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Was I Too Honest In The Job Interview?

This article is more than 6 years old.

Dear Liz,

I had a great job interview two weeks ago.

The interviewer "Marc" is not the department manager, but Marc will make the decision about which candidates get to meet the hiring manager "Alison" in the next round of interviews.

He told me that on the phone before we met in person. He mentioned it again at the end of our interview. As I was leaving, he said "I'll finish up the first round of interviews this week and let Alison and all of our candidates know which people made the short list, early next week."

Marc is an HR person but he used to work in Operations, where this job opening is, so he knows a lot about the department. I felt really good about the interview but now I haven't heard from Marc, a week after he said I would.

Looking back at our conversation, I wonder if I was too honest. I didn't bash any past employers in my interview with Marc, but I talked very honestly about the problems that you see in a position like the one I'm interviewing for.

I talked about the problems I've dealt with including corporate red tape. I talked about how I've worked hard to make processes easier and more flexible. Now I wonder if I should have kept those ideas to myself because

a) It might not be a good idea to go on a job interview and suggest changes in the company, even though Marc himself talked about the company's problems too, and

b) Now that I gave Marc several good, practical ideas he could easily hire someone else and use the ideas I gave him.

Was I too honest?

What should I do now?

Thanks,

Virgil

Dear Virgil,

If Marc loved your ideas so much that he would steal them and recommend someone else for the job, then he is not a guy you want to work with anyway.

If that's what happened, you dodged a bullet.

However, Marc doesn't even work in the Operations department anymore. He has very little extra time to capture Operations process-improvement ideas from job candidates.

He probably heard about 20% of what you told him, because he's just as overwhelmed as the rest of us are. Interviewing is hard work, and it's likely that interviewing candidates is only part of Marc's job.

People involved in the recruiting process are almost always late getting back to job applicants after an interview. They say "We'll get back to you next week" and then you hear from them three to four weeks later, if you hear from them at all.

Don't stress about Marc and the too-honest job interview.  Unless you actually said awful things about your former boss or employer, you were not too honest.

It is responsible and professional to talk about common workplace obstacles in a job interview, and to share Dragon-Slaying Stories about how you surmounted those obstacles in the past.

The key is to stop after a few Dragon-Slaying Stories that make it clear you understand the subject matter. Don't advise a prospective employer on their specific problems. That's not good consulting practice and you are a consultant now!

Forget about Marc and go on with your job search.

You might hear from him one hour from now, or never. The key to your success is to carry on with your job search and career journey relying on yourself more than all the Marcs in the world combined.

If he calls, great. If he doesn't, great. You will triumph either way. Get another few Pain Letters in the mail, and then celebrate with a nice gelato!

All the best,

Liz

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