# The Job Interview Where I Told the Truth

2026-06-22 · English
#work #honesty #career #risk #authenticity

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I had been lying in job interviews for six years. Not big lies — the standard lies. That I was passionate about the company. That I worked best under pressure. That my greatest weakness was that I cared too much.

I had a mortgage and a car payment and I needed this job, probably more than I'd needed any of the previous ones. On the train on the way there I thought: I'm so tired of performing. I'm so tired of saying the thing.

In the interview the hiring manager asked me why I wanted to work there. I looked at him and said: "Honestly, I need income and stability. I've researched the company and I think I'd be good at this work and I think the environment would suit me. I'm not going to tell you it's my dream job, because it isn't, but I'll tell you I'll do it well."

There was a silence. I thought: well, that's that.

He said: "That's the most honest answer I've heard in two years of doing these."

I got the job. I worked there for nine years. It turned out to be, in its way, exactly the right place for me.