To lie in job interviews?

[Watdidusay]

I worked at a start up until January and it was a nightmare. I was there 4 years and
On top of serious financial issues, the politics were awful.
Small company, staff sleeping together, no governance or processes. Lies and manipulation everywhere.
In the end it turned out the company only existed to scam investors and service providers.

Problem is now I'm interviewing for a new job and I'm really struggling with STAR interview questions.

We didn't finish projects because the CEO stopped responding to client emails the day before delivery 3x.

CEO and CFO sleeping together.

CFO having violent outbursts in meetings (once threw a glass across a room and it shattered against a wall).

Money issues looked very dodgy.

Open racism against service providers eg external developers.

No HR obviously.

Problem is I'm trying to use STAR interview stories and having to lie to make them sound like I worked in a legitimate workplace. Eg how did you manage your boss disagreeing with a decision you made? Err well the real version is after a glass was thrown across the room I resigned. I have to just make up a story instead now.
I was honest for the first few interviews but saw the interview panel reaction of dead silence both times and the vibe change so I took the hint.

Has anyone been in this situation? AIBU to lie a bit? I don't seem to have a choice.

Stick to selective facts. If the company name is on your CV the recruiter can do their own research if it really was a s-show.

Statements like ‘while I thrive in an entrepreneurial environment, I recognise the need for frameworks and policies’ and ‘success is more about winning contracts; it’s about actually delivering them’ get your point across while not going into rant territory. You can spin as a positive that you’ve been far more discerning in this application..
under STAR you can only control what you can control and it’s about YOUR role/contributions.

Ive been in a similar situation, OP and whilst sharing the true, gritty details may feel cathartic, it doesn’t really help you maintain a professional presentation in interviews.
Use the STAR method, but think about what you WOULD do in each scenario rather than focussing on your colleagues’ poor behaviours. And if asked why you’re leaving? For a new challenge, old company going in a different direction to the one you’d joined up to, etc, etc.
You just need to demonstrate your knowledge and competencies - focus on everything you’ve done well and contributed.

Just stick to work facts no idea why who is sleeping with who is relevant to anything

Well, you were there for four years, so what were you doing in that time?

Presumably you were unaware that they were scamming people and you weren't participating in the racist behaviour or sleeping with your colleagues etc. Were you getting on with your job in good faith? If so, can't you just talk about that?

Agree with PPs. I'm not strongly against a bit of judicious lying, but this is far too complicated and full of pitfalls. Prepare stories that show you in a good light by the usual standards.

It sometimes helps to treat your prep as if you were advising someone else. You could consider using a friend to bounce your ideas off, write your history in the third person (just don't talk in it when the day comes!) and give the task to some AIs to see what good ideas they come up with.

You were clearly not useless, so show off your best attributes! Good luck.

I had this problem when I was trying to get my second job, op. The awkward silence of the first interview panel told me I needed to not tell the unvarnished truth about what I’d been dealing with. I just focused on what I would do and the few times I could legitimately refer to rather than the time they smashed the place up screaming for whisky. If you’re further into your career than I was, why not use examples from older jobs? You don’t need to tell them the exact date of your examples.

Don't you say things like, "I was working on this project involving..." rather than, "On 4th February 2023, I was..."? So you can use examples from previous jobs as well, if they're relevant. Even if you've moved sectors, you probably still have some transferable examples.

You do what you have to do to get the job, You can lie by omission or by skirting the truth. No sensible interviewer would expect you to rubbish your current or last employer. Ive lied in interviews, on my CV and claimed GCE maths which I never had. Fortunately no one ever checked or asked for certificates from the 1950s.

I've lied in every interview I have ever had! Usually when they say why do you want to work here and I say because I am a passionate and motivated individual that just luuuurves administration (or whatever!). I am lying because I couldn't give the tiniest little fuck, I just need a job that pays the bills!
I lie and tell them I am a bubbly, enthusiastic team player (I am mostly depressed being there and will obviously work as part of a team but I don't really give a shit about the team overall).
It usually works, most interviews I have attended have resulted in a job......I can let my 'real' personality shine through once I've got my feet under the table!

