You sit on a throne of lies.

If you are like us, September catapulted you into interview season. The end of the Summer holidays signifies to many parents and graduates that they are ready to ignite or reignite their careers. While in the majority of cases, this can be an incredibly inspiring period, having the pleasure of coming into contact with so many people that are feeling inspired about a new role and path, it also has its downsides.

It means that you tend to experience the same lull of un-imaginative half truths (at best) and total lies (at worst.) That has inspired this next series of emails. Lying in job interviews is common, and I get it – people are trying hard to pitch themselves as the perfect candidate.

Does such a thing exist? No, because we are human. Employing on values is one way to preventing lies leading to tricky situations when things don’t turn out as expected.

Regardless of the side you sit on – candidate or employer – I really hope that the information below, and in my next few emails, adds some value into the interview process, because telling a ‘white’ lie is easy, spotting it is a little harder, getting yourself out of the long-term situation that follows isn’t so simple.

1.????? The most common lie - ‘I’m hard-working’

This is the most common lie told in an interview, and being hard working is incredibly hard to quantify, and in my humble opinion, it feels like ‘hard-working’ is open to interpretation. Although, saying the alternative isn’t really an option!

Employer - You either have to take someone’s word for it, or you don’t, right? Well… half right, if you follow this up with the right probing questions, and ask for examples, or frame it in the context of a question relative to the role, this might help you gain a further understanding of what ‘hard-working’ means to each individual.

Candidate – if this IS the truth, you really should do the honours and provide context about how hard you work. Don’t confuse hard work with weak boundaries, if you have project timelines or stats and figures to draw on – use them, otherwise you run the risk of melting into the pot of other potential candidates.

I’d love to hear examples of dishonest interviews ????

Until next time,

Lukas