I'm the Love Doctor, without all the kissing and stuff.

Really, when you get right down to it, my profession is pretty simple:

I am the Love Doctor of the job world. It's the coolest job on the planet, so say I.

I help job seekers find their dream girls or guys. Well, really, their dream jobs. But there are so many similarities between matchmaking and recruiting, the nomenclature is pretty interchangeable.

As are many of the behaviors and signs. And if you pay attention to these signs, it's pretty easy to know if you're on track for a love connection with a potential employer.

So pay attention already.

A few key indicators that it may be time to consider another potential suitor:

1. They say they're going to call, yet they do not call - In general, and particularly if you've come out of an interview with a promise of WHEN they are going to call you? If you don't hear back within that window (or, say, within a couple of weeks), they probably told you a little white lie to avoid the awkwardness of "Hey. This interview really stunk. We will not be calling you again." Now, I will argue that SOMETIMES a potential employer just gets swamped with a major project and all interviewing really does come to a halt, but this is typically an exception. A rare one. No call = No love connection. They really aren't playing hard to get.
4. You don't feel butterflies - OK, maybe it won't officially be BUTTERFLIES, because you could be all nervous at an interview, and your stomach could be giving off strange, tumultuous indicators no matter what. But if you go into an interview setting and just don't feel that excited "this is for me!" kind of feeling? They're probably not really feeling it either. Not to worry. Because do you really want your next career move to be doing something that doesn't excite you, for a company that doesn't excite you? Better to find the true love connection.
7. You had one of those "record stop" moments in the conversation - As in, you totally know you answered a question in the completely wrong way, uttered something dumb or (gasp) offensive to the interviewer and/or made a joke that completely fell on its face (why, by the way, are you telling JOKES in an interview??) You typically can't erase these moments, and they usually don't net out in a job offer. What you can do, however, is learn from this failed love connection and use it to your advantage with your next potential suitor.
10. They want a degree/certain pedigree that you don't possess -- Every once in a blue moon, I see a candidate CONVINCE a potential employer that their lack of a degree/certain talent/certification/etc. is not imperative. But generally? When a company thinks they want a candidate with an MBA and you have a high school diploma? It's just not a love connection. Again, this is OK. If you had your heart set on a 6'5" blonde boyfriend and along came a 4'9" guy with red hair? He may be awesome as can be, but I'll bet you won't date him. Not because he's not great: because you have already set some basic criteria in your mind. Companies do this too. I'm not saying they're always right to do it. I'm simply reporting reality so that you can find your match.
13. You've applied and gotten no response at all.  -- Kind of like Match.com. You find some amazing looking/sounding profile and you fire off the world's best email to him or her, certain that they will immediately see how "meant to be" the two of you are. Sadly, for anyone who has used an online dating service or applied for jobs via the Internet? We know that it doesn't always happen this way. Sometimes, sniff sniff, only one of the parties is falling head over heels. And if the potential employer is the one that's not? You just have to keep on rolling along.

And when you realize that this is just how life goes? It makes the job search so much more tolerable, and the love connection you ultimately find? All the more sweet.