(FORTUNE Magazine) – DEAR ANNIE: I just came from an interview for a job I want very badly, and I may have made a big mistake. The interviewer asked me what my salary was in my last job. I left there largely because I felt underpaid, so I gave a figure that is much higher than what I actually made. What if I get this new job and they find out I lied? Is exaggerating past pay grounds for dismissal? CONTRITE IN CLEVELAND

DEAR CONTRITE: Pardon me for saying so, but that was really dumb. First, to answer your direct question: James Challenger, executive vice president of Chicago outplacement and career counseling firm Challenger Gray & Christmas, says that while lying is never a good idea, telling fibs about your past compensation "isn't as egregious as other whoppers people commonly tell, such as claiming to hold degrees they never got. Faking an education is definitely grounds for firing." Challenger adds that if your new bosses find out you inflated your previous salary, they probably won't sack you--but almost as bad, they'll probably never entirely trust you again, either.

Next time you go to a job interview, remember that this time around you mishandled the whole pay issue--but then, so do most people. Says Challenger: "One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is talking about money too early in the interview process." Instead of blurting out a number, "you want to deflect the question of exactly what you earned before by steering the conversation back to the new job. Say something like, 'I'm looking for the right opportunity, where I can make an impact. I'm open to whatever the salary range is here, and I'm sure you'll be fair.' " If you give the interviewer a salary figure, and it is higher than what he or she had in mind, you may price yourself out of the job--while lowballing it may cost you, if the prospective employer had been expecting to pay more. Either way, you lose.

Obviously, the subject of money has to come up sometime. When? After you get offered the job, and not a minute sooner. "Once they've decided they want you, there is almost always some 'wiggle room' on pay," Challenger says. "And after you've impressed them enough to make them select you from among the other candidates, you are in a position of power." Always a nice place to be.

DEAR ANNIE: Help! My boss is 28 years old, very enthusiastic, and never shuts up. Unfortunately we occupy the same office. I am often unable to complete my assignments because he carries on a running monologue, demanding answers to questions like "How much do you think this chair cost?" Yesterday I had to take a report out to my car in order to finish it on time. What can I do? QUIET PLEASE

DEAR QP: Can't you get a different office? Even a converted broom closet would be better than working in your car. Failing that, you are just going to have to get tough with this guy. Barbara Hannah, an executive coach in Atlanta, notes that as your boss, he has a vested interest in making sure you get your work done; so don't be shy about pointing this out to him. "Next time he interrupts you with this stream-of-consciousness chatter, put your work down, look him in the eye, and say very calmly, 'Jim, you're the boss, so it is your choice. Do you want me to keep stopping what I'm doing to talk with you, or do you want me to get these reports done on time'--and don't end with a question mark," says Hannah. She warns that he may not pipe down on the first request--"he is obviously trying to get some personal need met" by talking so much--so keep repeating your little speech, word for word, until he gets the point. If he still doesn't respond, get a new boss. Why spend your life carting stuff out to the parking lot?

DEAR ANNIE: I just started a great new job with a young, growing company where I will be the whole training department. I've been told that if I do well, I'll be promoted quickly. I've always succeeded before by following all the standard advice (document my achievements, copy higher-ups, ask for feedback, and so on). Do you have any other suggestions? SKY'S THE LIMIT

DEAR SKY: Congratulations. Now take a look at a fascinating new book by Robert E. Kelley called How to Be a Star at Work: Nine Breakthrough Strategies You Need to Succeed (Times Books, $25). Kelley, a professor at Carnegie Mellon, has spent years studying how people become stars at places like 3M, Hewlett-Packard, and Merck. He's concluded that most people, including some of the brightest and best qualified, don't grasp the nine essential elements of stardom and hence waste time and energy barking up the wrong tree.

Average performers, Kelley says, show initiative by finding ways to do their current job better, or volunteering to do little extras like organizing the company picnic. Those things are fine--but don't spend so much time on them that you neglect to look for new ideas that might make a measurable difference in your company's performance. Another tip: Choose carefully whom you hang out with. Kelley says average performers think they can get ahead by socializing with the boss. Again, nothing wrong with that--but, in between golf dates with the Big Guy, don't forget to forge strong relationships with the knowledge mavens in your company, those often obscure but powerful people who can help you figure out faster, better ways to do critical tasks.

A word of good news from Kelley for those of us with chronically (or is that comically?) cluttered offices: As long as you know where everything is, don't waste time straightening up. Nobody cares.