Is it ok to name actual customer company names during an interview?
For example, can I say I programmed a system for "Raytheon", or do I have to say "a customer"
I was working as an OEM in a past job, and was involded with a major project that was for Raytheon. Raytheon directly contracted the company I was working for. I was project manager, and want to use it as an example of my significant accomplishments for an upcoming interview.
Hi!
There's no reason not to mention your customer - just don't let anyone have the impression that you work for them rather than your employer. That is disingenuous and interviewers take a dim view of it.
Wendii
Yes, but watch out for confidentiality
There's no problem whatsoever, in general, in naming names when saying who you've done work for -- it gives the interviewer a better idea of what environments you've worked in, and can add some prestige. Obviously, as Wendii says, you've got to make it clear that you were contracted to them, rather than directly employed, but that's usually a matter of adding or changing a couple of words ("I contracted to X via Y", rather than "I worked for X").
The only risk involved is where your employer, or the customer (or, more usually, both) want to keep the existence or nature of their relationship confidential. Usually you should be aware of this by the nature of the contract, or the general philosophy of your employer or the industry you're in, but I did once very nearly shoot myself in the foot by assuming that a contractual relationship was all out in the open when in actual fact both parties wanted to keep the existence of the contracted relationship quiet (it wasn't in the context of an interview, or hiring, though). My antennae were retuned after that incident, and I've never had any problems picking up on the confidentiality vibe since then.