Sometimes the YouTube algorithm recommends a gem.
Recently, my feed showed me a video of a former Google recruiter explaining that “lying” gets you hired.
See the video for yourself:
The video that triggered this reflection on corporate hiring rituals.
The definition of “lying”
In a nutshell, hiring managers often do not expect you to be absolutely honest.
They expect polished sentences, learned phrases, harmless fluff, and answers that reduce risk.
Equally, they are also operating by a playbook.
You know the questions:
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- Why did you choose our company?
- Why do you want this job?
- What is your biggest weakness?
And my favorite:
- Do you have any questions for us?
In my recent interview with xAI, I said no.
Combined with my other answers, no wonder they did not reach out afterwards. They probably realized I was not super excited by this “once in a lifetime” opportunity to work for them.
It was simpler than that.
I needed money.
They offered a gig.
Nothing more, nothing less.
What replies are taboo?
You do not need to memorize replies if you understand the pattern.
The mental model I took from the video is simple:
Recruiters want to minimize risk for themselves and for the company.
So if you have a side hustle, maybe you should not mention it immediately. Not because it is evil, but because the corporate filter may read it as a risk.
On the other hand, if they ask about your hobbies, you can be more creative.
Watching Netflix is boring.
Mentoring actual people in Toastmasters says something else.
The corporate hiring process is often artificial. Everyone knows it. The candidate performs enthusiasm. The recruiter performs objective evaluation. Both sides know some answers are rehearsed.
This is the game.
You can hate the game, but then you have two options:
Continue playing it consciously, or quit.
Why consulting feels different
As a consultant, I sometimes still end up in the hiring pipeline, as with xAI.
But it is becoming increasingly rare.
I also have a counterexample where I got the job precisely because I was not withholding the truth.
I was interviewed for a position as an Android developer.
No team. Just me. Many loose ends.
Instead of pretending to be a typical Android guy, my answers were closer to this:
- I do not really do Android anymore, but if your project interests me, I might make an exception.
- I am a consultant with cross-domain insight. I have architected solutions across different stacks.
- If you feel a specialized Android developer will do a better job for cheaper, hire him. I will understand.
- I have other clients. If you pick me, I will do the work part-time. But if needed, I can push harder and deliver.
Things like that.
First of all, having options removes pressure.
When I do not need the job, I act calmer. I appear more confident. This also shows up in salary negotiation. I ask for more than I would ask if I desperately needed the job.
That is not fake confidence.
That is actual leverage.
Why brand building and corporate hiring might not mix
I am not a blank page anymore.
In the past seven months, I have written over 115 articles that show how I think, what I value, and where my priorities are.
That is a public record.
Anyone can find it if they search for my name on the internet.
Now imagine that I come to an interview and reply like a machine with polished corporate answers.
Then later they find my website.
The inconsistency would be obvious.
I believe I made my choice when I started publishing this content.
I am good at speaking. I understand persuasion. I even believe I could manipulate people if I decided to.
But I will not.
My inner safeguards hold me back.
I do not think that is a weakness. Especially because it is a conscious decision.
Would I hire you?
This is the biggest irony of the whole video.
If I were hiring someone and I detected these polished answers, I would probably pause the interview, explain that I want honesty, and give the candidate one more chance.
But if they continued performing, they would fail my hiring pipeline.
What works in the corporate world would not work at my company.
Not because polished communication is bad.
Because I would not be evaluating the performance.
I would be evaluating the person’s thinking.
How do they handle trade-offs?
Do they acknowledge uncertainty?
Does their story remain coherent under pressure?
Can I trust their map of reality?
A rehearsed answer can hide all of that.
Selective truth is not automatically lying
This is where the topic gets interesting.
Not every form of selective disclosure is unethical.
Every CV is selective.
Every portfolio emphasizes strengths.
Every interview highlights relevant experience.
The important question is whether the framing changes the other person’s understanding of reality.
There is a difference between presenting your strongest work and pretending enthusiasm that does not exist.
There is a difference between choosing relevant examples and hiding constraints that will affect delivery.
There is a difference between strategic truth and reality distortion.
That distinction matters.
Because the answer is not “be brutally honest about everything in every context.”
That is naive.
The answer is:
Understand what the question is really measuring.
Answer strategically.
But do not falsify the map.
What did the comment section say?
The comments were almost as interesting as the video.
They showed the split between people and corporations.
Some people challenged the tips as actual lying.
Others called it selective truth. I was closer to that camp, depending on the case.
Some said the comments gave them faith in humanity again, because people were challenging an unhealthy norm instead of accepting it as normal.
And I found that fascinating.
The video explained the hiring game.
The comments showed that many people still do not want to become the game.
That is why I wanted to write this article.
Related: this article is my observation of the existing hiring game. But I am not only criticizing it. I also designed an alternative hiring process, inspired by the Italian maturità, and already used it to hire a part-time marketer. I wrote more about that process here:
Vladimír Záhradník
