Misrepresenting yourself to land a job
by JEANNE FLEMING, PH.D. and LEONARD SCHWARZ
Question: I recently opened my own graphic design business. A prospective client is coming to my new office for a meeting, and I plan to hire two temps for the day, to give the appearance that my firm is busy. A friend says this is wrong. But since no one will get hurt, how can it be?
Answer: Do we have a great job candidate for you! He’s got one year of experience, but his resume says three because he knows that looks better.
We sympathize with your eagerness to land those critically important first few clients. Unfortunately, though, inflating the body count in your office in order to create a good impression is indeed wrong – wrong because you’re misrepresenting not only the willingness of other companies to hire you, but the size of the staff available to do the work you’re seeking. And this is precisely the sort of information prospective clients are looking for when they make a point of coming by.
You wouldn’t be the first entrepreneur – or job applicant – to rationalize a deception by insisting that no one’s getting hurt. But the people you do business with – or work for, in the case of an employee – should be able to expect more integrity from you than the “no harm, no foul” standard of a basketball referee. We realize that, when you’re confident you’re qualified to do the work, the barriers you face to being hired might seem unfair. But just because an obstacle may appear insurmountable doesn’t entitle you to cheat your way around it.
Questions? Email Money Magazine’s ethicists – authors of “Isn’t It Their Turn to Pick Up the Check?” (Free Press) – at FlemingandSchwarz@right-thing.net.
OK – to me adding employees means you have to cover their costs and boy that makes things seem more expensive…show folks you are sincere and competitive. Price means so much in this economy..tell folks the true good things you have to offer, including meeting the schedule and offering a competitive estimate for services. – before you know it you may actually need employees to do real work
This is a classic "the ends justify the means" question. If you have to fake it, you aren't qualified.
No matter how good a job you did for a client, they would be highly unlikely to give you any repeat business or referrals if they found out you were scamming them.
I disagree with the advice of the columnist on this one, and am amazed that the expressed self righteousness of some of the commentators! They hire a temp first, if there is enough business for the temp to come back to help with phones and correspondence, he/she becomes a steady, and if the business really gets off the ground, the temp becomes a permanent! This is how it's done. My first job in the financial sector went this way, and I know many people who went the same route. 'Tis not a crime!
Would you consider the following to be deceptive?
1) Having an 1-800 number that actually goes to your house?
2) Having one of those VOIP PBX system that has callers select lines even if all the lines go to you? There are many companies that sell virtual PBX's for cheap money.
3) Having a PO Box at a prestigious address when you really don't have an office there?
4) Taking a prospective client to a fancy restaurant and then charging the bill because you don't have the cash?
The issue here is impression, not deceit. If you can deliver the goods regardless of the size of your staff, then there is no problem. But if you are misrepresenting yourself and your potential client is materially relying on the size of your operation (for the sake of speed, quantity of work, etc…) then this would definitely be unethical.
The question that should have been asked seems to have been asked by others in the discussion. Would appearing big help you land the client or scare them away? I myself prefer to work with smaller vendors because of the service and attention to detail. I pay more for it and probably don't get the perfect quality I would love. But I get responsiveness and simplicity.
While I don't have an ethical problem with putting on this show, I think you should focus on what you can offer your customer by being small. Responsiveness, customizability, speed, attention to detail, flexibility, etc…
Emphasize the things that you can offer that your competitors can't offer.
Check out Seth Godin and the Purple Cow book for more info on this.
I think it's ridiculous; either you have a portfolio that will attract attention, or you don't. Anything you do will come down to your actual substance. If you suck, go ahead, hire some temps.. but you'll still suck! If you're good, you don't need temps.
Deceiving is not deceitful??? Lol, ok I'd hate to ever do business with you! Yes it is deceitful. There's a big difference between taking the time and putting forth the effort to dress appropriately; there's nothing disingenuous about that. But contriving a situation to propagate a false scenario is misleading, and I don't know how you or anyone could say that's not deceitful. Probably if the client were smart they'd sense something was amiss and go elsewhere.
Some people have to borrow a dress or a suit to present their best image. Would anyone say they are indeed presenting a falsehood because they are wearing/showing something that is borrowed? Probably not.
Presenting oneself, and by extension one's own company, in a better light is not deceitful.
