Employers have certain expectations that require them to explore what, to you, are hidden values. Check it out. Do you naturally manifest these critical qualities?

* Loyalty. This does not mean that you have to agree with everything an employer or organizational policy represents. Loyalty means you share a common ideal with the employer. You communicate that regardless of minor differences, you're prepared to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with confidence in the company's good faith.

* Values. Understanding what your personal underlying business values are. And then showing how they are in harmony with those of the company.

* Compatibility. Individuals can create a team. But compatible individuals produce the best team. If you're touchy and thin-skinned in an interview, the employer instinctively knows you will be abrupt and abrasive on the job. On the other hand, a go-along person attracts people like themselves.

If these are naturally missing in you it will show up on employers' radar. It means you could be perceived as a "job mercenary." And that's the kiss of death. The sad thing is you'll never know why you've been rejected by employers.

Your employment opportunity and your job candidacy will fail if you're perceived as a "job mercenary." Often the "mercenary" attitude is so subtle that we're not even aware we're giving off bad vibes.

So, what exactly is a "job mercenary?" Here are five hints. Could this be you?

1. Believing the employer's cause is good only as long as the money is good.

2. Harboring a resentment that you're dependent upon an employer.

3. Lacking an inner job motivation.

4. Holding back or being ambivalent about loyalty to the organization.

5. More concerned about "what I get out of it" than "what I bring to the table?"

Obviously these are not traits you would deliberately communicate in an interview or in a face-to-face meeting with the persons who could be your next employers. But if you haven't taken the time to identify them in yourself, they will surely creep into your attitude. And employers' antennae are fine-tuned to pick up on these subtleties.

If you rely solely on your resume to communicate what you want employers to understand why you want a job, you run the risk of coming across as a job mercenary. Take the time to practice a forward-thinking statement about yourself that reflects the values employers are secretly looking for in you.