Interviewing: Be Honest

The first rule I like to lay down about resumes is, “Be Brief.”  But, if there’s a second rule, it’s, “Be Honest.”  Lots of people will tell you that embellishing on your resume is common practice, but I don’t think those people are trying to get a job programming C++.  You should state what you have done and what you can do realistically.  Lying on your resume will only get you into trouble later.  It might get you a phone screen or an interview, but it will set the expectations for those to a much higher (and probably unrealistic) standard.  Interviewers ask gurus different questions than they ask entry-level programmers.

Some people like to put lots of technologies that they’re only vaguely familiar with on their resumes.  This may or may not be a good idea.

Early in my career, somebody once gave me some interesting interview advice.  This person told me, “If an interviewer asks you if you can do something or if you know a certain technology, say, ‘Yes,’ and then go home and learn it.”  Since I know quite a few people who have been burned by this kind of advice, wasting entire weekends on learning obscure technologies (like COBOL) and still not knowing enough to pass an interview, I’d like to revise it.  I think better advice is, “If an interviewer asks you if you do something or if you know a certain technology, AND you’re at least familiar enough with it to understand what the gaps in your knowledge are, AND you feel like you could learn enough in a single weekend to fake it, AND you have a single weekend available, then say, ‘Yes.’”  That way you’ll at least be prepared.

This approach is really a matter of what you’re comfortable with.  Earlier in my career, I used to take the "learn it in a weekend" approach to all questions and never admit to not knowing anything.  I was eager to find any job available, and I was eager to learn as many new technologies as possible.  Later in my career I became more discerning and more set in what I wanted to do.  Knowing what you want to do is important if you like your weekends.

It’s OK not to know something.  On a resume, I’d rather bring somebody in for an interview who has some outstanding or attractive skill and is passionate about what they do, than somebody who perfectly (and robotically) fits the checklist of skills and experience.

Here, it's also important to be complete.  List your relevant experience in detail as applicable.  There are certain approaches that you can take here that are not necessarily lying, but stretches of the truth.  The trick here is simultaneously embellishing detail and leaving detail out.  I'm definitely not advocating lying, but certain experiences may give you more insight or a stronger standpoint than others.  The fact that you didn't engage in them every single minute of every single day of your career may not be a very relevant fact.

For example, you may have had a really strong learning experience writing Enterprise Java Beans on short-lived project.  It isn't always necessary to detail that you only worked on the project for 2 weeks; if you feel comfortable with the technology, there is no real need to indicate that you only worked with it for a short time.  There’s no real requirement to put durations of tasks on your resume.

I guess the best advice here is to be honest, just not *too* honest.