To be honest or to tell the interviewer what they want to hear? (employed, tips)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
After reading the I acted as my own professional reference thread was quite interesting with all the different responses. I saw this post from Koale
Quote:
The best advise I was ever given was this...when your employer asks for your 'honest opinion', don't give it to them. Tell them what they want to hear regardless of what it may be, lie if you have to. Employers never listen to the truth.'
What do you do when you are in an interview? Do you want to tell the interviewer what they want to hear or to be honest with them? Usually it seems like they have a certain answer they want to hear for each question. If you don't give them the right answer you are kind of screwed.
I need help with the interview process so any tips you can give would be helpful. Thanks
I think to advise LYING is very dangerous territory... it's one thing to say what they want to hear, but one can do that without telling outright lies. For example, I have a tendency to talk too much (shocker, huh? ), but if asked about one of my greatest weaknesses, I could say "I'm so outgoing and friendly, sometimes I linger too long with one patron, as I want to give them the best customer service possible." See how I didn't lie, but rather turned a negative into a positive?
Thinking about it further, there are some instances where a "white lie" is in your best interest... like if they ask if you're extremely punctual, just say yes, even if you're known to be late from time to time. But I'd never recommend lying about big things, like your experience, education, or what you are capable of achieving. Those kind of lies can and will bite you in the butt eventually. Just make sure that if you do tell lies, whether big or small, you can back them up with your performance if hired.
Thanks for responding that's some great advice. I would never want to lie to a future employer it would look bad. So I need to figure out ways to give them the answer they want without lying about it.
Just giving an interviewer what they want to hear is awful advice. Be honest if you want to get somewhere. Are you trying to progress your career or just get a job? If you just want a job, go ahead and lie. If you want a career and you want a shot at progressing, be honest.
Always be honest. If you lie about your skills or abilities, and you do get hired, it can come back to bite you once you're on the job. When I'm interviewing someone, I'd rather hear that they don't have a certain skill, but can explain how they have done similar work and demonstrate a willingness to learn, rather than have them tell me yes and then find out after I hire them that they don't know what they are doing.
Also, those of us who do interviews on a regular basis can usually spot a b.s. answer; we can tell when someone is sincere or when they are giving us an answer that they think we want to hear.
After reading the I acted as my own professional reference thread was quite interesting with all the different responses. I saw this post from Koale
What do you do when you are in an interview? Do you want to tell the interviewer what they want to hear or to be honest with them? Usually it seems like they have a certain answer they want to hear for each question. If you don't give them the right answer you are kind of screwed.
I need help with the interview process so any tips you can give would be helpful. Thanks
If you have no job why would you not tell a interviewer what they want to hear???????????????
Rigorous honesty means practicing answers sometimes. So you can both be "honest" and say what they want to hear.
I'd rather be a "white lie" employed person than an "honest" bum in the rain.
That is why HR should do an academic background check and confirm with the references. Then on the job training should follow. Then if that doesn't work job reassignment and re-training should be in order.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tober138
Always be honest. If you lie about your skills or abilities, and you do get hired, it can come back to bite you once you're on the job. When I'm interviewing someone, I'd rather hear that they don't have a certain skill, but can explain how they have done similar work and demonstrate a willingness to learn, rather than have them tell me yes and then find out after I hire them that they don't know what they are doing.
Also, those of us who do interviews on a regular basis can usually spot a b.s. answer; we can tell when someone is sincere or when they are giving us an answer that they think we want to hear.
If you are not "you" during the interview process it may end up being a poor match resulting in a short term job that will not look good on your resume regardless.
Never ever ever X infinity speak about a current or previous employer negatively, unless you can pull it off in a very subtle way during a conversation the interviewer brings up.
Fake it if you desperately need a job, however, it can be too risky to fake it if you want a career with an organization or company you plan/hope to stay with. You want them to want to hire you for who you are and your skill set. They expect you to be the person you presented on paper and interviews.
It is a tight market out there and a tight rope to balance on.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
), but if asked about one of my greatest weaknesses, I could say "I'm so outgoing and friendly, sometimes I linger too long with one patron, as I want to give them the best customer service possible." See how I didn't lie, but rather turned a negative into a positive?
Just make sure that if you do tell lies, whether big or small, you can back them up with your performance if hired.
