Asklemmy

I'm not sure how good I am at lying during interviews, but I'm a pro at being lied to during interviews.

Capitalism is an abusive system that you do not owe honesty.

But you also don't owe it the effort it takes to keep your lies straight.

You sound like someone who believes in being authentic. Don't throw that away.

Yea I'm forklift certified.

I choose which parts of my experience I share but I do not fabricate experience I don’t have. The most challenging interview I’ve had was after getting fired from a job that was a poor fit. I was able to spin it as a learning experience and sell my past successes. I did have some doubt in myself at the time but my jobs since then have all been positive experiences which has recovered my self image. Getting fired sucks even when you know it is stupid.

I can't see this as right or wrong either way. Is it morally wrong to survive? Is it morally wrong to be honest if you can survive elsewhere?

I try not to lie, ever. That said, I'm very good at redirecting to highlight positives.

I'll tell little white lies like "why yes, I'd love to work here, your company is very exciting" especially if it is a practice interview. I did that recently where I wanted to test the job market and applied somewhere I wasn't stoked about to test the waters.

I won't lie about myself. If/when you get hired you'll have to maintain the lie and that is exhausting.

You just need to sell yourself. Highlight strengths, know your weaknesses. Don't bring up some fancy things in your field if you've only heard about them.

Its a fine line of being authentic but also managing other people's attitudes, and also ensuring other peoples assumptions don't become their reality.

My wife was superskilled at deflecting at work. Shed be 10 years at a place and the staff knew nothing about her besides her age and that she had kids. It did cause some coworkers to form a clique and try to cause trouble, because for some reason people like being nosy.

I am very honest to the point that some people don't like my answers, so there sometimes has to be some manipulation of the answer so things stay pleasant.

As for perception: I worked at a place where I would show up before shift to get settled grab a coffee etc, and sometimes leave after shift was done while checking out production on my way out. This meant my punch in and out times didn't match my entered hours per project.
Our office staff didn't know how to reconcile it so in their software just typed my punch in and out exactly at shift start/end. At some point somebody made a report of who was on time or late etc. My name came up as not being prepared, since my punch in times looked like I'm entering the building at shift start. Had I increased my project billing hours, or been less prepared for work, I would have had a better perceived job outlook. LOL

As for actual lying, with HR and AI HR hiring, its about getting in front of a person so they can actually find out your skills. A little sweetening to get to the person that actually understands what you do is fine, otherwise their systems knockout the best candidates.

When we hire, its not about if the person knows the software or job requirements, its have they shown they can learn, do they have transferable skills. Though we did have one guy flatout lie about his background, then he spent a few weeks on Instagram instead of working.

I'm a really bad liar in general.

If I didnt lie and omit the truth 24/7, I would be in prison.

I tell believable lies that cannot be easily checked, and when they can be I cover my bases to the best of my abilities. For example, I just started working in the UK and I moved here about three weeks ago and, just before my interview, I called a friend of mine and my ex boss (who's also a good friend of mine) and explained the lies I had put in my resume cause they were my references. The odds of them calling were almost nil but it doesn't hurt to plan ahead.

I don't like lying simply because I'm too proud of myself to hide who I am from the world and I just find it exhausting to do all the time, but I can do it when the time comes like in job interviews. I mean, I've been very competent at both of my previous jobs (I was in the army before and they didn't need references, just my passport, lol), so I trust I'll do well and not just ruin whatever company I'm working at, and don't see the harm in lying to work at this places I can function appropriately whilst zooted. It's not like I'm applying for a surgeon's job when I can barely tie my shoelaces!

But yeah, I understand how revealing facial expressions and overall body language can be and I can restrain myself competently, and I'm mentally agile. Also, both of my parents were lawyers (my mom's still alive and working cause if she doesn't move she dies, kinda like a shark, lol) and my dad was pretty abusive so it was ability I had to be good at, lol. 🤷

If you have to lie to get a job offer, you probably wouldn't be happy there.