05 Jan Honesty & The Interview Process – Don’t Bluff, Tell It Like It Is
If you have not put the pieces of the puzzle together yet based upon my recent series of blogs, I am a big fan of honesty. Flubbing the truth I believe will almost always, if not always, rear its nasty teeth and bite you where it hurts. Luckily for me, 99% of the candidates that I have worked with over the years are honest, truthful, hard working folks who get it, but every once in a while that 1% shows itself. Here are the common areas where candidates tend to blurry things up a bit during the interview process:
A. Discussing job changes. If you were fired, please just say you were fired. Tell why you were fired, what you learned from it, and how you changed as a result. If you are a better person for it people will recognize that. Don’t pull the old “I was laid off” trick if you were really fired. Someone will always find out.
B. Qualifications. Don’t pretend to be something you are not. Just because you take the train to work every day does not qualify you as an train engineer. Understand the scope of your experience, what you have accomplished, what your strengths are, where you are weak, and where you would like to improve…and be prepared to have an honest conversation about that.
C. Compensation. If you are making a salary of $100,000/year do not write on your application or tell the recruiter or hiring manager that you are making a $110,000/year so receiving an offer of $120,000 seems more plausible. If you are making $100,000, rather tell the truth, and then express the value that you can bring to an organization that would justify an offer of $120,000.
There are numerous other scenarios where being “shady” can be detrimental to your career and your ability to be hired, as these are just a few. Whatever the case, please don’t be that 1%.
Have you ever interviewed someone who was squirming in their seat as an “untruth” flowed off of their lips? If so, please share!
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