I had one application come in that read as a perfect fit for what we wanted. A good look at the CV, however, showed that one critical piece didn't add up. the applicant claimed to have good knowledge of one particular software product. No mention of any courses taken on the product, not worked anywhere that used it.
Intrigued I asked him in for an interview. The discussion soon turned to the offending software. You don't know it, do you? This caused a sheepish admission. I explained that I was interested in why he had lied on his CV. He wanted the job was the answer. We parted ways, him understanding that blagging your way into a job may work on occasions but a half decent Manager is going to pick you up on it. He won't have lied again on his CV.
On another occasion, I was working as project manager and the company hired a contractor who did blag his way into the short term contract. He'd said he knew the software but hadn't used it in several years and would be rusty and not up to date with any changes/enhancements. He was given the job on the understanding that he's be on 70% of the rate for 2 weeks and be up to date by then or he was out. When I was introduced to him and told the deal I said fine. It was just after 4 so I asked the gaffer if it was OK if I left an hour early to go into Amsterdam for a beer with the new hire, get to know him and that would help me plan what knowledge needed refreshing and what needed teaching from scratch. The new hire, a Geordie, was quite happy to go for a beer and a chat away from the office. Once ensconced in the pub, we had a general chat then I said "right, how much do I need to teach/refresh?". The honesty of the answer was as refreshing as its content was frightening. he knew the background as he'd used similar products... I had a choice. Dob him in or have a very intensive 2 weeks to get him up to standard. I chose the latter for no other reason than the owner of the agency employing him was a good friend of mine. Geordie was a fast learner and he was 90% up to speed inside a week. I had a word with my mate and got a bonus for going the extra mile.
Same circumstances, different outcomes. The first lad was good but getting up to scratch on CICS isn't going to happen in a short timeframe. A scheduling system, when you know 3 other similar systems is a different kettle of fish.


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Brilliant
