They might talk to you and have an interview with you, and you think everything is going fine, but then they call you back and say you don't have enough experience in this and that.

NPR: Unemployed Women Wait For Phone To Ring

In this environment, "you can't allow yourself to get too bulled up and persuade yourself that everything is going to be fine, " Mr. Mann says.

WSJ: World's Woes Leave Lasting Scars