Feeling guilty about a lie during my job interview.

[tushar070291]

I had gone to give a job interview for a company, which is a good company and it was both the technical interview round and HR on 16th of February.
In the technical round the interviewer asked me questions from my subjects which I answered both correctly and incorrectly.
Then he asked me what I was doing since 2013 (my graduation year) to which I said that I was waiting for the right opportunity to surface.
Also I said that:-
Lie 1:-
I was selected in a company but I declined the offer because it asked me to sign a service agreement bond for 4 years.
But the truth was that I had just cleared its first interview round and could not get a call for the telephonic interview because I had not mentioned my phone number in my resume.
Lie 2:-
I was put on hold by another company, but I had got rejected by it a few days before the interview.
Lie 3:-
He asked me to hum a tune that I created on my guitar. I hummed a tune that I had never created.

In the HR round also I lied the same, which I should not have.

I don't know what to do. I got selected by the company and I feel guilty now. I wonder if answering differently would have cost me that job. I have been an honest person all my life.

Please help me. I am in great need of it.

 

[manic_depressive13]

Who cares? Nothing you lied about was related to your abilities or capacity to do your job. If you had lied about having certain qualifications, or were more proficient in a certain task than you actually are, that would be an issue. But all you lied about was petty bullshit which they have no place asking you about anyway. Why the hell should you hum a tune you created on your guitar? Does this job have anything to do with music or instruments?

 

[tushar070291]

No this job is related to programming and software.

 

[Frezzato]

Trust me, your little white lies are nothing when it comes to being surrounded by people who don't possess the core competencies required to do a job. Also, there's no reason to list the name of the company in your original post. I suggest removing it, but that's just my view.

Lying about superfluous things is nothing compared to the people I've run across in the past five years:

• 
  A CFO who didn't know how to use Excel
  
  A manager who didn't understand the basics of the core programs she was tasked with managing. She was also tasked with running weekly reports in Excel; she didn't even know how to start a function
  
  A salesperson (we sold technology and IT services) who angrily reacted to the term 'PS/2' when he asked for a replacement mouse. He thought we were referring to the console

 

[tushar070291]

Actually I feel guilty because the questions from my subjects were few in number and then he started discussing about the companies that I lied abput.

 

[Frezzato]

There's absolutely no reason to feel guilty. What I mean is, I don't view your actions as lying per se, you're just resilient. There are too many horror stories coming from both sides of the interview process, and the fact that you're quick on your feet is an asset in my opinion. It's times like this that I can only think of the ridiculous interview questions I've read online, like how many golf balls would be required to fill Chicago up to a depth of 15 feet. It's irritating.

The fact that you feel guilty about such a simple thing tells me that you're a good person. And it seems that you're qualified. Manic_Depressive13 got it right the first time. According to your OP, it seems that you're fairly young. What's important right now is for you to recognize how important it is to choose your battles and begin learning what's worth worrying about and what isn't.

The interview process isn't over for you yet, it seems. The way I see it, your reconciliation with this post-interview guilt is also a test in a way. Remember, we're not telling you to lie, we're merely speaking from experience. What's done is done. How you choose to behave in the future is up to you, but there's no use in worrying about the past, no matter how recent.

 

[tushar070291]

Isn't it wrong to misrepresent in that way your facts in HR interview round also, where your skills are tested.

 

[Frezzato]

It's hard to say, as I wasn't witness to the interview, but I will say that to judge someone without proof is unreasonable. You may think it was wrong, but what stands out from your comments is your feelings of guilt. You passed their tests. The problem isn't that you're not qualified, the problem is that you feel guilty.

I think you've punished yourself more than anyone else, but I'll also say that I don't envy your position right now. Whatever truth-bending you mentioned will have to be mentally maintained by you.

You're trying to atone for minor sins, but what would be the proper 'punishment'? Should you lose that job? Should you be labeled as a liar? I genuinely don't believe that necessary. Get a good night of sleep. It's highly probable that you'll feel better in a day or two.

 

[tushar070291]

What should I do then? Please guide me.

 

[tushar070291]

Please help me.

 

[White Lightning]

Dude you should probably relax, you lied on an interview, big deal. As long as you have the skills necessary to perform the job does it matter what you said to get it?

 

[Padwolf]

It's alright, there's no need to feel so guilty for it. What you said is nothing compared to what other lies have been said before. I was at a job interview once and overheard another person telling me about all the lies they told. I felt a bit of a fool for having told the truth. As White Lightning said, as long as you have the skills needed, it doesn't really matter.

 

[dyre]

While I try to avoid lying in interviews, the lies you've told are extremely minor. The job I'm starting after graduation is in the financial sector, and I can't even imagine how many of my fellow business school classmates probably put shit like "advanced financial modelling skills" or "fluency in Bloomberg terminals" or even "can speak fluent Spanish and Chinese" when at best those statements are half-truths for them.

