Avoid these job interview blunders.

• Position: Environment

Most people are on their best behavior when meeting with hiring managers, but some actions fall nothing short of bizarre. In a survey, Office-Team, Menlo Park, Calif., a staffing service specializing in the placement of administrative professionals, asked executives to recount the most embarrassing job interview moments they had heard of or witnessed. Following are some examples:

* "The candidate sent his sister to interview in his place"

* "The person was dancing during the interview. He kept saying things like, 'I love life!' and 'Oh yeah!'"

* "A job applicant came in for an interview with a parrot on her shoulder."

* "The candidate stopped the interview and asked me for a cigarette,"

* "We had one person who walked out of an interview into a glass door-and the glass shattered."

It is helpful to do your homework before a job interview, and the following job seekers would have benefited from more preparation.

* "The candidate got his companies confused and repeatedly mentioned the strengths of a competing firm, thinking that's who he was interviewing with."

* "A guy called me by the wrong name during the entire interview."

* "We're a retail company, and when we asked the candidate why she wanted to work for us, she said she didn't want to work in retail anymore:'

Most employers observe applicants' body language to see how friendly and honest they appear. These job candidates could have used some improvement in that area:

* "An...