Is Honesty the Best Career Policy?

We’ve read volumes on problems with quarter-to-quarter myopia in managing a public enterprise. But what about the problem of job-to-job myopia when it comes to managing your own career?  In the same way that long-term corporate value can be sacrificed to the Gods of Quarterly Profit, there's also a trade-off to be made between long-term career value and short-term salary gains.

In practical terms, this comes down to a question of honesty: Is it in your best interests to tell a job interviewer what she wants to hear, or should you tell the complete truth about your own strengths and limitations? An interesting article from today’s BusinessWeek, written by a former HR executive, speaks to this problem:

So if you tell an interviewer, "I'm on the verge of receiving a settlement from my car accident last year, which would let me move out of state," and the hiring manager takes that statement seriously enough to turn his or her attention to other candidates, is your honesty being held against you? Not in the slightest. Most of us, while sorry about your accident, would be happy for you and your impending windfall. But we're just not going to hire you. After all, you talked yourself out of the job. All the hiring manager did was listen. That's not to say that you should tell interviewers what you think they want to hear. Why pretend to be excited about a career path that doesn't interest you? If salary is a problem, say so. What's the point of working for a company that doesn't give you what you want? No, your honesty isn't hurting you. In the long run, it will help you get the job you really want.