Spring is interview season for aspiring presidents, provosts, and deans. It's when search consultants spend a lot of time sitting in meeting rooms at airport hotels watching candidates engage with hiring committees in the ritual dance of the preliminary interview. Even after 15 years of that, the author is constantly surprised by the approaches and tactics that candidates think will provide them with a winning edge--but that inevitably produce the opposite result. Presented here are the top 10 interview techniques that backfire on administrative candidates when they meet with search committees. These include: (10) Eschewing graciousness; (9) Not dressing the part; (8) Overzealousness in showing one's stuff; (7) Handing out material during the interview; (6) Excessive seriousness...or excessive levity; (5) Ignoring the obvious; (4) Telling the search-committee members what the candidate thinks they want to hear; (3) Not signaling a desire for the job; (2) Talking, talking, and then more talking; and finally at No. (1) Not acting like a leader. Search committees are equally apt to do things that, while seeming sensible and advisable, are actually counterproductive.