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Just bombed a job interview because I bragged about a skill I barely had
I told them I was an expert at Excel macros during a finance interview last month. Then they asked me to walk through a complex VBA script on the spot and I froze. I learned the hard way that overselling yourself is way worse than being honest about being a beginner. Has anyone else ever had this backfire on them in an interview?
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the_diana3d ago
Hmm, actually gotta push back a bit here. Overselling totally backfired for you in that moment, yeah. But if you walked in saying "I'm a beginner at macros" they probably would have moved on to the next candidate without a second thought. The trick isn't being 100% honest about where you're at. The trick is saying "I have solid experience with macros, but I'm always deepening my skills" then having a real story about a project where you actually used them. Nobody gets hired by admitting they can't do the job. You just needed a better script to follow, not a different script to pitch.
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