TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Why is honesty considered rude in the job market?

Go To

0dd1 Just awesome like that from Nowhere Land Since: Sep, 2009
Just awesome like that
#26: Apr 8th 2012 at 2:08:03 PM

I'm with ya on that tongue

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.
TomoeMichieru Samurai Troper from Newnan, GA (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Mu
Samurai Troper
#27: Apr 8th 2012 at 2:13:24 PM

I wouldn't necessarily call that an inappropriate age. Are you in college/university?

Swordplay and writing blog. Purveyor of weeaboo fightin' magic.
0dd1 Just awesome like that from Nowhere Land Since: Sep, 2009
Just awesome like that
#28: Apr 8th 2012 at 2:15:54 PM

Yeah, just finishing up my first year.

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.
TomoeMichieru Samurai Troper from Newnan, GA (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Mu
Samurai Troper
#29: Apr 8th 2012 at 2:50:15 PM

In that case, go to your Career Services offices or whatever it's called, they might be able to help you out. Getting a job on campus (if you live on campus) would be good.

Swordplay and writing blog. Purveyor of weeaboo fightin' magic.
0dd1 Just awesome like that from Nowhere Land Since: Sep, 2009
Just awesome like that
#30: Apr 8th 2012 at 2:54:29 PM

Eh, I'd rather get a job off-campus, since I want to still be employed in five or so years just in case I can't get a job after I graduate.

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.
TomoeMichieru Samurai Troper from Newnan, GA (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Mu
Samurai Troper
#31: Apr 8th 2012 at 3:04:50 PM

Look at it this way: someone who did their studies and held down a job (even if part-time) gets major props and brownie points when it comes to people looking at resumes. On-campus work is the best way for that, and you don't necessarily have to be a student.

Swordplay and writing blog. Purveyor of weeaboo fightin' magic.
hnd03 Parasol Star Memories from [REDACTED] Since: Jun, 2009
Parasol Star Memories
#32: Apr 8th 2012 at 3:13:32 PM

On campus jobs will also work around your hours as opposed to you working around theirs. They know that you're a student and they know that you're busy.

edited 8th Apr '12 3:14:20 PM by hnd03

So. Let's all pause for a moment to smell what the Rock was, is, and forever will be... cooking.—Cave Johnson
0dd1 Just awesome like that from Nowhere Land Since: Sep, 2009
Just awesome like that
#33: Apr 8th 2012 at 3:13:33 PM

I'll keep it in mind.

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.
Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#34: Apr 8th 2012 at 3:27:44 PM

If honesty isn't valued in your job market, chances are that was an employer you wouldn't want to be working under. In my last couple interviews, they've appreciated my candor in outlining what I'm not good at as well as what I am, and in one case got me a job over someone who I get the feeling was more qualified.

As for resume-stuffers, volunteer work too. Bitches love volunteer work.

edited 8th Apr '12 3:28:29 PM by Pykrete

LoniJay from Australia Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
#35: Apr 8th 2012 at 5:24:23 PM

Maybe it isn't that there was something wrong with you that made you not get the job. Maybe there were just a lot of people who were qualified and she happened to pick someone else.

Be not afraid...
RTaco Since: Jul, 2009
#36: Apr 9th 2012 at 8:34:02 AM

[up][up] That assumes that you have the luxury of being choosy about your employer. Right now, that applies to almost no one.

johnnyfog Actual Wrestling Legend from the Zocalo Since: Apr, 2010 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Actual Wrestling Legend
#37: Apr 9th 2012 at 8:39:04 AM

For minimum-wage jobs, there are quotas to meet such as pushing membership cards. If you don't buy into the promise of rapid promotion, you have no incentive to meet these quotas.

In reality, a promotion is out of the question, and the real incentive is not to be summarily fired for pushing an insufficient number of membership plans.

I'm a skeptical squirrel
MadassAlex I am vexed! from the Middle Ages. Since: Jan, 2001
I am vexed!
#38: Apr 9th 2012 at 11:39:51 AM

One that really got my stomach in a knot was "Do you have a passion for customer service?".

I don't think anyone, ever, wakes up in the morning and thinks, "Man, I could really do some customer service right now!", unless they're a prostitute with an acute appreciation for their job. Passions fall along the lines of sciences, arts and philosophies, not how well you can serve the needs of someone who's confused about a product.

The reason that one hit me hard is because I was thinking, "Who does this person think they are? And who do they think I am?". Because it's an entirely condescending question. It's essentially asking you how much of a doormat you are, or, alternatively, how comfortable you are with lying. On a literal level, it also implies that you have to have a very obscure, almost bizarrely fetishistic passion for a very specific role — for a low-level job, no less.

Really, the most important thing for any job is to have experience, which is a major Catch 22 in the way these things are done. Even entry level jobs typically go to those who have had previous entry level jobs.

Perhaps I'm just bitter, though; at 22 years of age and after a moderately prestigious private high school education, I've had one bad short-lived job. And to top it off, if I want a basic job, I'm expected to submit to corporate jargon, behaviour and all that other crap. I hate this because it's like a fantasy world-within-a-world imposed by businessmen, reflecting a human-made abstract fiscal system rather than meeting actual human requirement needs. It's inefficient, taxing and insulting.

I'm happy to put up with a job and everything that entails, but pretending to have a passion for something I can't imagine anyone having a passion for is a step too far. I don't keep much sacred, but such inhibitive requirements on such low level jobs is like a warped form of elitism based on how low one can bow their head. And all this so people can spend their days doing something they hate for shit they don't need.

