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&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span&gt;Q: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Even though I have a strong resume, I get nervous and awkward during interviews. This, compounded with the recession, is really hampering my ability to regain employment.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Here&amp;#8217;s an example:&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;About two weeks ago, I went on an interview for a consultant position at a major airline. At first, I met with an HR assistant and we did the standard Q&amp;amp;A. I was doing pretty well (for me), until she asked where I saw myself in five years, and I totally blanked.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I don&amp;#8217;t know where I see myself in five years, and it&amp;#8217;s not like this question hasn&amp;#8217;t come up before, but I had no answer. So, there was a sort of sputter and then I ended up saying something generic that referenced my being able to work for this company. The rest of the interview went okay and she took me around to meet a few people in the Consulting department. Well, we get to the third guy and as he&amp;#8217;s turning around to be introduced, he sneezes into his hand which he then offers me! I couldn&amp;#8217;t shake it after he&amp;#8217;d just sneezed on it&amp;#8230;and that probably sealed the deal with regard to my not getting hired. How can I take control of interviews and get across that I am qualified to take on the position?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Signed,&lt;br&gt;Am I Hopeless?&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span&gt;A:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span&gt; Dear Hopeless, first of all, no, you&amp;#8217;re not. Secondly, I wouldn&amp;#8217;t want to shake the hand of someone who had just sneezed all over it, either, but sometimes you just have to suck it up and cringe unnoticeably. As an intern, I have never conducted an interview, but I&amp;#8217;ve been to many of them, and I would say that if, minus the handshake bit, your only other interview &amp;#8220;faux-pas&amp;#8221; was blanking out, you&amp;#8217;re okay this time. I&amp;#8217;d suggest checking out Vault&amp;#8217;s Interview Questions to get an idea of both the types of questions and how to handle mess-ups. Good luck, and please let me know how your next interview goes!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;--Posted by Sophie Friedman, Vault Web Content Intern&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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