Latest / Prayer Before Work / He Faked His Salary and Got a 40% Raise. Then What? - Prayer Before Work
Transcript
- C0667: You stretched the truth about your salary in a job interview, and it worked. Or maybe you haven't yet, but you've heard the stories, and you're wondering why you should be the only honest one at the table. Well, my name is Sean, and welcome back to Prayer Before Work. I came across a story recently that I can't I just can't stop thinking about. Final round interview for a senior role at a huge company. And during the screening, the candidate inflated their Current salary. The company came back with an offer 20% above that fake number, which worked out to like a 40% raise for that person. And their question was a fair one. Companies aren't totally honest with candidates. They don't show you their budget. They don't tell you what the last person made. So why should we be the only ones showing our cards? Well, the frustration under underneath that question, I think, is valid. Hiring can feel like a game where only one side knows the rules. But there's a proverb that speaks right to this moment when it looks like the lie worked. In Proverbs 20, 17, it says, Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth will be full of gravel. Now, what I appreciate about that verse is that it actually says that dishonesty sometimes pays off. It admits that the bread is sweet. The offer letter feels wonderful. The bigger paycheck is real. But there's an afterword. Something that started out sweet turns gritty. Now you don't have to choose between being naive and being dishonest. You know you're walking into a room where people have their own interests and you don't have to hand over every piece of information just because someone asked for it. I mean not showing your cards and lying about your cards are two very different ways to approach this. I mean you can say I'd rather not share my current salary, but based on this role and the market, I'm looking for something in this range. And that's that's wise. You're not giving away anything, really. and every word of it's true. And in some US states, employers aren't even allowed to ask that question anymore. But inflating the number is something else. It might pay off, and and sometimes it does. And that's the sweet part. But it also means your new job, it starts with something you now have to protect, a number you have to keep straight. A story that you hope nobody ever checks on. That's the gravel part. And and it's a heavy thing, you know, to carry into a place where you're hoping to build a new career. And if you're in that spot right now, I I'm I don't have a script to hand to you, but I'd ask you to bring it to God honestly and ask him, what would it look like for you to really display honesty from here. So let's pray. Lord, it's hard. It's hard to play fair when it feels like nobody else is. We want to be paid what we're worth, and that's not wrong. But make us wise. Help us to know what we don't have to share and and how to ask for what we need with confidence. But but keep us keep us honest too. Guard us from deciding that a little dishonesty is just the cost of doing business. And where we've already cut a corner, give us the courage to face it with you. And help us to build our careers on things that hold up whenever anyone might look closely. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Go make today count.