Interviewing is an inherently fake activity. The interviewer is being fake, in that he or she is trying to portray the company and the job in the most positive light possible, conveniently omitting the fact that your future boss has little man’s syndrome and coffee breath. You, the interviewee, are being fake in that you are trying to portray yourself as an idealized version of you, sort of the “you” without the lazy side and drinking problem. Both sides know that this is the case, and yet no one is willing to admit it. Is there any other social situation where two people can sit across from each other and lie, where each knows the other is lying, but accepts the lying as a better alternative than the truth…Well, other than dating? If employers knew everything there is to know about the people they interview, they’d never be able to fill the position because no one would ever be good enough. Conversely, if job seekers knew the full truth about the job and company they were interviewing for, no one would ever want to accept a job because all jobs have a downside.
The worst interviews are the ones where the interviewer doesn’t really know what he or she is doing, and has to fall back on a series of inane questions for which the desired answer couldn’t be more obvious. “Tell me about a time where you showed leadership abilities,” I have heard often. Unless you commanded some Army Rangers in Afghanistan or took charge of a hostage situation, there isn’t an answer for this question that really shows any actual leadership ability.
President of your fraternity? In my frat, we elected the least irresponsible person, hardly a ringing endorsement.
Student government? Is it really leadership if the organization which you led has no actual power?
Organized a project for the rest of the interns one summer? That just means you weren't competent enough to do a real job.
If I told an interviewer about my real leadership examples, I’d never ever get a job. No matter how qualified I was, I just don’t think they want to hear about how I successfully organized a large scale garage hopping expedition when I was 17, or how I talked a Mexican cop out of arresting my friends and I when I was 19 without bribing him. (Note: If you don't know what garage hopping is, send me an email or IM and I'd be happy to fill you in.)
So, regrettably, when presented with that question, I pause, put on a brave face, and go on about how I “took charge and saved” an important group project during my last year of college, while the interviewer nods encouragingly, knowing that I am feeding him a line of bullshit, which is exactly what he wants to hear.