Theres lying, and there’s leaving out unhelpful details.

You didn’t throw the glass. The outcome was that the ceo was clear on the issue and could select a way forward based on the information and recommendation you put forward.

But as someone said above you worked there 4 years so presumably daily you did something, reported to someone, problem solved etc?

Agree. It’s not that you don’t have examples, it’s that you need to package them up so they’re interview ready. Saying that you went on to generate x million in sales or whatever, is a lie. Positioning it like @ScaryM0nster suggests is not.

Interviews are really boring so you could try both techniques.

If I was interviewing you, I'd be more interested in finding out: Were CEO & CFO were married? Did they have children? Did they go to a hotel? Do you think they bonked on the premises?
The glass throwing CFO sound a right one. Did anyone respect them? Did they rule by terror? What other stuff did they do?
It sounds like a complete shit show! Did they go bankrupt? Did anyone sue them? How did your work colleagues react?

Come on spill the tea!

It is technically fraud and a criminal offence or lie to get a job, so it is always better to avoid it.

Many do it, many get away with it, and many that get caught get very little negative other than losing a job or job opportunity. But more is possible, and has happened.

Go ahead OP but as long as it isnt too far fetched and it is what you would have liked to have done if the circumstances and personalities were right.

i.e. Don't say you generated £3m in new sales and secured £12bn in new investment when you worked in admin.

but you can say that you recognised a gap in an admin process and suggested a way to patch it, and while it took some convincing other people to see the benefits, the change was adopted.

Both of those can be lies. The fact the CEO threw the glass across the room and told you to stick your process improvement up your arse doesnt have to happen in the story you tell.

Sounds like you're very stressed following four years of hell. But surely in that time you cobbled together enough material from working with peers, contractors etc to answer a handful of qs? And you can draw from previous jobs.

Not surprised you're getting blank stares, NEVER trash talk previous employers in an interview. Marks you as unprofessional I'm afraid. Just focus on telling them what you're good at.

Also dont underestimate saying something like

"Unfortunately the culture has changed into something that is no longer compatible with me. The sort of character I would need to be in order to be sucessful there goes against my values."

People will know exactly what you mean.

I said something along this line when I left an AWFUL job. I found people knew exactly what I was getting at and they didnt press any further or try to lead me into badmouthing an employer. They sort of just went "ah. Ok gotcha. Fair enough."

You worked there for 4 years and presumably it wasn’t your first job so just use examples from however long ago where things did get over the line. Don’t overthink it by thinking you must reference the exact project where the fall out lead to you quitting. I had a shit show of a job a few years ago too and did bring it up in my last interview but only as a response to being asked how I cope under pressure and then obviously I gave a sanitised version that was more funny than traumatic (I got the job).

CFO and CEO both married to other people and had children yes. They bonked on work trips. There were a lot of those.

CFO and CEO both ruled by terror, yes.

They didn't go bankrupt, they just stopped paying people. About 10 sued/are suing. We are all broke and jobless tbh.

But I think I'm just bad at lying so I'm finding all interviewers are dissecting me then I'm not getting through to the next round.

Sometimes they take bizarre other meanings from my stories too.

What sort of questions are you getting in interviews, and what answers are you giving?

Wider context around staff personal behaviour shouldn’t be necessary, so there’s no need to lie. What you do need to do is focus your answer to the question that’s being asked. It will both help you score better on the question and avoid raising any side concerns about you being indiscreet.

I wonder if you’re waffling along too much on the wider story on previous employer (probably because it’s cathartic) and creating a problem.

Interview responses should be all about you and what you did. Even if there were two colleagues bonking on the printer next to you while you were doing the project, unless the question had anything about how you can do a project with people bonking on a printer then you don’t need to mention that. Any time you spend on that is time Youre not demonstrating your project skills.