Photo: @anna..papalia / TikTok
Lie by embellishing the truth!
By Megan Quinn — Written on Feb 11, 2023
Have a job interview approaching and need some advice? Look no further than Career Coach Anna Papalia, a so-called “interview expert” on TikTok.
She is here to guide job applicants through the interview process with her tips and tricks.
Instead of covering exactly what you should say during a job interview, Papalia advises you on what you should absolutely not do during an interview if you want to land the job.
Here are the top 5 things you should lie about during an interview, according to career coach Anna Papalia.
1. Where you see yourself in five years.
“Nobody wants to hear you say that you see yourself in grad school or getting married and having babies,” Papalia says, even if it is the truth.
Employers want to know how much you truly want the job, and see it as part of your future.
"What we want to hear you say is, 'I see myself here at this organization,'" she says.
2. Why you’re looking for a job.
Even if your reasoning for wanting a new job is due to your hatred of your previous job, you might want to refrain from disclosing that information to your potential future company.
“Say something like, ‘I’ve outgrown my position and I’m looking for a new challenge,” Papalia advises.
3. How you feel about your current boss and current co-workers.
“I don’t care if you work for the worst, most micromanage-y boss in the world, we don’t want to hear you talk about that in an interview,” she says. “Especially if you’re being interviewed by someone who might be your prospective boss.”
Employers want to know that they’re hiring someone who can get the job done despite how they feel toward who they are surrounded by.
4. Your hobbies.
Even if it’s true, you might not want to tell your interviewer that you spend all of your free time watching Netflix when you’re not working.
“Please pick hobbies that sound professional and interesting,” Papalia encourages.
Professional hobbies will help you stand out among applicants.
5. Your job description and title.
In this case, it is appropriate to embellish your resume and job duties to make you appear more impressive and more likely to get hired.
“You can embellish it a bit especially if you have been working above and beyond your job description and you haven’t been getting paid for it,” Papalia says.
The interview expert offers viewers preparing for a job interview to follow her on social media, get a shift profile, and wishes them luck.
Many people realized the interviewing process isn't just about seeing if you can get the job done.
“People have to realize that interviews aren't just seeing if you can do the job, they are also to check if you are a good human being, not a sociopath,” one TikTok user pointed out.
“Been lying since my first job as a bagger at a grocery store lmao. Just say what you think they wanna hear. Never be honest,” another user revealed.
However, others believed that you should not have to lie during an interview.
“Or no, just be honest and when all works speak up for themselves employers will have to get used to reality,” one user commented.
“If they don’t want to know, they shouldn’t ask,” another user wrote.
For more advice on job interviews and landing the job you want, Papalia has various posts on her account that can guide you through just that!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.