So no ass-kissing, looking desperate or acting over-eager at working for some random company out of tens of thousands of other companies like it was a dream coming true?
If you aren't likeable, many people won't want to hire you no matter how experienced you are. It's just basic psychology.
About the "dying for the job" comment, though, I agree that is going too far. Personally, I think you should project a positive attitude about both your previous job, and about the possibility of working at the new place. But never act in a way that implies you aren't on equal footing with the interviewer. It should be a discussion, not a petition.
Did what I said above seem to imply these things? That's not what I intended at all. Are you interested in what I meant?
Well, "they didn't appear to want the job very badly" strikes a nerve as implying that.
Why would they need to "want the job very badly" instead of merely "wanting the job"?
And "dying for the job" sounds even worse.
>Are you interested in what I meant?
Sure, but tone matters.
I'm not talking about the difference between just wanting a job and over-acting like it's the only thing in the world. I'm not talking about fawning over the interviewer or pretending like there are no other jobs. I'm talking about people who come into an interview with an overtly negative attitude and say things that make it explicitly clear they could care less about the job and make it explicitly clear that they expect less experienced people to adapt to their ways and not the other way around. This is not the norm of my experience, I am referring to the worst interviews I've ever had, and summarizing the reason in what I thought was diplomatic language.
I suspect you're getting confused by my trying to use mild language and be somewhat nice and forgiving about the kind of interviews I've had. When I say I've interviewed people who don't appear to want the job very badly, I am exaggerating in the positive direction. These (few) people were outright antagonistic to the idea of being adaptable and getting along with others.
There's no way you could know these things based on what I wrote. But there's also no reason you need to assume the worst either.
Perhaps a better wording would have clarified the whole thing, like: "They should appear interested in getting the job" or "passionate about their profession".