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Honesty - The Only Policy When
Looking For A Job
It may sound like a truism, but an increase in ethics violations
has caused companies to be more cautious when hiring job
applicants. To help prevent hiring mistakes, employers are
interviewing more applicants and doing more in-depth screening.
In this job-hunt atmosphere, you can eliminate yourself by
making misstatements in an interview or on your resume. Details
about responsibilities, education and salary are the most common
misstatements.
Some job seekers exaggerate their previous salary, believing
this will enable them to negotiate from a stronger vantage.
Professionals call it "adding the tip." Salary usually is one
fact previous employers will verify. If you are caught lying
about your income, it is all over.
Some job seekers claim to have had more responsibility in their
previous position than they actually did. For example, a manager
in the financial-services industry decided to exaggerate his
status at past jobs. He told prospective employers that he had
been a vice president at his last two jobs. He was hired by a
company and worked there for several months. One day he was
called into his employer's office and fired on the spot. His
boss said he had discovered the lies. Although the employee
protested and cited positive contributions to the company, it
was too late. Lying cost him his job and significantly
jeopardized his future. He had to start all over again
Another unfortunate lesson involves misstatements which seemed
to be the right idea for a manager in the manufacturing industry
who had worked with one company for 10 years. He was worried
that he would appear limited in the eyes of prospective
employers, so he falsified his resume and listed other companies
for which he had supposedly worked. When the prospective
employer asked about his previous experience, he made up a few
examples of what he had done at previous jobs. He also mentioned
a well-known company by name and said he worked there for
several years. Coincidentally, the prospective employer had a
relative who was president of that company. When he asked a
question about the president, the job candidate looked at him
with a blank expression and said, "Who?" As soon as he said
that, the interview ended.
Had that job seeker stressed his pluses instead of lying, he may
have been offered the job. His background would have been looked
upon favorably by most employers because he had been promoted
several times in his previous job and had the ability to perform
several job functions.
Misstating anything, either orally or in writing, will only wind
up being counterproductive, because as soon as the employer
detects a lie, you will be removed from consideration. If you
feel something in your professional or educational background
may stand in the way of your job search, stress the positives
about yourself instead of lying.
There are many ways to project the image of a likable,
confident, happy and capable person, the kind of candidate an
employer is looking for. In an interview, instead of speaking
generalities about how wonderful and capable you are, give
concrete examples of how you contributed to a company's
performance. You do not need to lie or exaggerate. Good work
speaks for itself when properly presented.
Avoid mentioning anything that may be perceived as negative.
Give examples of your ability to work well with others.
Employers, today more than ever, want to hire people who will
fit in well with the company immediately and be effective team
players. By citing positive examples, you will give the employer
reasons to screen you in, not out.
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