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A couple of years ago I would have said "no......never........don't lie........it's wrong and dishonest and just bad bad bad"
A couple of years ago I would have said "don't point to the bad behavior of employers to justify your bad behavior as a (potential) employee".
Now? If you need a job, you need a job. If you have to put food on the table, you have to put food on the table.
No-name get by jobs - lie about whatever you have to lie about, to get to the burger joint cash register.
Professional jobs - lie smart. Know what HR can check on (dates, salaries, benefits, job titles) and keep it honest 'cause they may check. Embellish whatever you think you can get away to get the job. Don't lose sleep over it when you get the job.
I hate to say all of that, but this isn't the Land of Oz and you have to take care of Number 1, which is you.
A couple of years ago I would have said "no......never........don't lie........it's wrong and dishonest and just bad bad bad"
A couple of years ago I would have said "don't point to the bad behavior of employers to justify your bad behavior as a (potential) employee".
Professional jobs - lie smart. Know what HR can check on (dates, salaries, benefits, job titles) and keep it honest 'cause they may check. Embellish whatever you think you can get away to get the job. Don't lose sleep over it when you get the job.
I hate to say all of that, but this isn't the Land of Oz and you have to take care of Number 1, which is you.
Agreed to the nth degree!
My husband and I were polar opposites on this. I was the NO LIES EVER person, he is the 'fake it till ya make it' king. Guess who is still after 22 years in the job of his choice, making ohh...I think it can be up to 6-8x what I make an hour? Too much honestly gets you nowhere. Even leaning towards being honest gets you nowhere - I watch my husband time and again lie by omission all the way to outright lie and nothing seems to happen to him. And he is in a field that is littered with inexperienced people so this is something you'd want to check up on...
I have to admit even when he is caught in a lie he shrugs it off and the discovering party seems to shrug it off too. WTF? Is it the teflon reaction to being caught that enables the continuation of lying? The lack of fear???
Is it luck? His personality that makes no one think he's lying so they don't check? Can't tell you. But apparently I'm devoid of a poker face because if I even bend the truth just a hair, I have 3 people checking up on it. He doesn't even "lie smart" (per quote) and nothing happens - me? I lie about my hair color and have someone asking for a hair sample.
If there's a secret here, I want to know it!
Last edited by 3DogNight; 11-26-2012 at 05:06 AM..
Reason: ...
A couple of years ago I would have said "no......never........don't lie........it's wrong and dishonest and just bad bad bad"
A couple of years ago I would have said "don't point to the bad behavior of employers to justify your bad behavior as a (potential) employee".
Now? If you need a job, you need a job. If you have to put food on the table, you have to put food on the table.
No-name get by jobs - lie about whatever you have to lie about, to get to the burger joint cash register.
Professional jobs - lie smart. Know what HR can check on (dates, salaries, benefits, job titles) and keep it honest 'cause they may check. Embellish whatever you think you can get away to get the job. Don't lose sleep over it when you get the job.
I hate to say all of that, but this isn't the Land of Oz and you have to take care of Number 1, which is you.
Agreed. There's embellishing and there's lying. Don't put anything on your resume of a pertinent nature (i.e. education, former jobs) that isn't true. That stuff is easily checkable and if it doesn't check out, YOU'RE out. But, everyone "fluffs up" their duties at former (or current) job(s) on their resumes.
Hello, I was wondering about this topic lately because of the tough job market and economy. I've mainly been truthful about my skills and work history and most of the time I've been screwed up the know what. I want to start telling lies on my resume and interview because I feel that is the best way to get a job offer rather than to tell the truth and get screwed over. I want to put a company that is out of business on my resume and hopefully receive some phone calls/emails from employers/recruiters; they cannot contact the employer because they out of business. I know for a fact that A LOT of people lie on their resume and in interviews and most get away with it!!! I understand that some people will say that don't lie because it will come back to haunt you well I say so what??? Telling that lie got you the interview and the job offer. There are Fortune 500 company CEO's that have lied for example the former Yahoo CEO who lied about his computer science degree and even though he got fired he still got over 5 million dollars in pay!!!
What do you guys think about this? Have you done it? and if so what was the result?
Anything helps guys because I do read all of your post and respond accordingly.
Thanks in advance
If I were interviewing you for a job, and found out your were lying,
I would tear up you app right in front of you, telling you why,
and then tell you to get out of my office ! ! !
Then add to a special file on you, to never be hired ! ! !
I would not hire liars who can not be trusted ! ! !
.
If I were interviewing you for a job, and found out your were lying,
I would tear up you app right in front of you, telling you why,
and then tell you to get out of my office ! ! !
Then add to a special file on you, to never be hired ! ! !
I would not hire liars who can not be trusted ! ! !
.
It's easy to be self-righteous when you already have a job.
Employers lie to employees all the time - outright lies, lies of commission and omission, half truths. Do you have such strong feelings about lying when it is you or your company doing the lying?
Like I said, if you need a job, you need a job. If he lies smart, you should never know about it.
How do you feel about the fact that about 80% of university students routinely cheat on their exams? More importantly how do you feel about being wheeled into the operating room for surgery and you look up at some young doctor about to open you up -and wonder if you had a 20% chance of surviving the surgery due to the doctor not having a clue what he is doing?
Employers lie to employees all the time - outright lies, lies of commission and omission, half truths. Do you have such strong feelings about lying when it is you or your company doing the lying?
Or any other company that happens to lie to its applicants?
It's easy to be self-righteous when you already have a job.
Employers lie to employees all the time - outright lies, lies of commission and omission, half truths. Do you have such strong feelings about lying when it is you or your company doing the lying?
Like I said, if you need a job, you need a job. If he lies smart, you should never know about it.
I am not self-righteous ! ! !
I don't lie either ! ! !
If they are lying to me and I find it out
they will not get the job ... it is that simple
and I will tell the so ! ! !
.
Yeah, it is true that companies lie all the time to get you in the door or to keep you there. Here are some lies that I've heard in my working experience:
1. We can't offer you a sign-on bonus, but you'll get our mid-year bonus in 4 months. After I joined, I learned that I was not employed long-enough to earn a mid-year bonus.
2. You will receive a promotion at X date, due to your performance. I later found out that I was passed over for a promotion, not because of my performance, but because the time period since I received a prior promotion was less than other people, so it was more of a tenure thing.
3. Your salary is in line with market ranges. Oh really? A simple Glassdoor search an andecdotal poll of co-workers (yes, we talk), showed me that my salary was 15-20% below market averages.
Companies are notorious for trying to pull the wool over you to attract/retain you and to compensate you the least amount possible. It is true that naivety and complacency will hurt you long-term in your career, big time. With that in mind, here's my advice:
1. White lies - Make a judgment call if you really need to lie to get ahead. If you do, make another judgment call if you're likely to get caught. If you lie about salary/tenure/title/responsibilities at a job interview, make sure that you likely will not get caught. If not, don't listen to the naysayers that tell you not to ever do it. The fact is, people do it all the time, and get away with it.
2. Find your leverage - If you really want the company you're at to compensate you fairly, don't rely on false promises. Get another offer in hand and very politely say you're going to leave. Sometimes the company will match, other times they won't. In either situation, be mentally prepared to leave.
3. Don't stay to stale in one job - In today's economy, those that I've seen with the most success getting ahead have done so by switching companies every 3-5 years. Sure, you can sometimes get ahead by staying at a company. However, even if you're a star performer, your promotions will likely be slower and your pay will likely not keep up with your promotions. I speak from first hand experience.
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