Q: I am a postgraduate student in a research laboratory. Our manager recently hired another student, "Kevin," to do work similar to mine.

Now Kevin is trying to insert himself into my project. I don't know whether our manager is encouraging him to do this, but I don't like it. I am quite protective of this project, which is very high-profile.

I call Kevin the "Information Gatherer," because he asks questions constantly. As a private person, I find this intrusive. He has aligned himself with the "Queen Bee" of the lab, whom I personally dislike.

Because I don't trust these people, I try to keep my distance and avoid communicating with them. However, I'm starting to realize that this might make me seem difficult to work with, and Kevin could use that to his advantage.

I need to guard against Kevin's manipulative ways, but I don't want to sabotage myself. Can you help me?

A: By your own account, you are territorial and secretive about your work. You dislike your co-workers, assign them disparaging nicknames and avoid contact with them. Given all that, I believe your prediction is correct. You almost certainly will be labeled "difficult to work with," because you are.

However, now that you see the problem, you may be able to fix it. Instead of wasting energy on political plotting, you need to learn four fundamental workplace lessons.

First, guarded and defensive people rarely succeed in the long run. Shutting Kevin out of the project makes you appear immature and self-centered. A wiser course is to involve him in appropriate ways.

Second, failure to clarify management expectations can lead to nasty surprises at evaluation time. So you should find out if your boss wants Kevin to assist you.

Third, personal feelings should never contaminate professional relationships. Even if you don't like Kevin and the Queen Bee, you still need to be cooperative and pleasant.

Finally, people have different work styles. You prefer solitary pursuits, but Kevin seems to have a more gregarious nature. His questions may simply be an attempt at conversation.

Many bright, talented people self-destruct because they don't work well with others. If you continue down this path, you will hurt your career more than Kevin ever could.

Q: I'm not sure how much information to share during a job interview. When asked about negative aspects of my work experience, how should I respond?

A: Remember that every interviewer wants to screen out potential problem employees. So you must avoid saying anything that would raise a red flag.

Complaining about your workload will make you sound like a slacker. Griping about your boss will make you seem difficult to manage. But saying that you've had no problems sounds deceptive.

One solution is to turn negatives into positives. When asked to describe a setback, show how you resolved the problem. When discussing a difficult boss, explain how you learned to successfully work with that type of manager.

To make the best impression, rehearse possible answers ahead of time. A job interview is not the place to wing it.

- Marie G. McIntyre is an Atlanta-based workplace coach. Her weekly column is syndicated by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Send questions at www.yourofficecoach.com.