People hate insincerity, and Bush and other politicians reek of insincerity. Their refusal to honestly answer questions and give only their rehearsed, stonewalling answers is one of the primary reasons.

If I were to asks someone a question and he gives a stock answer that refuses to address the question, it only makes me angry. Do I want to hire someone who won't be honest with me?

People can smell insincerity. Being sincere doesn't mean giving everything away, but it does mean believing in what you say.

Over on the Brazen Careerist blog, Penelope Trunk has an informative post about the top five interview blunders. One of her blunders is not being prepared for a phone interview. Here are ten additional tips for mastering the phone interview…….

But you still have to let the interviewer take the lead. This means that you have to prepare to stretch your message to encompass more than the most simple kind of boasting.

For instance, if someone asks what your biggest mistake has been, you'd better not say that you tend to be too dedicated. This kind of bluff is too obvious and irritating.

Instead, you'd better come up with a real error. But if you prepare correctly, you can discuss one that you managed to correct and you can tell the interviewer what you learned from it.

In this way, you can exert some control but not total control.

I once had a client who told me to ask potential candidates what they did when the project went off the rails. He told me that if the candidate said no project goes off the rails to rule them out because they were liars.

Interviewers should think the candidate is truly serious and forward-thinking by asking these probing questions. While I can see how some interviewers might not want to answer some of them, that would be a good indicator that it's not a good place to work. If they can't be honest about what it is really like to work there, you don't want to work there.

I don't meet with a candidate face to face unless I love them from the phone interview. I will typically find out most if not all of what I need to know from the phone interview and won't waste my time on a face to face unless they nail the telephone interview.

I am simply shocked at what poor interviews candidates give. I am the hiring decision maker so by the time you get to me be sure that you have:

1. Done your research on the company.
2. Have your facts in front of you that prove your worth (successes, etc.) If you're in sales, know your stats - this shows that you're close to your numbers.
3. ASK insightful questions about the role, company, etc. Then take that info and use it to explain why YOU would be such a great fit for the role and detail what contributions you would make.
4. GO for the close and FOLLOW-UP with why I should hire you.

These seem like simple things that most, if not all professionals would/should know how to do but unfortunately I rarely see it and move on until I do.

"You’re not George W. Bush, though, so you can’t totally ignore questions that don’t have pat answers."

A digression from the thrust of the post, but perhaps interesting.

Linguists are of the view that Mr Bush is not into scripted answers which explains his bloopers, and malpropisms and not to forget, 'Bushisms'; in fact, linguistic analysis of the transcripts of 2000 elections show that it was Al Gore who deviated the least from his scripted lines which made him starchy and stiff as opposed to the general likeability of Mr Bush.

However post 2004, Mr Bush's documented blunders are remarkably reduced, which makes one wonder.

Perhaps in interviews too, it can be seen as aggressive to steer the conversation too much. If an employer does not like one's authenticity, perhaps it is NOT worth going into the potentially soul-destroying situation in the first place?

Thanks.