Pasadena, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/04/2012 -- In today's rocky economic climate, it's important to have a stellar resume and interview skills. However, if someone has a few blemishes on their resume, there may be a way around them. Just so long as one learns to maximize their strengths and downplay their weaknesses, there's hope yet for finding employment.

Competitive jobs can make every little thing on a resume matter like being jobless for a time, a poor G.P.A. or a lack of diverse experience.

Typically, these things don't automatically disqualify you. The key is presenting oneself as professional and confident during the interview. The interview can change everything.

Leave anxiety at home. It's important for applicants to appear confident and never defensive. If asked about a resume weakness, the applicant should recognize it then spin it to appear positive, especially if an effort has been made to overcome the issue. It's also important not to grovel or apologize for weaknesses. Whenever given the chance, the applicant should make an effort to steer the conversation away from weaknesses and onto strengths. Again, acknowledge the weak point but don't dwell on it. Shift to another topic smoothly.

Even with negative points on one's resume, there should still be an effort to apply to positions regularly. This can most successfully be accomplished by using Hound.com. This site requires a subscription fee from job seekers for access to jobs from individual employer websites.

These jobs aren't promoted like those on job search sites. Access to these hard-to-find positions and efforts to downplay resume weaknesses will give any applicant a real advantage over the competition.