Bob Hasenbein did everything right in his job interview. His handshake was firm and his resume and references were ready. He wore a nice tie, addressed the interviewer by name and even said, "Yes, sir."

In a nearby room, Julia Klein also nailed the etiquette aspects of her interview. She was polite, smiled dazzlingly, maintained eye contact, accentuated the positive and handled an awkward interruption with finesse.

Neither Bob nor Julia got the job, but not because they did anything wrong. The jobs simply didn't exist.

Bob and Julia, both 16 and juniors at North Hills High School, recently participated in mock job interviews as part of a Career and Professional Development class. Many local high schools teach not only job interview techniques, but also business etiquette, in the hope that students will gain an "etiquette edge" as they enter an increasingly competitive job market.

In the real world, the students' professional manners would have given them a leg up in the hiring decision, agreed their interviewers, Dr. Joseph Goodnack, North Hills School District superintendent, and Valerie Mengine, the district's director of Human Resources, who scored the students on their interviews.

"I gave Julia the highest score possible," Ms. Mengine said. "All of her responses were like a college graduate's. I've never interviewed a student with that much leadership experience."

"You learn a lot from first impressions," said Dr. Goodnack. "Bob was well dressed, had good eye contact, had a firm and reassuring handshake and seemed confident. All of those are very important to any employer."

Kellee Kanith, who teaches the class, said, "It's about creating a good first impression. You have about 30 seconds." The handshake, the greeting, even name tag placement -- it goes on the left -- can make or break an interview. She tells her students, "Attitude can be more important than your skills. I can give you advice, but it's not foolproof. You have to put your whole package out there."

North Hills senior Doug Barber, 17, said he is putting more effort into his resume and interview now. "I should take more time on my applications and resume to write neater," he lamented, gesturing to his not-quite-perfect penmanship. "It shows a lot about the person."

Doug's's classmate, senior Jessica Klauss, 18, said, "I didn't know that it's not polite to ask about salary in an interview. I wish I'd taken this class sooner. You learn to present yourself well, to focus on the positive."

One might not find Ho Hos, Skittles and Jell-O on a four-star restaurant menu downtown, but the snack foods work in a pinch to teach students about business lunch etiquette. In Anthony Howard's Introduction to Business class at Hampton High School, students critique each other on their ability to use place settings correctly (from the outside in), keep elbows off the table, and not talk with mouths full.

"A business lunch is more about the interview than the food," Mr. Howard said. "We talk about inappropriate things they do when no one is watching. I give them interview questions at the table and they have to use business dialogue. They're surprised at how difficult it is."

Scott Brady, 18, a Hampton senior, said, "You have to pay attention to detail. I learned that you're supposed to leave your napkin on your chair when you leave the table," which his mom noticed. He practices his newfound manners daily because, "I realize how important it is when being interviewed. If you're the same caliber [as another potential employee] and you do these [polite] things and the other person doesn't, it gives you the 'in'."

Ken Obringer, 17, a Hampton junior, joked, "I feel kind of sophisticated compared to my friends," in the cafeteria. He said they noticed when he began leaving his napkin on the chair and stopped mixing his potatoes and peas. He's learned that it's proper to order a medium-priced meal for a business lunch and to avoid messy food such as spaghetti.

"It makes you look better than someone who doesn't know this stuff," he said. "With unemployment going up, that's an issue."

Students in the Business Essentials class at Fox Chapel Area High School discover, among other things, the importance of writing a thank-you note within 24 hours of their interview, said Nancy Rofey, one of the school's business teachers. Fox Chapel students participate in mock interviews, learn how to create resumes, write applications, research careers, and of course, learn business etiquette.

"What will set him or her apart are the interviewee's appearance and grooming, communication skills, attitude and enthusiasm," Ms. Rofey said. "Our goal is to give these students as large an edge as possible in this competitive, challenging economy."

"We encourage them to wear business attire, dressing for the highest position to which they aspire," said Ms. Rofey. "What sometimes surprises us is our students' interpretation of business attire!"

For teens who have grown up with iPods attached to their ears and cell phones seemingly growing from their fingertips, the concept of not sending text messages to their friends during a job interview can be foreign. "We advise students to leave technology at home," Ms. Rofey said.

She said that although some students are well-versed in etiquette before taking the class, they are in the minority. "They've probably heard some of this information at home, but for teens, it's not immediately relevant."

For young adults submerged in the college or summer job application process, business etiquette is quite relevant.

Ciara O'Connor, 18, a senior at Shaler Area High School, is preparing to head to Boston University and has taken Shaler's professional development course. "Some of us have had job interviews or college or scholarship interviews already," she said. "It's real for us now."

Ciara said the class has helped her and her friends, adding that one student said he received a scholarship because the foundation members were impressed that he researched the foundation. In addition to resume and interview preparation, the students learned basic things such as handshakes, making eye contact, and saying your name so the person can hear it, Ciara said. "My name is difficult to pronounce, and I have to say it clearly."

Shaler teacher Merrit McDaniel uses her own years of working as a marketing analyst, retail manager and staffing recruiter to provide students with real-life examples of what proper etiquette can do for them.

"If you take an application from an employer and fold it, or scribble your answer in pink ink, they might pitch it," she said. An e-mail might be the first impression your employer or college professor gets, so don't use slang, she warns.

"A lot of students don't dress to the T for an interview or know to write a thank-you," Mrs. McDaniel said. "By learning old-school etiquette, they'll stand out, be recognized and remembered." The proof is in the paycheck, apparently.

"Tons of kids come back to me and say, 'I remembered to apply what we learned, and I got the job!'?" she said. "Even if it's for work at a gas station, I tell them to dress nicely, use eye contact, and if the decision comes down to two people, the employer will remember that you shook their hand."