ask. Some are more awkward than others leaving you perplexed or beating yourself up post interview. The wrong answer or gesture could mean game over so it’s important to plan ahead so they won’t catch you off guard.

Here are 10 potential interview questions that may come your way.

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Yes Yes Yes!!! You got the call back and the big job interview is marked on your calendar. So you have one week to prepare. What are you going to do with all that time?

Research. When you walk into an interview, you’re showing your prospective boss what you know. And while some of it might be second nature, there are other things that you’re going to need to brush up on. Here, we have nine things that you should research before you turn up for the interview

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During a job interview, you expect to be asked a lot of questions. However, you shouldn’t walk out of a job interview without asking a few questions of your own.

“Not only will these questions show how well-prepared you are, they will also make your interview memorable and put you a notch above your competition,” writes Black Enterprise.

Moreover, accepting a job is like signing on to a brand new relationship. Asking questions ensures that you’re right for the job and the job’s right for you.

To learn the three questions that you should ask in a job interview, click through to BlackEnterprise.com.

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Probably the toughest part of getting a new job is the interview process. It’s not only what you say during the interview but how you end the interview that can determine if your land the job or not.

According to CBS Money Watch, there are several questions you should ask as the interview wraps up. “Toward the end of a job interview, there’s always a moment when you’re asked if you have any questions. It’s tricky. You don’t want to sound too pugnacious (will they think I’m too aggressive?), but neither do you want to pass on the opportunity (will they think I don’t have a mind of my own?),” reports CBS Market Watch.

The questions you should ask:

1. Why did you want to interview me? Learning specifically what is in your resume that attracted a company’s interest gives you a sense of how the organization, and other potential employers, view your talents.

2. Why is this job important to the business as a whole? This should give you a sense both of the company strategy (if there is one) and of where this job sits in the pecking order.

3. How would you describe the best people you have in this company? This is a covert way of determining company values.

4. Are there any internal candidates for this job? If there are, and you get the job, watch out! If there aren’t, why not? Professional development may not be what this company is best at.

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It’s the one part of an interview we always forget to prepare for: “Do you have any questions for us?” We’ve prepared our answers to anything the interviewer might send our way. But then we choke, with nothing to ask in return, making it look as if we’ve done no research about the position, or even the company. Be prepared for that last crucial moment with these questions:

On the long list of potential job interview questions, there are a few that stand out as particularly daunting. Even after rehearsing a response in the mirror for hours, applicants may still get tripped up in the interview process. A Forbes article points out one of the challenging question asked by recruiters all the time that essentially tells you nothing about the applicant: where do you see yourself in five years?

This question is not likely to trip up seasoned professionals who have a strong handle on what they want to do or how to answer the question in a non-threatening but still motivated manner; but for the entry level candidate, this question can be a real problem. A generic answer leaves you a generic candidate.

As the article points out, there are at least three answers that all have dead-end results:

1) “I see myself doing this same job in five years.” This response reveals a candidate with very low ambition.

2) “I see myself doing this job until I get a better job.” This is most likely the last response any interview wants to hear because it basically means the applicant has no intention of staying for long or much interest in the job.

3) “I see myself doing your job in five years.” While some recruiters may appreciate this response and its implied challenge, others may frown upon it as it is a threatening response to your potential supervisor.

Candidates unsure of what to say should ask  a mentor or contact in the field what a proper response for this question is. But what would be even better is if recruiters could change the types of question they choose to ask.

For instance, what if the interviewer chose instead how the applicant finances the things that they love or how this job will work to the candidate’s strengths?

If the person finds innovative ways to enjoy their life, it’s probable that they will bring that same creative spirit to the job. A candidate that makes sacrifices for the things she loves doing, will also make sacrifices for the job if that’s what they enjoy doing. Finally if a candidate enjoys what they do, where they’ll be in five years is irrelevant. Their passion and enjoyment on the job will help motivate them to continue with the company, happily finding new challenges and solutions in their job to improve the work environment.