When we were kids, my father used to tell us, "the longer you live the more ding-a-lings you'll meet."

It was his way of preparing us for the real world. He believed that no matter how much common sense he and our mom tried to instill in us, there was no getting around the fact that some people just missed out on the common sense gene. My dad's ding-a-ling talk came in handy when one of my grade school teachers got busted growing a certain plant in her backyard or when the next-door neighbor failed to return the footballs that ended up on his side of the fence.

It also explains frivolous lawsuits, many politicians and most reality show contestants. And it explains this guy:

"This is a true story," my friend, an HR manager, told me, "We sat down with this kid, he's right out of college, and interviewing for his first job. He has a good resume, did well when I talked to him over the phone, and he looked the part. We started with small talk, we asked him a few things about his resume, and then we got into the meat of the interview. 'So tell us, what can you bring to our company?' You know, one of those strengths and weaknesses questions just to hear how he presents himself, standard stuff. He replied, 'Really, the
question is, what can your company do for me?'"

New college grad, no professional experience, first interview, and he says, "What can your company do for me?"

"We were stunned," my friend said. "Professionally, we had to continue with the interview. We gave him the standard lines about being an established company and giving our employees an opportunity to grow, blah, blah, blah. But the interview was done right then and there."

Ask a hiring manager for an interviewing horror story, and he or she is guaranteed to have at least one tale that comes to mind immediately. But my manager friend was not completely surprised by this completely over-confident interviewee. He goes to job fairs at local colleges where students ask him not only about his company and industry, but also about interviewing. "I don't know how many times I've told a student, 'be confident. You're marketing yourself to the interviewer.'" Perhaps some of them slightly miss the point.

Of course, there is confident and there is, as my dad says, being a ding-a-ling. I think it's safe to say that at no time did anyone of sound judgment give that job-seeker advice along the lines of, "Forget selling yourself. Ask them what's in it for you!"

Too much confidence can be a dangerous thing, especially for someone just starting out. But timid and unsure is not the answer, either. When asked, "What can you bring to our company?" no one wants an interviewee to respond with a shrug and a muffled "I dunno." In an interview, you are expected to talk yourself up, to highlight your skills and abilities, but not at the expense of common sense. Note your academic record, the practical applications learned at your internship, your interpersonal skills, and how you can apply all of this to the position you're interviewing for.

So, if the what-can-you-do-for-me guy had used that strategy instead of his original plan, the interview might have gone something like this:

"So tell us, what can you bring to our company?"

"Well, during my internship last summer, I worked on a project that was very similar to what I would be doing in this position. My supervisor, who is listed as one of my references, was very pleased with my performance. I'm sure I could hit the ground running here. I graduated in the top 10% of my class, and I tend to be a quick study. I'm eager to learn, willing to ask questions, and put in the time to get a project done effectively and on schedule."

With an answer like that, the interviewee has described himself as intelligent, a diligent worker, and—most importantly—by referencing his internship and his supervisor, he established that he has a quality professional reputation, even before he has his first job. He also showed some interpersonal skills and advanced the conversation. The interviewer would now have plenty to work with for follow-up questions: "Tell me about the internship." "What would your supervisor say about you?" "Give me an example of how you are a quick study."

If all goes well, interviewers will get around to telling you what the company can do for you without you having to ask. And hopefully you'll have at least a couple of offers to choose from.

And now is definitely not the time to be sabotaging yourself. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reports that starting salaries for new grads are climbing at a steady pace, and engineering and computer science majors are getting some of the higher wages. Computer science graduates earned an average of $51,292 based on the NACE Spring 2005 survey, and software design/development positions were starting at an average of $55,108.

Chemical engineers earned the most among the engineering disciplines, up 4.3% to $54,256. On the down side, computer engineering graduates saw a two percent decline, but still earned an average of $51,496.

It's enough to make you not want to be a ding-a-ling.