Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I Got Catfished by a Candidate

saastr.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

411–420 of 662 posts

Re: I Got Catfished by a Candidate

#411

Post by pjc50 »

rando444 wrote: post #404
pjc50 wrote: post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Next time someone says technical hiring is not hiring quite so many women or minorities because it's purely meritocratic, I'm going to point them at this post.

(1) Networking and building a reputation for yourself will always have value. (2) Most of the things that he's listed are merits. Being involved in his community, having a strong verifiable previous job history with good references, etc. (3) Having a good job history, making friends, and being involved in online and offline communities are not things limited to white males.

In re (3), the post specifically mentions the Masons, which traditionally is extremely exclusive, men-only, excludes Catholics, etc.

They've opened up slightly in response to pressure, and there are some female freemasons, but it's still pretty exclusive.

Re: I Got Catfished by a Candidate

#412

Post by Spearchucker »

lvillani wrote: post #392
f4stjack wrote: post #390

The thing I don't get is, and probably I'll be downvoted to hell because of that, even though this guy lied about his past, his knowledge is solid. Nobody can guess what the interviewers will ask you and from what I've read from the text he aced those. If this is the tech business rolls what I see that it wants developers with a history, with connections, with "clout" so to speak; doesn't matter if you can help their…

His knowledge is solid, sure, but would you really want to work with someone who has such a strong inclination to cheat and deceive? I certainly wouldn't.

I don't know. And given his ability I'd like to know. So if it were up to me I'd call him back in, confront him, and ask why he did it. I'd make my decision after that.

Re: I Got Catfished by a Candidate

#413

Post by danpalmer »

donretag wrote: post #266

I get catfished often. Company X offers me a role where I have responsibilities Y and benefits Z. Promotions after a set number of time. Times go by, still not doing Y, but intern level work. Benefits Z never appear. And that promotion? Sorry, someone needs to die or leave first, and then maybe we will hire a direct replacement. Companies lie all the time in order to get a candidate to join.

Are you “interviewing” the company well enough when you are looking for a job?

They shouldn’t be lying, but you can often pick up on these things through red flags in answers they give to your questions.

Re: I Got Catfished by a Candidate

#414

Post by misja111 »

briandear wrote: post #10

I really hate the so-called term “catfished” it’s a completely contrived word that came from a 2010 movie that probably 50 people actually saw. “Ghosting” is another one, but at least you can use context to sort of figure out what people are actually talking about. A bit off topic, but this adulteration of language — from an obscure pop-culture reference, is a bit silly. Obviously the author agrees that most people d…

The term catfishing is much older than that 2010 movie: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/01/18/catfish_meani...

By the way the Dutch word is similar: 'katvanger' and is quite old as well.

Re: I Got Catfished by a Candidate

#415

Post by aaron695 »

I'm surprised people think back-channel/backdoor references are legal.

Maybe they are in OP's location but they certainly are not ethical.

You have no right to ever complain about facebook etc privacy again if you think you have the right to possibly get someone fired by betraying their trust like that.

And any company that allows employees to back-channel reference is also incredibly unethical.

What annoys me the most is that fact the OP seems proud of the fact.

Re: I Got Catfished by a Candidate

#416

Post by rando444 »

pjc50 wrote: post #411
rando444 wrote: post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(1) Networking and building a reputation for yourself will always have value. (2) Most of the things that he's listed are merits. Being involved in his community, having a strong verifiable previous job history with good references, etc. (3) Having a good job history, making friends, and being involved in online and offline communities are not things limited to white males.

In re (3), the post specifically mentions the Masons, which traditionally is extremely exclusive, men-only, excludes Catholics, etc. They've opened up slightly in response to pressure, and there are some female freemasons, but it's still pretty exclusive.

The masons was an anecdote specific to that commenter, my point was that there are many different types of groups that serve the same purpose.

Re: I Got Catfished by a Candidate

#417

Post by rndgermandude »

AmericanChopper wrote: post #120
deedubaya wrote: post #7

Maybe the author should evaluate _why_ they got catfished. Recruiting processes are so convoluted and hard to break through, that someone who apparently otherwise would have been a great candidate, had to lie to get an interview. Was a good candidate really only one that had worked at the managers previous employer? How many great candidates are companies missing out on because of arbitrary filters?

>someone who apparently otherwise would have been a great candidate Dishonesty is an intolerable trait. This person clearly wasn't a great candidate. Lying at work is just about the only thing I'll always fire somebody for.

>Dishonesty is an intolerable trait.

He applied for a sales job... Some (NOT ME!!!!1!) would argue that dishonesty is a mandatory trait in that occupation

ducks

Re: I Got Catfished by a Candidate

#418

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

rando444 wrote: post #416
pjc50 wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In re (3), the post specifically mentions the Masons, which traditionally is extremely exclusive, men-only, excludes Catholics, etc. They've opened up slightly in response to pressure, and there are some female freemasons, but it's still pretty exclusive.

The masons was an anecdote specific to that commenter, my point was that there are many different types of groups that serve the same purpose.

At the very least, I think pjc50's observation highlights that there is a certain inertia in some industries that perpetuates a bias toward one or the other gender.

Edit: changed a couple of words to make my point clearer.

Re: I Got Catfished by a Candidate

#419

Post by Spearchucker »

austenallred wrote: post #279
njharman wrote: post #275

> He impressed each interviewer with his knowledge and passion for the brand, his sales acumen, outbound hunter mentality, and overall presence. > Our Catfish never faltered, kept a smile on his face the entire time, and did his homework. We even talked about sales operations, discussed the pros and cons of MEDDIC, and talked about Salesforce workflows. I mean, this guy was pretty good. Sounds like they were an excel…

They were a great candidate right up until the "lied on their resume and in job interviews, also created a fake email address and phone number to pretend to be someone else" part.

You don't know that. The only way you're going to know that is to ask why. Call him back in, tell him is skillz are the bomb, but why lie? Who knows, there might be an acceptable answer.

Re: I Got Catfished by a Candidate

#420

Post by rando444 »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #418
rando444 wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The masons was an anecdote specific to that commenter, my point was that there are many different types of groups that serve the same purpose.

At the very least, I think pjc50's observation highlights that there is a certain inertia in some industries that perpetuates a bias toward one or the other gender. Edit: changed a couple of words to make my point clearer.

Well if we're doing anecdotes, I work for the second largest IT firm in my country, and the management is largely made up of women, and I don't believe any of them to be freemasons.

Perhaps this observation has more to do with location and culture than it does industry.

Post reply on HN