well, there are plenty of other things you shouldn't say at a job interview, but these are a good start

Common sense 101, it seems!

I would love to be a hiring director just to see the idiots that do ask stupid questions like these, though.

#4 might not be too bad.

I always have days ready I need to take off (although I was interviewing for 4 month internship) to let them know you are on top of your plans.

That way I was able to say 'Yes, I will be there everyday except days 2-3 months from now, which I already know'.

Makes you seem like you are on top of things.

Though, again, I was interviewing for a internship, where a few days off from 3-4 months make a difference.

@no.no.notorious: "Who is the hottie at the big desk in the corner office?"

What is your sexual harassment policy?

I've been told not to say "I want to start my own business someday". Y/N?

@ffmariners: Well, as Douglas Adams so eloquently put it...

"The last time anybody made a list of the top hundred character attributes of New Yorkers, common sense snuck in at number 79".

Of course, it applies to humanity in general.

I thought we all learned from the Weather Channel that the #1 thing not to ask is "Will you lick my swizzle stick?"

wait didn't Geroge Carlin have a bit on this? Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, CockSucker, MotherFucker, and Tits?

Forgot about salary, shouldnt talk about specific salary numbers unless the interviewer ties your hands. Typically something along the lines of "Comiserate with experence and job duties" is enough.

@wring: I could see that being a problem if they are looking for LT-ers. But for a job that is EXPECTING their employees to be ST... I don't know if that would be a problem.

The last company I worked for... they know they are a launch pad for many people so they probably wouldn't care. The company I work at now... the average time a person in upper management has been there is like 18 years. So I would not tell them I intend to leave :p

Whenever the interviewer asks me if I have any questions, I typically throw these out:

Why was the position vacated?
What is a typical day like for someone in this position?
What is the atmosphere like in the office on a day-to-day basis?

I think these are good, general questions that you can ask for pretty much any job you're interviewing for.

I actually just started my current job 3 months ago and I beat out several close friends who had also applied for and interviewed for it. One of them spent the entire interview complaining about her present job. Another HUGE no-no.

"Do y'all have a no shoes and socks policy?"
"Do y'all care if I scoot in around 10ish?"
"Do y'all have a snack machine? If I miss my 2:30 SuzieQ I go apeshit!"
Anything with "Y'all" in it.

You're dumb if you say any of them but #3. That's pretty common.

A simple Google search of your company can give you some background information about them, and think of questions.

Of course, if you really aren't interested in that particular company, and just want to punch your ticket for unemployment, here ya go.

Don't say Doing your wife don't say Doing your wife

Doing your....son?

@MissPeacock: I have asked similar ones.

"What is the manager's style?"
"What type of deadlines are there?"
"What types of opportunities for advancement are there?"

Basically, you should come across as if you are interviewing THEM just as much as they are interviewing you. Ask questions that would help you decide whether the job/environment is a good fit for you personally.

Yo, how much you bitches pay to start out? Cuz I ain't playin wit makin no chump change up in here yo...

Never say "I have to check with mother first".

Creepy-ass Norman Bates wannabe.

The shoe's on the other foot for the lords of the manor. While this may be a buyer's market for acquiring talent, far too many firms are taking a view from circa 1958, where an employee should be honored and groveling to work for the organization. It's interesting, considering in the next few years, there will be a significant disparity between Baby Boomers leaving the workforce and Generation X and Y looking to advance.

I posted this several months ago, but I think it still rings true….

Having been through the interview circuit in recent years -- mainly to leverage my academic and professional accomplishments at that particular time - here are 12 handy tidbits for HR professionals:

1. In the phone screen, nothing is more aggravating than answering questions for the screener, only to hear the clickety-clack of the keyboard in the background. They invented paper and shorthand long before the computer. Even if you're Mavis Beacon, you're not going to catch everything I said by fiddling with your computerized interview system.

2. If one has a candidate traveling from out-of-town for an interview, try not to arrange it in the middle of the week. Candidates do end up burning a vacation day if they're traveling for an interview, and it's nice to keep the disruption to a minimum. I personally prefer interviewing on a Monday, because it does give the opportunity to check out the potential city on Sunday.

