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From: marty1@houdi.UUCP (M.BRILLIANT)
Newsgroups: misc.jobs.misc,comp.misc
Subject: Re: Lieing to get a job
Message-ID: <1291@houdi.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 31-Aug-87 13:52:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: houdi.1291
Posted: Mon Aug 31 13:52:31 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 4-Sep-87 06:51:39 EDT
References: <957@bc-cis.UUCP> <1839@tekig5.TEK.COM> <14253@topaz.rutgers.edu> <2254@sphinx.uchicago.edu>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel
Lines: 29
Summary: The original question was dishonest
Xref: mnetor misc.jobs.misc:634 comp.misc:1151

In article <2254@sphinx.uchicago.edu>, shor@sphinx.uchicago.edu (Melinda Shore) writes:
> In article <2452@bnrmtv.UUCP> wagner@bnrmtv.UUCP (Mark Wagner) writes:
> >I think the that the main reason it's bad to lie is that it
> >just puts added pressure on you if you end up taking the job.
> 
> Really?  It seems to me that the main reason it's bad to lie is
> that it's dishonest.  Or is it okay to lie as long as it doesn't
> backfire?  Sheesh.

Now that honesty has been mentioned, you might note that the original
question ("What would be your ideal job?") is dishonest.

It is not a question of fact, because the answer is not verifiable.  It
is an invitation to be creative.  It is also ambiguous.  It's not clear
whether the answer should be the unrestricted ideal, or the ideal
within some limitations of reality (such as the current job market,
your training, or the ad you answered).

And it is basically dishonest because the use to be made of the answer
is concealed.  The question could mean "What do you want most, we'll
get as close as we can," or it could mean "What do you want most, if we
don't have it we don't want you."  If you knew they were asking the
first form, you could honestly describe the job you really wanted;.  If
you knew they were asking the second form, you could honestly say that
your idea of an ideal job was the best job they could give you.

M. B. Brilliant					Marty
AT&T-BL HO 3D-520	(201)-949-1858
Holmdel, NJ 07733	ihnp4!houdi!marty1