is services, he thinks the most important thing
is to "get there first." The only advantage he hopes to gain over other
applicants is a position at the head of the line.

Have you ever stopped to analyze the mental attitude of an employer
toward the half dozen, dozen, or score of men who answer his
advertisement for the services of one man? He thinks, "Here are a lot of
fellows out of jobs. Probably most of them are no good, or they wouldn't
be out of jobs. They are competing for this place. Each sees there are
plenty of others who will be glad to have it. Therefore it is likely
that I can get a man without paying him much to start with, and he
probably won't be very independent for a while after I hire him. I'll
take my pick of the lot, and keep the names and addresses of two or
three others in case he doesn't make good."

[Sidenote: Shearing The Sheep]

Then the employer calls in the applicants as if they were so many sheep
to be sheared by sharp cross-examination. Practically every candidate
enters the private office with a considerable degree of sheepishness in
his feelings, whether he tries to appear at ease or not. The employer
first eyes him in keen appraisal. He then proceeds briskly to clip off
facts about him. The man sitting behind the desk absolutely dominates
the situation. He finishes his questioning, and disposes of the
applicant as he pleases.

What chance to gain the desired opportunity for service does each
candidate have in such an uncontrolled process of getting a job? He has
one-sixth, or one-twelfth, or one-twentieth of a chance for success;
according to whether there are six or a dozen or a score of applicants.
Also, practically without exception, men who come seeking a position and
find that it has been filled make no further efforts to secure the
opportunity for which they have applied; though the successful candidate
may not make good and the position may soon be vacant again. Your own
experience and observation have made familiar to you this common way of
looking for jobs. You know that in such cases the employer has all the
advantage. Certainly the applicants who try to gain a chance to work by
this method use no _salesmanship_ at all.

[Sidenote: The Salesman's Method]

How would a "salesman" candidate for such a situation proceed? First, he
would avoid the mistake of presenting himself as _merely one of a crowd_
of competing applicants. He would _make his particular personality stand