A job interview is the time to showcase your skills and experience in the best way possible. You may feel a lot of pressure over the amount of competition in the job market and anxiety over when you will be offered a role you have applied for.
Some people often allow these feelings to turn to lying on their resume and during a job interview. However, you should not lie during a job interview or on any part of your resume.
Here are reasons why you should not lie during a job interview:
The company is likely to conduct background or reference checks
Many companies will ask for references from past managers and colleagues which may include follow-up questions relating to experiences or skills you have mentioned in your resume or job interview. If you have shared something which did not actually happen, or exaggerate a situation to make it be in your favour, then it will likely be exposed. It is also not uncommon for companies to run background checks on areas such as education or experience either.
It gives you a bad reputation both now and in the future / for future roles
Not only does it mean you are not likely to get the job because you have showcased dishonesty and a lack of integrity and respect during this job’s interview process, but you are likely going to have a bad reputation in that company and potentially the industry you are working in. A hiring manager can move to a different team or company, the company may end up having more roles available and would have asked you under different circumstances, or they just mention it to their counterparts. They are more connected than you think they are, so the repercussions of a lie during a job interview can be long-lasting.
Your employer will eventually figure it out
If your lie helps you to be offered the job, it means that once you start training and working for the company, they will likely be found out you don’t have the skills you said you had. This will not reflect well on you.
You will always be worried someone will discover your lie
If you lie, you will feel a lot of guilt and shame, which can lead to you worrying about someone uncovering this about you. It is not a good feeling.
It may lead you to more lies
If you lied about something critical to your role, you may have to continually lie to avoid being found out. This isn’t ideal, as it worsens the lie and the situation for everyone involved and continually compromises your character.
Your lie may mean that you are to delegated tasks you don’t want to do
If you have said you enjoy doing certain tasks in the hope that this will make the hiring manager think you are eager and would be a valuable asset on the team, they are likely going to delegate those tasks to you. This is not good news for you since you not only may be allocated to projects which don’t interest you, it may lead you to miss out on the projects and tasks you actually want to work on.
You lose an opportunity to develop an area you may be able to grow in
If your new employer hires you, you may lose an opportunity for critical career training. For example, if you say you are adept at a skill or certain tasks, your employer will not see the importance in training you or focusing on these skills in your development since you have said you already have them.
You may be fired
Depending on the size of the lie, an employer could turn to the termination of your contract since you were hired under the premise of the lie you told.
The trust will disappear
Even if you are not fired, your employer will have a hard time trusting you after discovering your lie. This may hinder your growth within your role and the company and even career development prospects.
Whilst you may feel inclined to lie to put you in the best position possible, it is not worth it. There are many other ways you can showcase your experience and get the job you want. If you would like tips on how to achieve this, visit our job interview hub, or contact our team today.
