Here is an article written by Dave Johnson for CBS MoneyWatch, the CBS Interactive Business Network. To check out an abundance of valuable resources and obtain a free subscription to one or more of the website’s newsletters, please click here.

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(MoneyWatch) The job interview is the gold ring at the end of the rainbow, to mix a few metaphors. It’s when the hard work of writing and sending resumes, then conducting phone interview after phone interview finally pays off. All that’s left is to turn your day with HR and the hiring manager into an actual job offer.

Tech blog Lifehacker recently interviewed HR pros to find out about the biggest interview mistakes they’ve seen. Their feedback is instructive — be sure to check out what they have to say and keep it in mind the next time you head off for a job interview.

[Here are the first two of the four mistakes he discusses.]

Interviewees who don’t know when to shut up. Be careful not to talk over your interviewer or leave space for him or her to respond. A huge mistake is to talk too much and not demonstrate that you have the ability to actively listen.

Folks who trash-talk their last employers. Remember your mom’s advice about “if you don’t have anything to say, don’t say anything at all?” It is absolutely true at a job interview. It’s a measure of professionalism and maturity to be able to walk away from your last job and only talk about the positives. Never gripe about your last manager or the company’s policies or procedures.

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Dave Johnson is editor of eHow Tech and author of three dozen books, including the best-selling How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera. Dave has previously worked at Microsoft and has written about technology for a long list of magazines that include PC World and Wired.