Lying in your Career Search

I just read a good article from Monster via Yahoo called - What Really Happens When you Lie on Your Resume.  It’s a good read and is something that I feel pretty passionate about.  As you can see below it’s something that I've written about extensively:

The Five White Lies People Tell in the Interview Process

Lying on Your Resume - A Perfect Example

Lying by Omission - Another Interview Killer

So… I think that we have established that lying is a cardinal sin in a career search.  So instead of asking what will happen if I lie in my career search?  Instead, the better question is, how do I bring up difficult and embarrassing subjects in the interview process?  Below are three common situations and how to handle them.

You have a record

There is no easy way around this. If you have a criminal record you are better suited to bring it up earlier rather than later.  What kind of criminal offenses can hurt you?  Here are the big ones – theft, assault, drunk driving (if the job requires driving) and other felonies. (Bonus tip – Google your name and see what pops up – if it is one the first page you should bring it up…)  A lot of people  take the approach of waiting until the last minute to bring up a deal breaker like this – their thinking is that if you make the employer fall in love with you then they might overlook it.  This is like proposing to someone and then telling them that you are still married…  Instead, you should look to discuss it in the first interview.  You might end things prematurely but at least you aren't going to waste your time with further interviews. 

You got fired

I've written about this extensively as well.  If your boss comes in and says things aren’t working out and you say I agree, I quit.  You were still fired.  People say that it was a mutual decision all of the time and it sounds stupid.  Instead of skirting the truth you should dive in and say that he position didn't work out.  Share why it didn't work out and what you have learned from it.  Tell them how it made you a better person and future employee.

You can read more about this here:

So You Got Fired - What  to say in an Interview

You have gaps in employment

  People have gaps in employment for a variety of reasons.  Some people feel the need to fudge dates on a resume to hide them.  Bad idea!  Instead you need to craft a narrative about what you have been doing or were doing during your time off.    It’s pretty easy but sometimes people are worried about how it looks.  If you took your time because you wanted the summer off – then say it.  The right company for you will like this.

Over the years I've found one truism about lying in the interview process.  People  do it to try and preserve a chance at jobs that won’t happen anyway.  Telling the truth might stop some interviews dead in their tracks, but I honestly believe that they probably wouldn't have worked out anyway.  So tell the truth and focus your efforts  on the opportunities that will work for you!

That’s all I've got for today.  Have a great week and as always please feel free to leave comments below or email me at sthompson@insurance-csg.com.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

Forward Emails:  The Silent Killer

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Job Hunting Myths Exposed

How Account Managers can Improve their Resumes

Three Things that Account Managers Should Do

Six Interview Tips Part I

Five Things Employers Do In the Interview Process

Things you Should be Doing Right Now For the New Job you Don't Need

When should you pull the plug on an interview?

One of the biggest challenges I see out there for candidates is deciding when to cancel an interview.  The interview process is long and arduous. It can drag on months on end and often times I encounter candidates get frustrated and pull out of the process.  Sometimes they are making the right move, other times it is an emotional reaction that limits their opportunity.  With that in mind I thought I would share reasons why you should or shouldn’t cancel an interview.

Don’t you dare cancel it!

Before I jump into specific reasons I want to share the overall reason why you shouldn’t cancel  This is all about positioning.  Sometimes job interviews don’t lead to immediate jobs.  Instead they lead to another job down the road or a business relationship.  How you handle yourself when you decide to not work for a company can have long term ramifications. 

You assume they can’t pay you enough money

This is one that I encounter all the time.  However, please understand that there is a difference between assuming and knowing.  If a company flat out tells you that they can’t pay you what you need. Then you should end it.  But if you are just making an assumption, then you should either speak directly with the company about it or wait for the offer and negotiate. 

Before the 1^st interview

If you have accepted a first interview it is in your best interests to follow through with it, unless you have a compelling reason like unreasonable commute, money or your have accepted another job.  The reason here is because the company will feel like you didn’t give them a chance.   This could potentially burn a bridge and you never want to do that. 

You are cancelling at the last minute

This one is about courtesy.  Unless you have accepted another job, you shouldn’t cancel at the last minute.  It looks really poor and you start running into the bridge burning thing again. 

You are making broad assumptions

First of all, you know what they say about assumptions…  I will have people cancel interviews all the time and then later find out it was because they thought that their wasn’t enough growth, or the company couldn’t meet their scheduling needs.  The common thread is that the candidate never asked me or the company.  A good first interview that goes nowhere can mean a fast track in the future when you need it.

You have heard bad things about a company

This is one of my biggest pet peeves.  When I worked in the restaurant industry, a wise man once told me that bad experiences are shared something like 10 – 30 times more than good ones.  The same applies here.  You are much more likely to hear feedback from a disgruntled ex-employee than you will from a happy former employee.  Please understand I’m not saying that the disgruntled ex-employee can’t be right.  Instead, I’m saying that you should take the info with a grain of salt and make your own determination in an interview. 

You are really far along in the process

If you have invested a ton of time and energy and you are frustrated because it hasn’t paid off yet I think you owe it to yourself to see it through.  You might not get what you want but there will be finality to the situation and you won’t be thinking what if.

Cancel it!

You’ve Accepted your #1 Job

In this case you should totally cancel it.  The only caveat I would add is that you still shouldn’t cancel at the last minute for positioning purposes.  In this case, take the meeting and then notify the company later in the day or the next that you

You have a significant life occurrence that changes the equation

If something changes in your life (pregnancy, illness, death, divorce, moving) and you can’t make a change then you should feel free to cancel the interview.  Here positioning is key again as how you handle it will preserve future opportunities.  Depending on the severity of the event you can choose to call or email.  However, in this event just give specific information (you don’t need to share a ton here – just enough to not be cryptic) and thank them for their time. 

A dealbreaker presents itself

If you have concrete evidence (not an assumption) that something won’t work then cut your losses and move on.  These could be things like salary, schedule or commute.  However, if you knew about these things before scheduling an interview, you are better suited to have the interview and then end the process afterwards as there is an emotional difference between declining to move forward and cancelling. 

So there you have it!  What do you think?  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.  As always I can be reached at sthompson@insurance-csg.com.