I certainly think people should have jobs and get paid for them, but I also think that honesty is better than this warped form of corporate etiquette and that jobs should revolve around genuine human contribution. No bullshit — just doing the damn job with basic human politeness and decency. Do the work, contribute to the people around you, get paid. As things stand, though, all it reminds me of is high school — another constructed fantasy environment where the real world takes a back seat.

Swordsman TroperReclaiming The BladeWatch
TomoeMichieru Samurai Troper from Newnan, GA (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Mu
Samurai Troper
#39: Apr 9th 2012 at 12:19:41 PM

[up][awesome][awesome][awesome]

I did something stupid on an interview once that likely cost me the job, but GOD if it didn't feel cathartic. They asked that absolutely ridiculous question: "Where do you see yourself in five years?" "On tour making millions from my heretofore undiscovered precognitive powers. (with semi-real grin to convey the 'I'm joking' mesage)" That interview wasn't going too great from my perspective, and the interviewer had this smarmy attitude that just pissed me off.

Seriously, how can anyone give a real answer to that question? No one knows where their life is going to take them, and what they want or need can easily change in five months, much less five years.

edited 9th Apr '12 12:24:44 PM by TomoeMichieru

Swordplay and writing blog. Purveyor of weeaboo fightin' magic.
MetaFour AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN from A Place (Old Master)
AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN
#40: Apr 9th 2012 at 12:30:14 PM

They asked that absolutely ridiculous question: "Where do you see yourself in five years?"
The reason they ask that question is because they want some assurance that your long-term goals are compatible with the company's, so you'll be staying with them for a while. If you're interviewing for an advertising position, they want to hear that your long-term goals involve advertising work; they don't want to hear that this is just a stepping stone on the path to your dream of being a ballet dancer.

Now, if the job is some sort of temp or entry-level position with no promotion opportunities, then yeah there's no good reason for the interviewer to ask where you see yourself in five years.

TomoeMichieru Samurai Troper from Newnan, GA (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Mu
Samurai Troper
#41: Apr 9th 2012 at 12:31:28 PM

I know why they ask that question, and the essence is perfectly valid, which is why they should just come out and ask that.

Swordplay and writing blog. Purveyor of weeaboo fightin' magic.
HungryJoe Gristknife from Under the Tree Since: Dec, 2009
Gristknife
#42: Apr 9th 2012 at 5:40:54 PM

^You just said that they did.

Charlie Tunoku is a lover and a fighter.
MetaFour AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN from A Place (Old Master)
AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN
#43: Apr 9th 2012 at 5:49:54 PM

"Where do you see yourself in five years?"

"The undisputed ruler of Earth. No, wait, that will take ten years at least. In five years... middle management."

ElRigo I'm freezing! Send help! from Baja Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Awaiting my mail-order bride
I'm freezing! Send help!
#44: Apr 9th 2012 at 10:09:31 PM

I usually simply roleplay as myself when doing job interviews. At my last job I was hired immediately and put to work a double turn. One week later I was managing the place.

Aondeug Oh My from Our Dreams Since: Jun, 2009
Oh My
#45: Apr 9th 2012 at 10:13:34 PM

I'd like a job and I find some of the questions annoying because they sound dumb. Why would you hire someone who refuses to help with animals at a pet store? I guess to weed out morons but who would say that? Others bug me because I don't know how to respond. I don't know where I will be in five years. I honestly don't. Somewhere nice I hope? Maybe still with this company and my girlfriend? Enjoying the wonders of stocking shelves and helping customers since I'm apparently one of the very rare people who actually LIKES customer service...

...

...

I miss having a job.

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
MetaFour AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN from A Place (Old Master)
AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN
#46: Apr 9th 2012 at 10:30:52 PM

"What is your greatest strength and your greatest weakness?"

"Well, my greatest strength is that I'm a self-motivating team player, and I'm simultaneously detail-oriented and big-picture-focused.

"My greatest weakness is... silver bullets."

IraTheSquire Since: Apr, 2010
#47: Apr 12th 2012 at 4:50:22 PM

[up] Interestingly one of the websites giving advice to handle job interviews suggest an irrelevant weakness that you're working on to improve (the example that was given was "I don't know enough about EXCEL but is learning to use it better). Probably to show that 1)you know what your weaknesses are and 2) you are working to improve on it.

Personally, though, I'd prefer to answer "I believe that there is no such thing as straight strengths and weaknesses, only characteristics that are beneficial or a disadvantage in certain circumstances" and then explain what my weaknesses are in terms of the job that I'm applying for.

MetaFour AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN from A Place (Old Master)
AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN
#48: Apr 12th 2012 at 5:22:46 PM

Or you can spin one of your strengths as a weakness.

I tell interviewers that I have a perfectionist streak, which is a great thing when I only have one task to focus on, but not so great when I have several tasks and I focus on one of them to the exclusion of the others. Then I clarify that I'm dealing with this by setting a schedule to insure all my projects get enough time.

Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#49: Apr 12th 2012 at 5:32:17 PM

Most interviewers worth their salt will recognize horn trumpeting veiled as a weakness very quickly. They've only been hearing it for, you know, probably years.

MetaFour AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN from A Place (Old Master)
AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN
#50: Apr 12th 2012 at 5:44:35 PM

Well, that wasn't something I came up with on my own. I was encouraged to take that approach by a family member who has worked as a hiring interviewer before.

In any case, the above was the answer I gave when I interviewed with the folks who just gave me a job offer.


Total posts: 54
Top