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Every job candidate wants to know what to do to make a great first impression, but too often they end up doing things that turn interviewers off. And many may not even realize which off-handed remark or behavior cost them the job.

In a Q&A with DiversityInc, Debra Herd, staffing director of learning for Comerica Bank, No. 37 in The 2007 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity^®, tells you how to make a killer first impression, how to leverage your networks to find a job, and how she got to where she is today.

Click the audio icon to listen to Herd's critical advice for job candidates.

Herd is responsible for Comerica's leadership training, attracting and recruiting top talent, motivating employees to perform at a higher level and then getting that talent to stay with the bank, all with the goal of improving financial success for the company.

Read 5 Job Interview Do's and Don'ts for more advice on how to handle the interview.

DIVERSITYINC: What are some of the most important things you would look for in a job candidate? What do you evaluate as "good" and "bad" qualities?

DEBRA HERD: The first one is do they meet basic qualifications. A lot of people think that they can get by that. That's true to a point, but there are still basic qualifications for a job. After that I look for passion. Are they enthused about their role, their skill sets, themselves? Do they look forward every day to a new challenge, and how do they communicate that? Is it with reservation, is it with energy? How does that come across? That tells us a lot about a job candidate. So it's "Are you qualified, are you passionate about what you're going to be asked to do, and how do you communicate that commitment and that energy?"

DIVERSITYINC: Has a candidate ever done something in an interview to completely turn you off?

HERD: You wouldn't believe some of the basic things that still happen: They still get your company name wrong, meaning they call you something that you're absolutely not. That just means they're interviewing so much that they've forgotten who they're talking to. Also, a basic thing is they forget the role that they're playing … they forget that they're the interviewee and they make perhaps inappropriate comments and they regret later that they said, "I really don't like coming in early," or "I really don't get along with my team." There are some basic things that you want to wait until you get to know your recruiter better before you start sharing.

Non-committal answers given during the recruiting process: "Well, I don't know." Do you like a team atmosphere? "On occasion." Those kinds of answers put doubts in the employers' mind as to where you fall within the team structure. It's hard for them to construct a winning environment for you if you can't give us that commitment as to what your preferences are.

Non-responsiveness is another one: Not calling back, not following up with an e-mail, not being there in a timely basis, and that always makes us wonder if that's symptomatic of your project-management skills or other skills later.

Then there's just general lack of energy and enthusiasm. If it's not there, that's the only glimpse of you that we have and we have to wonder, "Does that apply in all respects?"

Have a smile in your voice, so if you're on a telephone interview, that is key. If it's a face-to-face interview or a meeting or a lunch, be prepared to talk about yourself. Be prepared to talk about your accomplishments and why you are important. So many people are just not prepared to do that. It just amazes me every day when you ask people and they struggle through those answers. To me, a candidate who can come in and nail that first, you know they're on the right track no matter what job it is. Be prepared and know yourself.

DIVERSITYINC: What are some successful tips and strategies for finding a job? What can young people do early on to plant the seeds for a successful career?

HERD: For young people, there's such a structured methodology to their job search because typically, they're coming out of some educational environment so they have a very structured and strong campus network. That could be high school or technical school or a university campus, so I would lean on that network because they have the resources, tools and people to launch you into a career world. You also have all of those various social, fraternal and professional networks to help you during that period of your life. Absolutely, lean on them. A lot of young people have taken those for granted and are not really using them to the fullest extent of a career network.

There's so many other things that they could do, now with the online social networks, the online professional networks, which is a whole other world, but because young people today are so bonded to their parents' network, [they can say], "Hey Dad, hey Mom, I need to know who in your network can help me with this, and I will be the professional and contact them directly to see what's going on and introduce myself." For a young person, there are some very structured ways to make that happen that yield success.

For the mid-career professional, it's still who you know and your personal and professional networks, and now you have more of a professional membership into something. For me, it's my whole HR network; it's my retail network; it's my vendor network. It's many pockets of different people that I can pull together to collaborate to find out what fits me based on my skill set, based on my style and personality that they would recommend. It's the people who have known me that's the reason I've had my last two careers.  

DIVERSITYINC: What would you recommend for a shy individual who has trouble putting him or herself out there?

HERD: If you're of an introverted nature, great. I don't think that's going to present any issues for you at all because you do have those social networks like LinkedIn, like Facebook, like MySpace that can help you network, but even more than that, there are very safe environments that you can go to. If you're an accountant, go to the Accounting Professional Society and just list yourself as a member and participate in the e-mail exchange and participate in a focus group where you don't have to be at risk socially. Instead you're participating in a professional way, and sooner or later, behold, you develop your network.  

DIVERSITYINC: What was the best piece of advice a mentor gave you?

HERD: Know who you are; don't sacrifice that. Make true on your promises, whatever that promise is. If you're going to promise a project, a deliverable, set a realistic timetable and then live up to that timetable. Deliver the savings you promised with that project, and if you can't, then dig deep enough to admit the reason and the why and take full accountability. Those are hard lessons that you learn and you learn them a little bit at a time throughout your career, and then all of a sudden the light comes on. "If I plan accordingly and have realistic expectations of myself and my team, then it can happen on a consistent basis, and then all of a sudden you're delivering beyond expectations." 

Very often, especially when you have a strong boss or a strong peer group, even a strong subordinate team, there are tendencies to take on those personalities, especially if those personalities are on winning teams. For instance, if you have a very strong, driving-personality type of boss, it's very common for that subordinate to take on that personality and I've been guilty of that many times. Then something happens that perhaps the result that came in wasn't as good as what you expected, and it's usually because it wasn't your style, it wasn't your way of getting things, and your people are confused or your project team is confused and you have to go back and rethread relationships because they didn't know who you were.

For me, I know who I am. I stick to that style because that style has worked for me and I articulate what that style is up front. My team members know it, my peers know it, and I'm very upfront with my boss. This is who you hired; I'm not that. I'm not my predecessor who was phenomenally smart. I'm kind of smart, but I'm really good at execution, so is that good enough? You get that confirmation up front.  

DIVERSITYINC: What is your most important "rule for success"?

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