25 Mar Five Lies You’ll Hear On A Job Search

Sometimes it means that somebody up the ladder has misgivings about the job opening itself, the reporting relationship or the salary budget. Either way, it’s not a sign of a well-run shop.

What do I say when I hear this?

You can say “Thanks for that info. Let’s put our conversation on hold until those details are resolved. Obviously it’s silly for us to talk about an assignment whose contours haven’t been established yet.”

LIE NUMBER TWO

You’re definitely a finalist for the job, but an internal candidate has just emerged.

This is probably a lie that means they’re stalling for time. If it’s true, they’re incompetent.

Every hiring manager and recruiting partner has a responsibility to identify internal candidates before going outside to promote the job.

A last-minute internal candidate in the mix is a sign of a non-functional (or dysfunctional) talent engine.

What do I say when I hear this?

You can say “Oh, that’s great. I’ll bow out of the process in that case and wait to hear from you if your internal candidate isn’t interested. Obviously I’m not going to get between your trusted employee and an advancement opportunity.”

Get on the bus, Gus.

LIE NUMBER THREE

After you’ve climbed over piles of broken glass in pursuit of a job opportunity, it’s finally time to meet the VP.

The recruiter calls to say, “The VP got called away on a family emergency and we’re going to have to reschedule.”

Maybe a VP in this situation had a family emergency one or two times in all of recorded history, yet job-seekers hear this excuse all the time.

VPs want their subordinate managers’ business pain to disappear, but that doesn’t mean they like to interview candidates. The ones who do will jump on the opportunity, and the ones who don’t will delay and avoid the interview. They almost always use the family-crisis excuse, horrible karma for them. The recruiter will force you to go through the whole social sham:

RECRUITER: I’m really sorry but Kent, the VP of Marketing, is out of the office dealing with a family crisis.

YOU: Oh, that’s awful! Nothing dire, I hope?

RECRUITER: No, it’s fine, he just can’t meet you for three more weeks.

Chances are excellent that Kent’s family is in tip-top shape and the family crisis was manufactured to get Kent out of interviewing you today.