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Comment by balls187 | Hacker News Reader

> Here's an often overlooked technique for [...] engineers like me: study.

This is fantastic advice, for everyone.

Preparing for interviews isn't wasted time, because ultimately the goal is to land a job that furthers your own personal goals in some fashion.

I wouldn't recommend lying. If you're leaving a job, you should stand by your convictions. In my market, it's small and everyone knows everyone, so claiming you nailed everything down is easy enough to verify. Just remember one simple truth: "You are the only common link between all your failed jobs."

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The difference between "I nailed it all down" and "everybody between myself and the CEO was an idiot" may simply be a matter of perspective. Let's say both are true. Focus on the former, rather than the latter, in interviews. Be positive. Maybe that's a better way to phrase it, rather than saying "Lie." Heaven's no, never lie during a job interview; that simply won't do at all!

The best lies are the lies that can't be in principle disproven. I try to be reasonably honest most of the time, but if the question is something like "why did you leave" I'm going to give the "right" answer, not the honest one.

> I'm going to give the "right" answer, not the honest one.

Curious what the "right" answer is?

Lawyers never lie. that would be unethical.

Instead, lawyers "speak colorably"; If one takes the pure white light of truth, and puts it through a prism, all of those colors in the spectrum of truth, while not 100% of the truth, still contain a very strong thread of it.

for example, I was in court recently settling a criminal charge for someone about two months ago, and that someone asked the crown prosecutor (during the hearing) why the crown has gone silent on the civil process settling the charges. The crown, unable to lie, or even acknowledge a commercial default, stated colorably that the paperwork was "not necessarily valid" in a criminal case. not only was this true, but this kept the prosecution in honor, the court in honor, and the defendant in honor, all while allowing him his "Section 11" remedy (canada criminal code).

I'd suggest using colorable language any time you feel the need to lie.

TL:DR - In the eyes of the law, telling a spectrum of truth is still considered telling the truth.

So what I told you was true... from a certain point of view.

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