3. If an out-of-town candidate is being brought in, please try to get that candidate a rental car. It gives the candidate the chance to check out the city and get a feel for the metro location, and doesn't confine them to the hotel room like Andy Dufresne.

4. Speaking of the hotel, make sure it's centrally billed (same for the rental car and plane tickets). Nothing is more gauche than having the candidate pay for the room on their credit card, only to chase down the reimbursement check later.

5. If an interview schedule of interviewers and titles is available, please send it beforehand, and make sure the listed individuals are actually going to BE THERE that day. It allows the candidate to customize any questions they have about the position to that interviewer. Having to rearrange the schedule six times on the day of the interview because of vacations, last minute meetings, presentations, et al, is a pretty good indicator your organization doesn't have a clue.

6. If the hiring manager is making or intent on making fundamental changes in the group, please do not have "old guard" members on the interview list. They have their turf to defend, and will sabotage any candidates they view as a threat to their job stability.

7. If a candidate is being taken to lunch, places that involve ribs are not recommended. Neither are sports bars, pizza joints, and Denny's (the latter really happened to me once).

8. Because a candidate cannot go into absolute specifics about the current job, it's not because the candidate is being evasive, it's because one may have a confidentiality agreement with the incumbent company. Although one may be looking to leave, it's still a matter of ethics and professionalism. You would expect the potential employee to safeguard your organization's intellectual property and trade secrets.

9. The question "tell me about yourself," is the lamest and most unoriginal question in the history of humanity. ("Where do you see yourself in five years" is a close second.) Interviewers should be sent to an interview skills class before talking to any candidate. Try to show a shred of originality and ask job-specific or problem solving-specific questions, instead of asking about greatest strengths and weaknesses…oops…areas for improvement.

10. Innocent questions regarding relocation requirements are borderline illegal. You may want to dig in your desk drawer (probably sandwiched between the orientation book and the benefits manual from three years ago) and check that handy guide to legal/illegal questions. Oh, and don't play that cost-of-living card as an excuse to lowball on salary. We have access to the same data you have (and probably other sources you don't have).

11. I follow up with a written thank you note and an email within days of the interview, and THAT'S IT. I am a professional and not a stalker. I am not a bill collector or mafia loan shark either. If there's an expense report, pay it promptly (four months after the fact does not count as prompt). If a company is rude or unprofessional to a candidate, it will get out. Vault.com is a great place for horror stories.

12. If the decision is made not to hire a candidate, send a note for closure as a matter of professional courtesy. A stamp is $0.42 and email is free. Personally, I'm not going to cry myself to sleep because you didn't hire me.

@silencedotcom: I disagree. (It's a common mistake, maybe.) It might not kill your chances as badly as other missteps, but you should still ask questions.

i thought assuming the sale was a good thing

@amyschiff: Stuff like that also gives the interviewer something to chew on. It shows a bit of enthusiasm. Which is important for engineering jobs.

@ffmariners: If it's common sense there would be no '101'. '101' refers to a basic University or College course which in turn suggest that it is not common sense at all.

Try asking things like:

When can I expect to hear back from you?
Can I contact you?
Are there many people competing for this job?
Is there anything I could have done better in the interview?

They indicate that you are interested while not asking or presuming you got the job. They are 'self' focused so they should be asked after the organizational questions.

I can't believe they didn't mention not showing up to the interview wearing the skinned flesh of ten abandoned babies while revving your chainsaw.

Everyone knows that's for follow up interviews.

@PHX602: "10. Innocent questions regarding relocation requirements are borderline illegal."

How is that illegal, or even borderline illegal?

As somebody who interviews.

My biggest pet peeve goes out to you younger people. Do not have a custom ring tone that i have to hear. I don't know what company it is but they have it so the caller hears the ring tone as well. It's unprofessional bottom line.

If you show up in disheveled attire you loose a lot of points take some pride in yourself and wear nice clothes.

@rjgnyc

Only ten? You're no professional...

Compensation questions are always tricky ones to answer and generally not good questions ask either.

When someone comes into our interview wearing jeans, they automatically lose my recommendation. Two guys have actually worn caps and not even taken it off during the questioning.

