Came across this the other day, good resources hidden in links: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IUUwdEw0RjTftvJv3LTA-7XI... (such as this: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a_l8V-R7i5UOJiCV_QUqK167...)
Once I get pass HR and get to talk to an actual engineer I can reevaluate my lies and drive the interview into the areas I'm actually experienced with.
Also, interviewing is a game. Even if I'm not looking for a new job I just do it to practice and for fun. It feels pretty good to reject an offer and know your worth.
my next side project will be something using react, so i can add that to my CV.
then i can say i have more than a decade of experience in web development, and i am familiar with react.
of course, if they specifically want someone who has 3 years of react experience, then i am out. best i can claim is that i have worked on similar projects before and try to convince them that that experience is transferable.
Everyone got bills to pay, can't blame anyone for lying. If you put ridiculously high expectations, this is what you get. Go full ham on little white lies. Exaggerate like they exaggerate about how fun the environment is to work in. If it were truly a superb place, the position was already filled to begin with.
From there, look for something else. The best thing to do (and I hate it) is start searching while being employed. Doesn't matter which job. Just do whatever and state you're overqualified (but try not to trash talk your current position). That way, you get some of your self-esteem back, you'll have less stress.
Seriously this is something you have to start figuring out. Nobody can get refused hundreds of times and not get into self-doubt. Once out of a few referrals, I actually take the time to write back to whoever refused, even if it's a dead mailbox, just so I can tell to myself hey buddy, look at how I can do this job. I take their offer line by line and tell them why I am the best to do it. Come to think of it, I should do that for cover letters.
If you want to go against the flow and change the world, sure, be honest all the time. Unfortunately, my experience is that on short-term (with regards to the issue at hand) you're better off with white lies. Yes, because 'everyone does it'. Do I like that? No, I don't, but it is what it is.
[Edit]
A quant analyst working at some firm was told to steal Bernie Madoff's lunch. When he realized Bernie was 100% accurate on his predictions and it was obviously bullshit, he told his bosses, and filed four appeals with the SEC, but no one would listen: