Why do NTs favor sociopathy over honesty?!?

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It's called lying.

Can't have one what?

Believe it or not, there are already so many laws regulating the hiring process that most corporate employers defer the process to outside agencies, and then hire someone from the top three candidates that the agency sends over.

If a person must be hired in 90 days, then what happens if no suitable candidates present themselves by that time? My current job was held open for eight and a half months before I even walked in the door. Even then, it took another two weeks before they made their final decision and hired me. Having to "settle" for some unqualified dimwit just because he shows up in the first week is not good business practice, since they would likely have had to let him go before his probationary period was up.

No, "lying" is when you tell something that isn't true. "Salesmanship" is when you tell the truth in such a way that the person hearing it agrees with you, even though the truth itself may be unpleasant.

And exactly how would you say "I'm only going to be here 2 months," in a way such that they would be agreeable to hiring one under those circumstances?

The business would not be forced to settle with a dimwit, they (Well at least how I would do it) would have shifts in each day, so they end up testing several people in a week.

"I hope this leads to a permanent arrangement."

Why would you tell them how long you're going to be there, anyway? I've never asked that of any candidate. Instead, I've asked something like, "Where do you envision yourself in five years?"

"Working in a leadership role" is always a good answer. So is "Developing my management skills".

It's a given that any candidate is likely to accept a better offer sometime in the future - it's a risk that employers take. But then it's up to the employer to make the employees want to stay, in spite of any possibly better offers that come along.

I have probably been too honest when applying for work. I have found out afterwards what not to say when finding a job and I have been guilty of them all. For one, never say you need to make money. Never tell them you are pregnant and you must work to make money. Honestly I am not sure what to say on a application when applying for work. Like what do I say when they ask "why are you interested in this job?" Obviously there are right and wrong answers and I don't know what answer they are looking for. But luckily I have a job so I don't have to worry about all this and the stress.

That's how it's done already - we interview and test as many as five people in one day, for as often as four days a week. That's 20 potential candidates each week for each position. With 6 weeks to winnow the crop down to the top candidate, that's 120 people to choose from.

Sometimes, we'll take on the top three candidates, knowing that in 90 days two of them will have to go, leaving us with the best person for the job.

And yes, ability to get along with others plays a very important role in the probationary process.

Last edited by Fnord on 12 Feb 2012, 1:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

"It's an opportunity to expand my horizons and test my limits" is a good response. So is, "This company seems to have an effective growth environment".

"Why are you interested in this job," is a different question from, "Why are you going into the work force."

The latter has an answer usually regarding time and money. The former has an answer about merits regarding the job itself. An easy way to think of answers for it is to compare in your mind this job with another job or compare this job with the same job at a different company. Why would you prefer this job over another job, or this job here versus the same job at another company. You want to be able to think of qualitative answers.

I've always been asked how long I intend to be there.

I feel you 100%. I have never gotten a job where i didn't know someone, or had a recommendation of some sort. If i am left to my devices in an interview i fall short of whatever they are looking for. Gas stations jobs asside, they dont really interview for those. They just ask you when can you start, and cross their fingers you aren't a junkie.

I was just thinking wouldn't it be satisfying to turn it on their heads, run NTs through interviews by autists? Only their actual words would count, and the functional relevance of their responses. The ability to BS and 'be engaging' would count for nothing.
Not meaning to be bitter, it would just be interesting, and it is frustrating that interviews rarely have anything to do with ability to do the job you are being interviewed for. I think it would make far more sense to put more weight on some sort of actual test to prove you could do a certain kind of work. NOT a personality test. Obviously your not going to know everything before training but its something that would evolve. Initially the results of a test would be interpreted intuitively, but as a business has been around for a while, it could overlay, how did people who ended up being good employees preform on the original test? and the test could be constantly revised to be more useful for indicating what they are looking for

They both sound the same to me because my answers would still be the same to either one. I mean you can say the same thing in different ways.

Edit:

Oh, this is about jobs and looking for a job. I was applying for a job at Value Village just before Christmas. The manager asked me if I had experience with cash or customer service. I answered no for both questions, because I like to be honest. I should have told her that though I didn't have experience on cash, that I had experience with customer service and than I would have gotten a job there. If I could walk into a time machine, I'd tell them that I have experience with customer service and I had a Work Experience in that store in the 90s. Why didn't I do that?

I've had friends tell me to lie in job interviews before and I don't think I could bring myself to do it.

Some questions confuse me. In the one job interview I ever had in my life I was asked if I was afraid of being cut. It was for a job in a fast food place. If I had answered yes it might make me seem too timid to do the job. If I had said no it might make me seem like some reckless psycho with no regard for my personal safety. I can't remember what I said but I wasn't hired.

Questions like "where do you see yourself in 5 years" would be impossible for me to answer honestly because I can't even look that far ahead. I either see things as being exactly the same as they are now or my being dead.

If I were asked about my lack of work history I can't even imagine what to say other than the truth and not make up some bs about home businesses or caring for sick relatives like people tell me to do.

If the norm is sociopathy, then you are telling him to be a sociopath.

The system is sociopathic. We pay taxes that kill thousands (or millions) of foreigners in defense of "our interests". Taxes themselves guarantee unemployment and corruption, causing plenty of misery at home (I agree with Adam Smith: taxing work is hugely inefficient, we should charge rent on land instead). Our system relies on limiting economic migration, which is the modern equibvalent of sending slaves back to their masters, ensuring that millions die of starvation while billions live in misery. Do people with jobs fight this? They cannot: their jobs depend on conforming. They do what they can to maximize profits, pay a few percent of that money or a few hours per week on "good causes" to ease their conscience, then go home to watch TV, chat on Facebook, go on holidays, and spend money on their homes. While millions die thanks to the system they support.

I agree with the OP. The system is sociopathic and I do not want to conform to it.

Last edited by trappedinhell on 12 Feb 2012, 6:08 am, edited 1 time in total.