Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash
You find a position online that you feel is interesting. It's something you think you’d be good at and you feel that the role would be fulfilling in the long term. You go ahead and apply. Three-quarters of the way through the application you come to a set of questions related to your specific experience in the types of technologies and products that this role deals with on a daily basis. After all, it makes sense for the company to ask these sorts of questions because they want to make sure their future employee can hit the ground running.
However, outside of the degree requirement, you cannot honestly say that you have any of the specific experience that the hiring company is looking for…in fact, you can’t answer “YES” to any of these questions. But because you’re a fast learner and because you are highly motivated you decide to answer “YES” anyway.
BIG RED FLAG!!!
If you don’t meet the pre-screening qualifications…then this isn’t the role for you. This is a complete misrepresentation of your skills in addition to a knock on your character. You’ve just blatantly lied when applying to a company. It's not honest to say that you have a minimum of five years of experience when you graduated two years ago with no prior work experience. You shouldn’t state that you have biological treatment expertise when you’ve never actually worked with these treatment systems/technology. If you were able to answer ‘yes’ for one out of five pre-screening questions…this is probably not the role for you. It's simple. You do not meet the basic qualifications for the position.
As an aside, WE KNOW! We can look at your skills, previous roles, and pedigree and know you’re not the right person for the position. That's our job. Not only do we now associate you with false statements and claims, but it's hard to advocate for your candidacy moving forward.
I believe most would agree that we’d rather you be honest and unqualified than the opposite. Don’t sacrifice your character because you’re motivated to get a job. Do it the right way. Apply to jobs that relate to your experience and education. Or build the skills necessary to apply to these roles in the future.
Skills and experience can be gained, but dishonesty is rarely forgotten.
Written by: Rob Scherer, Vice President at Hunter Crown, LLC
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