2. How could you guard against making each of the mistakes you listed in the question above? Most job seekers plan carefully for employment interviews. But occasionally an applicant blunders so spectacularly that his or her performance earns a place in the Communication Hall of Fame. The following true stories were reported by employment interviewers.

“A man who forgot dark socks to wear with his suit colored in his ankles with a black felt-tip marker.”

“The candidate said that by crossing the Maryland state line he was in violation of his probation but felt the interview was worth risking possible jail time.”

“A candidate was asked what person they would most like to meet, living or dead, and their response was the living one.”

“I was interviewing someone who took a cell-phone call and asked me to leave my office while they talked.”

“When a candidate was asked about his greatest accomplishment, he replied that it was writing a short novel. When the interviewer said, ‘No, I mean something you did while at work,’ the candidate replied, ‘But I did write it while at work!’ ”

No employer would hire an applicant who behaved so poorly in an interview. But job candidates do make less serious, though egregious, mistakes.

According to experts in the field, some of the most common blunders are arriving l ate being rude to other employees calling someone by the wrong name an error in résumé or cover letter referencing a p otential e mployer’s c ompetitor