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Personally, I am always 100% honest when asked questions during job interviews. If anything I usually 'undersell' myself just so as not to set expectations to high.

Competition for jobs is tough, and I just wanted to post a survey (feel free to post comments) to find out a little more about how some others feel about selling themselves at job interviews.

Is it ok to tell small white lies about skills that you don't have, but feel confident that you can learn, and temporarily bluff, during a job interview?

Are you a 'yes' man and would you claim to have done x, y, and z, if you thought that if you said 'no' you would fail that interview?

Please let us know how far you would go to get that job.

I personally have known many that 'oversell' themselves, and that really aren't that 'hot' at what they do. But if you 'underplay' your skills then you most certainly will not get that job. So what would you do?

"Have you done this before??"

...could also be translated to mean....

"Could you do this?"


If you go around telling people the truth about everything, you will never get a job at all. At least in these times.

Don't talk out and out rubbish (that gets spotted) but don't be afraid to present yourself as the person that you want to be, not the person that you are, at least a little.

There's certain key areas you will be asked if you have done, and if you realise that that's what's happening, do yourself a favour and say it would be no problem.

Because it probably will be no problem.

As I said, excessive crap talking will be spotted.

But don't be afraid to make things colourful.

If you don't, then I don't think you will get a job at all. Not unless its a job match made in heaven, and that hardly ever comes along.

However, in the final analysis, its your inner strengths - your true character and values - that should shine through and should stand up to scrutiny.

I say, tell a white lie if it gets your foot in. In this, you are establishing yourself not as a liar, but as someone who will do what it takes to do the job, and will make the necessary leaps. Remember that if you do get the job, you will probably have time to do at least some research on what you said you could do. In fact, to add authenticity, research a little before the interview.

But I also think that you should do this very sparingly - only when its necessary to give you the final push. If you talk crap about everything, you will never get the job.

As I final point, you will either be sucessful at your interview or not, and you will either get the job or not. Do you really have anything to loose?

Best of luck.

it's all .........confidence...............
there are other intangibles, such as eye contact, firm handshake, being bold and direct............sell to your strengths..............anyone truly looking to take advantage of opportunity will do their homework regarding that position...............it's all about relationships, and how you go about establishing that............i'm good at what i do, ......try not to beat my drum too often, or at all........trying to overcome some arrogance in relation to what i do........let my work do the talking, so don't interrupt

Thanks for your honest opinion P66. By the way, I am looking for work (how did you guess?), and I do have a tendancy to sell myself short, despite being very good at what I do (software development).

I don't have any interviews lined up yet (unemployed, and few jobs being advertised locally), but once I get MCSD certification in .NET, I am hoping that my prospects will improve. My current skills are out of date and do not appear to be in much demand.

I have friends that I know have told porkies about skills they said they have, but which I know they do not have, but that's something I personally find very hard to do.

I am hoping this survey will give me a better picture of the reality of dealing with job interviews, and show what most people see as acceptable behaviour. I may very well end up taking note, so that I am not at a disadvantage at any interviews that may crop up in the near future. [OOPS, who said that?]

i used to coach...........and, i can read personalities.......your self admissions say it all............you're selling yourself short.........from my personal observation, in regards to your talent, is that it is formidable, and accurate...........believe in yourself, and, it will show through..........these little tiricks to get your foot in the door is arbitrary bs that's works on occaision to the detriment of the employer, and your eventual demise..........know where your openings are, target improvement goals to insure your proficiency, and........kick ***
ps........don't bypass looking at avenues other than your chosen profession, fan out, go to where the opportunities are (take it from a school teacher/stock broker/landscaper)

kinda hard for me to lie straight out of college (well I was before I went back for masters degree) for a geology related job, there just isn't room to BS there, and they know what you learned in your classes for the most part.
But you can kinda disregard this post since like 90% of you that have a job work in the tech field, and geology isn't in that field.

umm, I've lied about everything including skills, experience, education to various degrees....have gotten the jobs and excelled in them....tech jobs, even a manager position working directly for a VP of Large Accounts and Strategic Market Analysis....woooooooo.
anyone can be trained to do any job regardless of previous experience or knowledge...hence there are so many "hands-on, technical training" schools popping up and getting ever so popular.

In other words...lie all u want, be confident about it....and make sure u get your stuff together for when the time comes......cuz it will.

This thread reminds me of "Catch Me If You Can". That movie proves, if you're confident enough, you're likely to be believed regardless of what you know.