OK, very few of us like the interviewing process. Unfortunately, you've got to face the music once in a while. Keep these few nuggets in mind when you're going on your next interview or if you want to advise a colleague:

Be very very honest if an interviewer senses at all you are being evasive in answering questions or are trying to fudge your way through questions, youre doomed.

Recognize that the interviewer is looking both at your knowledge and your thought process on how you would approach problems for instance, if you get a how would you build a 150 story skyscraper question, just take a deep breath and start talking through how you would do it. Saying things like its impossible shows lack of initiative and creativity and will negatively impact the interviewers perception of you.

Dont lose your cool the interviewer may intentionally be trying to get you off balance and see how easily they can frustrate you. Stay the course and dont allow the interviewer to get under your skin. Answer questions thoughtfully; not laced with emotion.

Show passion interviewers will want to see how much excitement and energy youre going to bring to the job. Be passionate about the job, the company, and the products the company sells. Coming in with the excitement of cottage cheese will not leave the interviewer with a comfortable feel you are going to attack problems.

Be on time, dress nice, and smell good These are very easy to control and can only help in the impression you make. Make sure your clothing is in-style, conservative, and fits you appropriately. Wearing a suit from the 80s that doesnt button around your midsection might not be the best attention-getter.

Lonnie Pacelli

Lonnie Pacelli has over 20 years leadership expertise as an executive, project manager, developer, tester, analyst, trainer, consultant, and business owner. During his 11 years at Accenture he built leadership expertise consulting with many Fortune 500 companies including Motorola, Hughes Electronics, and Northrop-Grumman. During his nine years at Microsoft he continued building leadership expertise through development of some of Microsoft?s internal systems, led their Corporate Procurement group, managed their Corporate Planning group, and led company-wide initiatives on Continuous Fiscal Improvement and Training Process Optimization. He has successfully implemented projects ranging from complex IT systems to process re-engineering to business strategies.

Lonnie is also the creator of the Leading on the Edge? Products which packages leadership expertise in helping today's leaders be more effective through practical skills assessment, action planning, and follow-up.

Lonnie is also the author of The Project Management Advisor: 18 Major Project Screw-Ups and How to Cut Them Off at the Pass (Prentice Hall, 2004). His next book, The Truth About Getting Your Point Across, is currently in the works and will be released through Prentice-Hall first quarter 2006.

Lonnie is also a partner with Ascend Business Solutions which specializes in back-office outsourcing, consulting, and providing leadership expertise for small businesses.