h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

...specifically, a technical interview, since I'm an engineer (electrical). I've had a few myself, and had prepatory mock interview type stuff, but I'm curious about other's experiences. Any hints, suggestions?

Find out about the company's products. Know the basics on how they'll work (ie mobile phones -> radio, modulation types etc). If you're going be to faced with jargon or acronyms try and find out what the common ones are before, but don't be afraid to ask for clarification.
Things not to do are NOT to know about the basic theory/design ideas for whatever the company does. Don't tell them you know exactly where to look it up in the book. (Yep I've done both, it didn't work!)

This is a touch late now, but there you go...

Bluff and Lie. This starts at the CV stage. Try to intimate that you have a huge amount of expertise in a field they know nothing about, but fancy a change of field, because it bores you. Example: "Well I spent 2 years with Natwest, researching Game Theory and it's application to financial decisions, paying particular attention to the application of Hillinger's Equation. But that bored me, so now I've come here to flip burgers for you." Don't EVER make the mistake of reading up on relevant knowledge. You're limitations will be quickly discovered. If, on the other hand, you claim to never have heard of the topic, then anything you do know will make you sound very broad and well-read.

Always start every sentence with "I believe". This allows you to say things that are either false or true, and you get all the kudos of giving right answers, with none of the downsides of giving wrong answers. This also makes you seem modest and human, which is necessary because the previous steps will make you seem a staggering genius. Being humble also makes them think you won't ask for a huge raise and long vacations, which makes you the "value" option. Ha! Fools!

Do all the dull stuff like wearing a tie, remembering names, picking tall chairs, and making steeples and other "confident" gestures. Make a little joke at the start of the interview to put them at ease. Even better, spend 30 minutes chatting about non-technical (true) stuff, thus increasing the chance that they learn nothing about your abilities, and give you the job by default.

Get VERY excited about the job. Interrupt their explanation of it with many questions. Remember, the longer they are explaining the job, the less time they're asking you tricky questions. Always make out that this job would give you multiple orgasms just by being accepted. Play down any other interviews you have - someone who only applies to three jobs is someone who is confident of his employability.

Read something like New Scientist on the day, and scan for relevant entries. Chances are your interviewers will be too busy doing their jobs to read it, so if you mention the story you have the perfect opportunity to move the conversation to a topic where you know more than them. Nobody likes to turn someone down more intelligent than them, provided they are humble.

Your Mileage May Vary....