Why is honesty a liability when interviewing for jobs?
You would think that potential employers would value honesty in their incoming candidates. From my experience in the past several months of job hunting, however, this wouldn’t seem to be the case. There is almost no faster way to be culled from the pool of applicants than to simply be forthright and straightforward about your own strengths and weaknesses.
Take a look at any interview advice column. Every single one that I’ve read focuses on that odious concept of “spin”. You should minimize talking about your weaknesses. Always follow them up with how you overcome them or a strength that balances them. Gloss over any rough patches. It’s mild dishonesty in my opinion, and I don’t like it.
Every time I’ve sent off a job application, I am perfectly honest about what I feel I am able to bring to the company, as well as what I won’t be bringing. I indicate that I am willing to do what it takes to acquire the needed skills, and point out that the strengths I do have are likely to be unique amongst the pool of applicants.
This has failed miserably. Invariably my contact will come back with something along the lines of “We think you are a good fit for this company, but not for this position”. Perhaps I’m applying for the wrong position, but I am applying for the ones which interest me. That should carry some weight right?
All in all, I feel like the entire job search process is one giant pool of mistrust. Hirers seem to always think that the candidate is likely to be inflating their credentials if not outright falsifying some things. Candidates feel like the interviewers are cold blooded head hunters looking to trip them up with ambiguous questions. It’s very adversarial, and in my mind doesn’t generate the most collegial of first impressions for either the candidate or the company.
In a more perfect world (i.e. one that matches my personal beliefs — isn’t that what the phrase always means?), human resources professionals would discard the applications of those who were found to be relying on devious tactics and “spin”, and retain those of people who are (perhaps brutally) honest. These are the types of employees I would like to have if I were running a company.