It's admirable that you try to be honest, and I really mean that. But while what you did was perhaps the wrong thing to do, remember you were put in a position that was probably unfamiliar to you (how often in life are you forced to prove your intelligence and professionalism to a random stranger in 15 minutes?), so you weren't completely yourself. Don't worry too much about it; your interviewer no doubt takes anything you say with a grain of salt anyway. If you're really committed to being a totally honest person in life, just take this whole situation as a lesson to keep your morals in mind even in unfamiliar, stressful situations, instead of letting instinct take over. Mentally prepare for that in the future, and don't beat yourself up too much for making a small mistake.

PS: No phone number in your resume? What the hell were you thinking? :|

 

[OneCatch]

Probably wasn't a great thing to do, but don't worry about it too much. Interviews are stressful; we all get carried away or say stupid shit from time to time.
As long as you didn't misrepresent your abilities (ie as long as you can do the job well) then it won't adversely affect your employer or yourself. You feel the need to make up for it? Be a bloody fantastic employee if you get the job.

I would suggest not getting into the habit of lying at work once you start though - it will pretty inevitably cause more trouble than it's worth, and it really isn't something you want on your record if you get caught out (plus it's kind of unprofessional and shitty).

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Please help me.

Can you do the job to a satisfactory level?

If the answer if yes, then I advise you not to care how you get it. Your employers certainly won't. If you're not doing a decent job, then they will. If you are, then they have no reason to doubt you, nor review your interview answers after the fact.

Plausibly lie all you want to get the job, just make damn sure you do it well after you do.

 

[renegade7]

Even if they could check that stuff, they probably wouldn't care enough to do so. Everyone tells little white lies in interviews, you're under pressure, it's pretty excusable. None of that has any bearing on your ability to do your job.

Don't worry about it.

 

[Jamieson 90]

You're not really lying, you're doing what my brother would call "embellishing," or withholding certain truths. Seriously people lie in interviews and on their C.V's all the time, like saying you managed a team of 8 people when really you only managed 3-4, who's going to check? Or by giving your job roles more fancy/technical sounding names like say "A supplies and waste management supervisor," instead of janitor etc. It's pretty much expected that every interviewee will have some level of bullshit to their presentation, the key is to make yourself sound good without blatantly lying about your qualifications or whether you can actually do the job. Seriously I wouldn't worry.

 

[Baron Teapot]

You're still an honest person. That's what a lie is supposed to feel like. If you didn't feel anything about lying, well, that would probably be a red flag that you're a little too comfortable with it.

It's just not serious. I wouldn't do anything about it, because anything you say now is going to come off as weird, and also they'll just be left with the impression that you're a liar. People lie in job-interviews. It's practically a given, considering the nonsense questions they tend to ask, and the ridiculously high standards for passing.

Think about everything that you got right in that interview, and realize that the interviewers don't just make these decisions based upon a couple of details. They must have liked you, and you don't decide whether you like someone based upon what company they may or may not have applied to - they base that on your manners and friendliness and so-on.

Just relax, as everyone else here has already said. You're blowing one tiny detail out of proportion and forgetting the importance of the rest of it. Pat yourself on the back, I'm sure you did great.

 

[Weaver]

Look, everyone lies in interviews. The person interviewing you is lying straight to your face, that's their job. They also lied to get hired. You didn't make things up wildly, you just made yourself look a little better.

I believe the following:
1) You lied about the company putting you on hold and the service contract thing because you firmly believe that not having a job in 2013 did not degrade your skills and you are still very much an eligible candidate. You were interviewing and looking for a job, these things take time. There is nothing wrong with twisting the truth like this IMO, and you only did it to placate a pointless fear that companies have that will have no actual bearing one way or another on your performance if they hire you.

2) Being asked to hum a guitar tune you wrote is fucking stupid. This should have nothing to do with you getting the job or not unless the interviewer is a psychopath. I get employers want to hire people, but asking someone to hum a song in front of a complete stranger is kind of overstepping social boundaries IMO.

Further, I've written a song or two on my guitar, they aren't "hummable". I don't write pop shit with a slow, catchy lead everyone gets stuck in their head. It's complex finger picking and chord work the human voice can't properly replicate.

I'd probably tell him "Well, I started playing the guitar because I'm an awful singer".

 

[Batou667]

Jesus Christ, man. "I wrote on my CV that I enjoy Oriental culture and socialising, but actually that's a lie as I really just fap to anime and have no friends! And now they're offering me a job! I should go to the CEO first thing in the morning and confess, right? That'd be the decent thing to do, right?"

Did you lie in a way that would make the interviewer think you were suitable for the job, when in fact you aren't? Then feel a little bad. Even so, the experience you learn on the job will quickly bring you up to scratch.

Are you confident you fit the job description, but just massaged your CV a little? That's fine. Everybody does that to an extent.