One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten went something like this: “If you always tell the truth, you never have to keep your story straight.” A candidate that I interviewed last week should have gotten this advice.
Without going into detail, a potentially strong candidate lost a shot at a job that he very much wanted because his stories didn’t match up. I interviewed him and my client interviewed him, and at the end of the process, we compared notes – and his reported compensation didn’t match. In fact, it wasn’t even close. In my world, one lie = disqualification, so he’s out.
There’s a lesson in this for a lot of people. For salespeople, know your numbers and report them HONESTLY, even if you don’t really like what you think they say about you. Even a mediocre number is better than a lie.
For hiring managers, this is the best argument against the one-interview hire that I can think of. Multiple conversations force salespeople into consistency; if no consistency exists, the salesperson is out.
And of course, nobody spots a lie quicker than your CUSTOMERS. Lie to them, and you’re history, never to recover.
Oh, and being on time is a good thing as well. I’m actually taking a few minutes to write this while waiting on a late candidate. In three more minutes, her opportunity is gone, too.
