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From: mlinar@poisson.usc.edu (Mitch Mlinar)
Newsgroups: misc.jobs.misc,comp.misc
Subject: Re: Re: Lieing to get a job
Message-ID: <4463@oberon.USC.EDU>
Date: Fri, 18-Sep-87 16:59:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: oberon.4463
Posted: Fri Sep 18 16:59:21 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 20-Sep-87 13:26:08 EDT
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In article <1995@mtx5a.ATT.COM> dhd@mtx5a.ATT.COM (d.h.dawdy) writes:
>> >Is it really necessary that we lie to get a job?  It seems to me that an
>> >employer should be appreciative of someone who is willing to admit their
>> >feelings instead of trying to deceive the interviewer.
>
>Too bad it's not always so.
>Like other respondants have already noted, the audience you have to deal
>with often sets the tone for how your responses are received.
>
>At an interview some time ago, I responded honestly to questions I was
>being asked and got into a dispute with the interviewer;
>she emphatically told me I was giving HER the run-around
>(based on what other applicants had been feeding her before I got
>there). Apparently, EVERYONE else was lying and I couldn't convince
>  [ ... more ... ]
>I think a potential employer who can't differentiate between
>relevant fact and fiction is one not worth working for.

Being on both sides of the fence, I will put in my two cents worth:

     (1) NEVER lie.  "Selling" yourself is acceptable (shows self-confidence)
but NEVER lie.  I have had that situation occur once as an interviewer: a
subtle lie, but detectable.  I have to admit, I enjoyed digging into the
questionable answer until the interviewee was clearing squirming.  I concluded
on a friendlier note by describing what they did wrong and how I knew it and
letting him know that "if we cannot trust you even during an interview, how
could we trust him as an employee".  I hope the lesson did not fall on deaf
ears.

     (2) Get some answers from the interviewer about his/her job with the
company.  My personal opinion is that a "professional interviewer" is not even
worth feeding EXCEPT to train people technically QUALIFIED in the area.  Thus,
people who lie, and this is nearly always on a "technical" basis, are much
easier to detect.  I bet I can snow ANY professional interviewer if they have
only a vague idea about what I do.

The ONE case (unfortunately) where I ran across an "interviewer weenie" (campus
interview), I made it quite clear that *I* could not form any opinion
about the company if I could not talk technically with the manager(s) who
were looking for applicants.  I *tried* doing this without implying the
interviewee was an unqualified; however, this made the interview very short!
Despite this poor showing on their part (and my not so gracious response), I
was later invited to the plant to talk to the two managers who had openings.

DON'T SETTLE for someone who is NOT qualified (or at least understands at SOME
technical level) the job in YOUR area.  The interviewer will spend more time
trying to understand your answers rather than watching HOW you respond.

-Mitch