Honesty

Ever heard of the saying, “Fake it until you make it”? Well, as far as successful interviews for job seeker goes, “honesty is the best policy”. This is what can guarantee you success in the long term. Honesty is very crucial in getting legitimate job offers. A job applicant ought, to be honest during the process of applying for a job. Although it’s okay to market yourself and emphasize your strength, you don’t have fake details about your work experience, skills, or interest in the pursuit of a job.

Being honest during an interview makes your employer see you as a potentially trustworthy employee, helps the employer know how to work with your skills and conducts training for you. These training sessions may be tailored to strengthen your weak points. On the job, honesty will help you earn the trust of your employer and your colleagues in the long term.

An honest Job Seeker

Who is an honest job seeker? An honest job seeker is a person who hunts for employment opportunities with the intention of being as open and transparent as possible. Honesty is very important even before you become an employee. Throughout the screening process, being honest may increase your chances of getting the job, create a good first impression, and avoid problems in the future. Although adding false information to your resume could get you a job you are not qualified for, this could breed problems that would surface in the future.

Be honest about your abilities. This will help the employer know the jobs you can handle. Employers value trustworthy employees. Trust can foster a healthy working relationship over time between employers and employees.

Honesty During Recruitment

A job seeker can also patronize the service of a recruiter, whose job is to get relevant information from the job seeker and find the best opportunities out there, that will be suitable for the job seeker. However, this process may be difficult without complete honesty from the job seeker’s end. Unfortunately, some job seekers feel the need to fabricate skills for their professional history to enhance their chances of getting the position. While this may seem to give the dishonest job seeker an edge, his/her lies may backfire. It is best to be as sincere to your recruiter as possible to get job opportunities corresponding to your skills.

Honesty in building your resume

What does being honest on your resume as a job seeker mean? Your resume should be as clear and accurate as possible. One thing to note though is that referees cited in your resume are checked. Employers do take the pain and time to make contact with your referees to validate and process the information you have submitted. Always be ready to answer questions as regards your resume.

Honesty in applying for a job

Be sure to always give accurate information when answering application questions. For example, an application for a position as an Electrical and Electronics Engineer sent out by a company has a minimum requirement of two years of work experience. If you have not had two years of work experience do not say you do. Because a thorough check and investigation will be done to verify the information given. When signing up for a job make sure you are as transparent as possible. Let the data in your resume and application correlate. If the employer sees any inconsistencies between the two documents, your chances of getting the job will be very slim regardless of your credentials and achievements.

Secondly, some employers conduct background checks on their applicants’ histories to know and verify the information given to them. For instance, an employer may decide to call your University’s Head of department to verify whether you have been honest about the school you attended and can also ask questions like; If you have any criminal history? Or past work experience? How is your character in general? Can you be trusted? These are questions that may be asked. Hence, be as transparent as possible. If you didn’t graduate from the university, don’t claim you did. If you have a criminal record probably you were an ex-convict, and you are required to give such a piece of information, give it! Your honesty may win you the job. Don’t falsify your date of birth, nationality, or level of experience to condition yourself to the job requirements. This can be very risky for you.

Honesty

How about the role of honesty in interviews? The worst thing you can do in an interview is to lie or falsify data. When asked a question you don’t know or might have forgotten simply say “I don’t know the answer to the question” or “I have forgotten” respectfully. This is better than beating about the bush or making something up that will get you stuck upon investigation. Having the principles of honesty will help you navigate through questions. Being humble and willing to learn tends to impress interviewers that you are right for the job.

In a nutshell, as a job seeker, dishonesty is an unethical way of getting a job. Be honest in your job-hunting journey; eventually, you will get the best job adapted to the skills you can offer.