5 Lies Told by Recruiters & Managers
I learned at Yahoo that recruiters and managers lie. My friend, Ramkumar, was a an engineer on Yahoo’s backend team. We had worked together at Yahoo to create Yahoo Webcam for Yahoo Messenger. He did the engineering, I did the product side. After we launched Yahoo Webcam Ramkumar wanted ...
I learned at Yahoo that recruiters and managers lie.
My friend, Ramkumar, was a an engineer on Yahoo’s backend team. We had worked together at Yahoo to create Yahoo Webcam for Yahoo Messenger. He did the engineering, I did the product side.
After we launched Yahoo Webcam Ramkumar wanted to get experience in a different part of the company. He decided to look for another job inside Yahoo.
At that time the Yahoo Messenger team was searching for 5 new developers under a lot of pressure from management. If they did not hire all 5 developers before the deadline they would lose the positions. They were desperate to hire.
I told Ramkumar about the opportunity with the Messenger team.
“You’re a great developer. They’ll hire you in a minute,” I said.
“I really want to become a manager,” Ramkumar replied. “Do you think I can get that with the Messenger team?”
“Yes. Yang, the Messenger team leader, is under a lot of pressure to hire fast,” I said. “He knows you did great work with Webcam. You’re in a fantastic position to negotiate. When you get the offer just make clear that you’ll accept only if he commits to making you a manager.”
“Ok!” Ramkumar said. “I have my interview tomorrow. I’ll let you know what happens.”
Ramkumar got an offer just as I knew he would. I saw him in the hall later that week.
“Did they promise to make you a manager?” I asked.
“Yes. Yang said they don’t need any more managers right now but he’ll make me a manager in 3-6 months.”
“Did you get that in writing?” I asked.
“No,” Ramkumar said. “I trust Yang. He’ll do it.”
Six months later I ran into Ramkumar again in the Yahoo canteen. He looked unhappy.
“I should have listened to you,” he said. “Yang changed his mind. He says that they don’t need managers now.”
“What happened to his promise?” I asked.
“He said I misunderstood him when I got the offer. He said he’d *try* to make me a manager but no guarantees.”
Ramkumar looked at the floor.
“I should have listened to you and got his promise in writing.”
As my friend Ramkumar learned, if you take a job based on a verbal promise of “something in the future” is then don’t be surprised if you never get it.
Always get promises put in writing. If a recruiter or manager won’t put it in writing then chances are you won’t get it. Even if the manager meant it when he said it and genuinely regrets not being able to keep his promise, the result for you is the same as if he were glad.
Here are some common lies that recruiters and managers tell:
1. “We’ll promote you later.”
Unless you make a promotion a condition of accepting an offer, most managers cannot commit to promoting you before you join. They need to see your performance first. This is fair. It’s also fair for you to get in writing exactly how they define good performance and exactly what you need to do in order to get promoted. That way everything is clear. You know if you do ABC you’ll get promoted.
2. “You’ll get a big salary increase later.”
Again, make sure you understand how you will be evaluated and exactly what you need to do in order to get the salary increase. And get it in writing.
3. “You’ll have a great career path and opportunity to advance.”
Maybe this is true, and maybe it isn’t. Ask the recruiter to tell you some stories of people who started in your position and progressed upward through the company. Ask if you can talk to them. If the recruiter won’t share their details with you then it may not be true.
4. “You will get lots of training with us.”
Maybe they will train you and maybe you won’t. Ask what kinds of training they offer. If the training is important to you, ask them to put it in your offer letter (in writing).
5. “If you just do a great job the company will notice and you’ll get promoted.”
This is half true, half lie. Yes you must do great work to get promoted. But I’ve found that most of the time it’s not enough just to do great work. You also must ask. Most managers will be happy to accept great work from you without additional salary or promotion forever unless you ask.
Recruiters and managers may mean what they say when they make a promise. But their good intentions are worthless to you without results.
Be aware of these potential lies. ALWAYS get promises in writing. If the company won’t put their promise in writing you can be sure that the promise is not real.
