The Top 3 Lies You’ll Hear When Interviewing at a Startup
And What They Tell You About a Company’s Culture
Recruiters have always relied on a bit of the ole razzle-dazzle to lure in job candidates. And who can blame them? When companies, especially startups, are looking to hire the best and brightest, it makes sense that they’d highlight their most attractive qualities and downplay their less attractive ones.
It’s the opposite side of the same coin: Just as job-seekers often pad their résumés to seem more appealing to potential employers, employers often pad their job descriptions to seem more appealing to potential employees.
But here we strike upon an important distinction…
Padding is not the same thing as lying.
When I was right out of college, searching for my first tech job, my older (and admittedly wiser) sister taught me the distinction.
After reviewing my résumé, she pointed to my four-year tenure as a busboy at an Irish pub, where I’d been responsible for clearing tables, washing pint glasses, and changing kegs, and she told me, “No, you weren’t just a busboy; you were a Wait Staff Assistant. And you didn’t just clear tables, wash glasses, and change kegs; you helped make sure the patrons of that pub had a stellar customer experience.”