It's amazing to see the number of comments here from "Business" people that condone misrepresentation and dishonesty. It's exactly these same type of people and same dishonest practices that have put our economy in this horrendous state. Smoke and Mirrors do not make a sound business. It's no wonder we're in this mess with these type of morals being so prevalent.
Flip the situation around. If you were the buyer visiting the company, how would you feel if you learned that appearances were specifically altered to make you think more of the company?
Additionally, hiring people to make an office appear busier is not equivalent to washing a car before selling. It's more like using water soluble glue to hold the two bumpers long enough to get the car out of your drive way.
A business owner has every right to hire temps that sit around and do nothing if that person feels it is necessary. However, this tactic might backfire if those temps are actually seen being idle–might have the opposite effect.
A smart client will ask the right questions that will uncover just how busy the firm really is–since this is not an uncommon practice. If at that point the firm lies, then there is a problem–but not simply from hiring a few people.
I don't see what the problem is. As long as the business can make the deadline and produce a quality product, why would anyone care if the business owner presents a somewhat false impression that it is a bigger company than it currently is. Who gets hurt? Where is the harm? The bottom line is meeting a deadline and producing a good product.
The alarming part of the responses is the number of people who approve the deception. Repairing a house prior to sale is a smart move, covering a flaw is crooked. That's why house inspectors are hired. As a buyer I want to know and deserve to know what I'm facing whether or not deceit is involved.
I wonder how those who approve of this feel if they lose jobs or promotions to people who are better liars than they are.
I was stuck with a pitiful subordinate the last year before I retired because a manger decided her padded credentials were great and not worth investigating. Try it sometime. Once it was clear to everyone, it was too late to do anything about it.
CNN – You are paying Jeanne and Leonard (and their editors) too much if this answer passes your quality test. From the comments you can see their answer was not well thought out. Jeanne and Leonard would do well to study the comments and more carefully consider their future answers.
If your client decides by the impression of how busy your office looks instead of checking the actual work you delivered in the past, then he deserves to be in business with a liar like you. Just as the Madoff investors deserved to lose everything they had. Not that it makes it right.
Because of stupid business people handing out contracts to the most impressive outsourcer is why the IT industry is where it is.
Wow. This is the difference between 'Doers' and 'Watchers'.
It's not lying to hire 2 temps for a temporary amount of time. What you have them do will ultimately determine if you are successful. Should software companies announce the # of temp workers they 'employ' when writing a proposal?
It's not lying to have an office that you do not own – you are still creating a work environment. Should those who 'time share' office space advertise that fact? After all, it appears that you own or rent an office when in fact you do not.
It's not lying to appear experienced – it is in fact salesmanship (mentioned somewhere).
See if you can identify the difference:
Example of lying-
ProspectiveClient: 'I did not want to do business with a company that does not own their office space or hires temps because I have been burned by fly-by-night companies in the past'
NewBusiness: 'No problem'. when you do not meet that criteria.
__THAT__ would be lying.
Lighter side: Is it lying to wear a padded bra? Is it lying to wear shoes with a lift? Is it lying to wear vertical stripes?
I contend that it is not lying to present oneself in as good a light as possible. Questions not asked by the buyer do not need to be answered.
It's just a bit of salemanship, and that is a vital skill for anyone with their own business ( ie – do you clean your car before you sell it–do you do cosmetic repairs to your house before you sell it?). Should he be denied business…not because of the quality of his work..but because he is keeping his labor cost low? If he can put a couple of people to work for a few days, that's a good thing. If a busy workplace inspires confidence from clients (or investors), then he should strive for that goal. Short term temps may lead to long term temps that may lead to permanent jobs for some people. With all that said, if he is asked directly by the client about what they are doing, he should be truthful that they are temps in for the day.
Unfortunately, the scenario suggested by this writer asking the question is all too common, and also all too successful.
If you know your history about Microsoft, you also know Bill Gates did similar things, and in some cases worse than this person is suggesting. (Not to mention Apple and Steve Jobs)
I agree, we should all be honest, it is unfortunate that those who mis-represent themselves and their businesses always seem to float to the top.
It appears the socio-paths and the people with the innate ability to walk the legal "line" (or have the lawyers to fix their mistakes)are the ones with the greatest success in our society.
If you have no morals or ethics, by all means proceed, this approach will very likely reap you some wealth. As time goes on and you discard other moral restraints you may just get to be rich enough to thumb your nose at all those "honest" people.