Our job posting have detailed information regarding salary and duties. It irks me when they ask how much they'll get paid and said, "I don't know" when we ask what they think the job will entail based on the information in the posting.

The absolute best, though, is when people say 1) they have no weaknesses or 2) perfectionism is their weakness. I love it.

Do tell them things about yourself that they can't ask, but would like to know. Like: married? have kids? This helped me get my current job because they wanted someone who would like to live in a smaller, family-friendly city and would be willing to settle down there.

If you get an interview, you've met the basic requirements for the job, they just want to know if you can think on your feet and if your personality meshes well with theirs. Keep this in mind during the interview. Be yourself. Don't be nervous. Dress a little better than the people working there.

I was recently interviewed for a full-time position at the place I'm temping at. What would you say when they ask if you have any questions in that situation? I already know what the job entails and what the boss is like - I've been doing the job for two months! Got the job anyway but I felt silly when I didn't have any questions to ask...

"Will I have access to the Consumerist website?" & "Where the white women at?"

@chenry: A family friend was telling me that some kids out of college have been bringing their parents to interviews (or maybe it's the other way around). And this isn't absolute bottom of the barrel starter jobs either, his specific example was an entry-level engineer position at 3M.

Those candidates were IMMEDIATELY put at the end of the list. I assume the hiring manager felt if a person can't be trusted to interview without mommy, they can't be trusted to work without her. But shit, I figure she might bring cookies for the whole office every week. Maybe meatloaf too.

Also, don't be a total freakshow.

@Balisong: I have to assume they only asked if you had any questions just in case. I don't think anyone can reasonably expect questions when you're just trying to get the same job full time.

Ask for the job at the end of the interview. Show them that you want it.

@Skankingmike:

You make a couple good points.

1) Make sure to shut the cell phone off. I always left mine in the car when interviewing last year.

2) Look presentable. You don't need to go out and drop $500+ on a suit and you don't need a different colored suit for each interview either. For men out of college, one from Men's Warehouse or equivalent will do just fine.

Most employers don't care and are sympathetic to recent college grads for example that you don't have an extensive wardrobe. You probably don't want to work for them if your clothing inventory is a qualification. Just make sure to have a few different color ties though.

3) Don't be someone your not. Everyone wants the job, but try and be as genuine and honest as you can. It will benefit both you and your future employer.

@orielbean: I don't like to seem too desperate. Anything over ten shows that you're trying too hard.

----
On a serious note, a more useful article would be "things to say", not "things not to say"

At least the first list would be shorter and more helpful for those with common sense.

People didn't know this stuff? Thanks for giving away my edge on the competition, cnn.

"Yo, dog, what floor the hos work on?"

@Jesse: I don't even think you need a suit. A black sport coat that fits you well is all you need. I always go dark (not black) dress slacks, freshly pressed shirt, no tie and black sport coat. Ties look too stuffy on youths.

Usually I ask questions all through the interview so at the end they always asked "Any questions" and I would just ask for a recap on a few points, even if I knew it already.

Best advice I can say.

9. "Is this a pants optional workpalce?"

I can't believe someone being INTERVIEWED would ask #6. Interviewees I talk to really want to avoid those topics, but it's the employers who always bring them up. I have pretty decent interviewing chops and I have never interviewed for a job and not gotten it, but those religious and political questions give me the cold sweats during interviews.

Even the individuals at my last job who agreed with our employer's leanings (think Jesus Camp, but more conservative!) said they felt uncomfortable during those talks.

One of my standard questions when I am interviewing is "What do you like least about your current job". One time, an interviewee said "I hate to say it, but its working with women". I kid you not.

He was the best worker we ever had.

I'm kidding! (Obviously, we didn't hire him)

I know this sounds silly, but bring a damn PEN. When someone asks to fill out an application, and needs a pen, we give them a pencil, that way we know they came unprepared. Yes its childish and hokey, but it does work.....

@rjgnyc: That starts probing into what you have for a family, living situation, etc. Depending on what is required for relo, you're at a disadvantage if you're married with kids and a house than if you're single and rent.

I had an interview once and the weakness question came up. I said "kryptonite" to get the laugh, and then followed up with a serious answer. (And I honestly answer with dyslexia)