4 ms·

Interesting. An additional argument for lying is that you're probably already lying in other parts of the interview. Why do you want to work here? (money, an

Interesting. An additional argument for lying is that you're probably already lying in other parts of the interview. Why do you want to work here? (money, and the desire to pay the bills and feed my children) Where do you see yourself in 5 years? (probably not at this company) What is your biggest weakness? (not like I would actually tell a stranger a real answer)

throwaway9475 10y ago
100% this. It's all a game, except prospective employees are guilted into thinking they're the only ones lying (or that doing it is wrong). It works the other way too: Candidate: "What do you dislike the most about working here?" Interviewer: (My asshole boss...) "The office is a little noisy sometimes." Companies are under no obligation to be truthful.
gregmac 10y ago
If these are honestly your answers to these questions and you in fact give lies as answers, you sound like exactly the type of person I absolutely hate working with and actively try to weed out during interviewing. To anyone reading this new to the industry, there are absolutely legitimate ways to answer these questions without lying. > Why do you want to work here? (money, and the desire to pay the bills and feed my children) That is a given for nearly any job. If it's your only reason you want to take this particular job, it tells me you have zero passion for your work. The people I know who are like this are what I'd describe as "9-5" employees, don't learn anything outside of work, and basically do the bare minimum at everything. I want to work with someone that's at least somewhat excited about the job they're going to be doing, and bring some energy, new ideas and actually care about doing a good job. It's the difference between a day labourer and a craftsman. > Where do you see yourself in 5 years? (probably not at this company) So? That's fine. Is anyone hiring with the expectation or even desire their employees stay for 5 years? There are many good ways to answer this, but it's definitely not "doing the same thing as today, with the same technology stack, tools and level of knowledge". > What is your biggest weakness? (not like I would actually tell a stranger a real answer) This is kind of a crappy interview question, but there are decent ways to answer it [1]. They are not asking for your deep, personal failings, but for your weaknesses as they apply to the job at hand. [1] https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/66620/which-own-weaknesses-are-ok-to-state-during-job-interview-if-demanded-to-say-s https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/66620/which-ow...
- Frondo 10y ago
  "I want to work with someone that's at least somewhat excited about the job they're going to be doing, and bring some energy, new ideas and actually care about doing a good job. It's the difference between a day labourer and a craftsman." If you're paying craftsman wages, then there really should never be a problem here, even if people just want to bring their A game for the money.
  - gregmac 10y ago
    > If you're paying craftsman wages, then there really should never be a problem here, even if people just want to bring their A game for the money. Agreed. The biggest problem I find is that day labourers act/talk like they are craftsman and ask for corresponding wages. In other words: wage is not a good filter to separate people out. Craftsman won't work for day labourer wages but day labourers will not only work for craftsman wages -- they'll ask for them.
- denzil_correa 10y ago
  > The people I know who are like this are what I'd describe as "9-5" employees, don't learn anything outside of work, and basically do the bare minimum at everything. What's wrong being a 9-5 employee?
  - sqeaky 10y ago
    From your perspective or the company's perspective? From the company's perspective an unmotivated 9-5 employee not as good of a hire as one who deeply enjoys the work subject and actively learns about it on their own. From your perspective reduced job security because you probably don't perform at the level of someone internally motivated. Even if that is not true there are enough of these sentiments floating around to affect decisions. EDIT - If you disagree, a well worded comment carries more weight than a downvote and avoiding the discussion.
  - wcummings 10y ago
    They only work 9-5, duh! /s
baddox 10y ago
I don't think I lie to interviewers. Sure, I don't interpret "why do you want to work here?" as a broad inquiry into my decision to sell my labor, but I think the salary requirement is generally well understood by both parties. I've always answered "where do you see yourself in x years" and "what is your biggest weakness" as honestly as possible.
eanzenberg 10y ago
>> What is your biggest weakness? Answering retarded interview questions :) (actually said with a smile on my face)

throwaway9475 10y ago

100% this. It's all a game, except prospective employees are guilted into thinking they're the only ones lying (or that doing it is wrong). It works the other way too: Candidate: "What do you dislike the most about working here?" Interviewer: (My asshole boss...) "The office is a little noisy sometimes." Companies are under no obligation to be truthful.

gregmac 10y ago

If these are honestly your answers to these questions and you in fact give lies as answers, you sound like exactly the type of person I absolutely hate working with and actively try to weed out during interviewing. To anyone reading this new to the industry, there are absolutely legitimate ways to answer these questions without lying. > Why do you want to work here? (money, and the desire to pay the bills and feed my children) That is a given for nearly any job. If it's your only reason you want to take this particular job, it tells me you have zero passion for your work. The people I know who are like this are what I'd describe as "9-5" employees, don't learn anything outside of work, and basically do the bare minimum at everything. I want to work with someone that's at least somewhat excited about the job they're going to be doing, and bring some energy, new ideas and actually care about doing a good job. It's the difference between a day labourer and a craftsman. > Where do you see yourself in 5 years? (probably not at this company) So? That's fine. Is anyone hiring with the expectation or even desire their employees stay for 5 years? There are many good ways to answer this, but it's definitely not "doing the same thing as today, with the same technology stack, tools and level of knowledge". > What is your biggest weakness? (not like I would actually tell a stranger a real answer) This is kind of a crappy interview question, but there are decent ways to answer it [1]. They are not asking for your deep, personal failings, but for your weaknesses as they apply to the job at hand. [1] https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/66620/which-own-weaknesses-are-ok-to-state-during-job-interview-if-demanded-to-say-s https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/66620/which-ow...

Frondo 10y ago
"I want to work with someone that's at least somewhat excited about the job they're going to be doing, and bring some energy, new ideas and actually care about doing a good job. It's the difference between a day labourer and a craftsman." If you're paying craftsman wages, then there really should never be a problem here, even if people just want to bring their A game for the money.
- gregmac 10y ago
  > If you're paying craftsman wages, then there really should never be a problem here, even if people just want to bring their A game for the money. Agreed. The biggest problem I find is that day labourers act/talk like they are craftsman and ask for corresponding wages. In other words: wage is not a good filter to separate people out. Craftsman won't work for day labourer wages but day labourers will not only work for craftsman wages -- they'll ask for them.
denzil_correa 10y ago
> The people I know who are like this are what I'd describe as "9-5" employees, don't learn anything outside of work, and basically do the bare minimum at everything. What's wrong being a 9-5 employee?
- sqeaky 10y ago
  From your perspective or the company's perspective? From the company's perspective an unmotivated 9-5 employee not as good of a hire as one who deeply enjoys the work subject and actively learns about it on their own. From your perspective reduced job security because you probably don't perform at the level of someone internally motivated. Even if that is not true there are enough of these sentiments floating around to affect decisions. EDIT - If you disagree, a well worded comment carries more weight than a downvote and avoiding the discussion.
- wcummings 10y ago
  They only work 9-5, duh! /s

baddox 10y ago

I don't think I lie to interviewers. Sure, I don't interpret "why do you want to work here?" as a broad inquiry into my decision to sell my labor, but I think the salary requirement is generally well understood by both parties. I've always answered "where do you see yourself in x years" and "what is your biggest weakness" as honestly as possible.

eanzenberg 10y ago

>> What is your biggest weakness? Answering retarded interview questions :) (actually said with a smile on my face)