By Jackie Simmonds, NEJS Blog Editor

I ran across this article written by Adriana Gardella that reminds all of us that our interviewing skills need to be polished.  Let’s face it; none of us has enough interview experience to have the entire process down pat.  More often than not we interview sporadically and in the time between interviews we are not practicing.  Anyone who has ever tried to learn golf or any other sport for that matter knows that you can never become great at something you only do once in a while.

What can you do to make the process as smooth as possible?  Prepare.  Understand the questions that are most likely to be asked.  Practice your answers.  Practice in front of others.  And try not to make the common mistakes that Adriana points out in her article.

Mistake #1: Drop your guard in front of “the help.”

Interviewing is stressful. Sometimes you just want to explode. But don’t. At least not in front of anyone who could influence the hiring decision.

Employers know that job seekers interact with receptionists and other support staffers — often with their guards down. “They don’t see those people as decision makers, so they tend to be more genuine in their interactions with them,” says Ron Panaggio. But employers routinely ask these employees for feedback. “We like to see whether the interview persona matches the unscripted » Read more: Interviews: Seven Ways to Flunk