When being honest is a bad idea 🤦🏻🙇🏻



It is a popular thought that someone has to be riskier when deciding to tell about their background, not only in the professional field but in academic, sentimental and daily life. To enhance and embellish reality is habitual in our lives. I don't know anyone who hasn't decorated their history for some time.


When I was young, I was an expert in making up my experiences and embellishing them with both fantasies and realities; people seemed more interested. But that changed once I went to college, where I focused more on my technical background and put aside my soft skills.


I thought that If I raised my academic skills, I would have more opportunities to find better chances to improve my life, including my job. Partly, it is true, but in this society, cheating and contacts more than the academic background can be determinant to achieve.


Once I reached my college degree, I was ready to focus on my professional career, but the job market was oversaturated. For a 23-year-old who just graduated, finding a good position is a combination of location and luck. That didn't occur to me.


I had to choose to follow the same path as many friends in poor-salary jobs, with zero expectations of insurance and with overload time jobs. Luckily, I worked in positions that were located in my city; maybe that was my advantage over them; many of my friends had to move to other cities searching for better conditions.


I was determined to find my route; I gathered the experience and some skills to face the new jobs, some courses and certifications too, but nothing of these were enough to apply for better jobs. The current market is like a desperate beggar that only accepts big banquets, and it is not disposed to pay what is fair.


In every interview, I tried to focus on my achievements and my background, showing what I had achieved and what I could add to the new company. However, when some random question appears, I just tell the truth; I answer I still do not have knowledge of that technology, or I have heard about it, but I don't have much expertise. 


When I tell that, the interviewer's face suddenly changes, and their interest drops abruptly. After several interviews, I can notice when someone is not interested in what I say. So they tell me that the position is for someone more prepared and that if any vacancy opens up, they will contact me.


That annoys me a little, but after several rejections, I have learned to live with it, so If someone is not interested, I just walk away from it and try to don't overthink anymore. But I still think about lying to my interviewers just to see what they offer and see if my chances increase.


S.

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