Who knows! If you get rich enough then everyone will ignore how you made all that money and call you their best friend.
Well said. I work in the technology industry and see my value in the work force diminished by technically skilled but new job applicants from other countries misrepresenting their experience. I would be very upset with a potential vendor doing anything to give a false impression and would cease business with them as quickly as possible.
Thank you for your comments on being honest. There are not many things that upset me more than someone rationalizing dishonesty. I'm saddened that this sort of thing is so prevalent.
i think this would be a great way to do your best to assure your company has as little credibility as possible ultimately resulting in clients seeing this and passing you by so you have to close your company and go back to looking for a job working for someone else…
(but don't forget to lie on your resume too….)
good luck with your new company mission…"If we can deceive you without you knowing it, you're our kind of client!"
it's exactly people like this and decisions like this that create poor professionalism and in worst cases lead to severe harm to the company and those that 'think' they can run it.
good luck with your lies and deceit. i'm sure you've notice those attributes serve others very well!
Baloney!
When Spanx, the womens undergarments company, first started out, the owner asked all her friends to go out to the store where they were being sold and make a huge fuss and buy them all up. She created an artificial demand. Maybe its unethical, but it worked. Spanx is now hugely successful.
Are you able to handle the potential client's work? Can you really deliver? If yes, then hire all the temps you want. Having a full staff doesn't mean you'll be able to do the job. And a lack of staff doesn't mean you wouldn't be able to do the job. It just gives the client a sense of confidence.
But be careful. Some customers prefer small suppliers because they want personalized attention. Being big is not always an asset. Do what you think will get the client to say yes.
In most cases, they are looking at the quality of your work (and maybe if they like/can work with you).
Instead, play off of what you have. Make sure you have a good portfolio ready, even if they weren't done for clients. If you're a solo operation and this is your first job, mention that this allows you to pay more attention to the client and get more involved in the project personally.
You could even get the client involved in helping you grow your business. We've offered clients a lower fee or referral fees for successful referrals they send our way.
Also, looking busy can work against you in this field. It could indicate to a client that you might be too busy to give them the care and support they need.
There's nothing wrong with what he's doing: if the Client asks about his staff, he can clearly say that he hires temps as business dictates. Do big businesses or small businesses/stores advertise to their clients that some of their "employees" are temps?
ARe you serious with this answer ? Only some one who has never been in business would write such tripe. When you are starting out, frequently the ONLY way to get business is to appear as though you are larger and more experienced.
I completely disagree. Saying this is unethical is like claiming McDonalds using colors which trigger appetite is unethical. On the idea of fast food, when was the last time you ordered any food, which when delivered matched the picture on the menu? Misrepresentation as it is dipicted here is a hallmark of American business. If you are qualified and will deliver a quality product, there is nothing wrong with helping people to get over irrational reasons [for not using your services]. A busy office does not equal a quality product. In the end, the quality of your product is all that matters. As long as the product matches the appearances, it is up to you to deliver not represent.
Terrible advice! Having temps in your office is not the same as lying on your resume. There's a difference between lying and "spinning". Having temps for the day is "spin" and make no mistake, all corporations do stuff like this all the time.
In order to get your firm started, I would suggest to keep your price low in order to land those accounts. Emphasize how having a small office where you answer the phone provides that special personal touch that larger firms can't offer. Also, you can keep costs low to your clients because you do not have the staff that others do. I have learned from experience starting my own CPA firm 20 years ago. For example, if offering to do taxes for someone this year, ask to see last year's bill and do it for 25% less. Emphasize your education and work experience are the same as competitors and offer a tidbit of what you will do for the client. As I must emphasize, cheap prices get clients in the door in this economy. If you do good work and save them $, "word of mouth" will bring you more business. You can raise prices gradually over time with the good clients that you retain.
Everybody's righteous indignation here really blows my mind. I think this idea is great provided the temps "behave" and make a good impression. The whole business world is one big theater show anyway. To say its not is the true blasphemy. Its also disrepectful to your art. The only thing thats not right is when you hurt someone or put them in harms way. There is nothing wrong with smoke and mirrors unless you're using them to lead someone off a cliff. Why should this business owner have to function with hands-tied when the entire western world is a carnival midway? I say turn on your neon lights and put on your show. I'd be willing to bet a lot of the righeously indignant commenters are doing stuff that actually hurts people.