[onestep]

I know this is wrong and unethical, but it really wasn’t my intention from the start. So this is basically what happened. During the interview, the interviewer kept on asking me how much times I took each part and I felt so much pressure that I told her once for each part except regulations. The truth was I took each part twice and FAR three times. I really didn’t want to sound dumb, but instead, I think I made it even worst. I am feeling so bad right now. Do you know if they can find out? I really want this job as I’ve been unemployed for over a year since I graduated. I have no experience under my belt except passing this exam.n

n

[FARbehind]

I wonder why she asks you that question to start with. It should be illegal to ask you how many times you took the exam. From my experience most of the people in real life lie about that. The statistics is only 10% of the people pass all 4 exams on their first attempt but I know way more people who are telling me they passed on their first try. This information is irrelevant to the job so I wouldn't try to make it up…n

n

aud,bec,reg-passed
far-->75 Done!!!!!
ethics-100

[onestep]

Oh? Is it illegal? And speaking of illegal, there was also a whole bunch of red flag questions. One example was that he was trying to get my age. He was trying to be slick, so he asked when I graduated from HS. I think its a dirty way to use indirect questions.n

n

[limey]

A way to get around those (really lame) interview questions is to blow it off and then move the conversation to something else, i.e. “Taking each exam part once is one too many!”

n

And illegal questions – you can always give vague, silly answers to defuse and steer the conversation elsewhere, i.e. “Oh, I graduated high school last year, I think you were in the class the year before!” or “I'm adopted, so I'm clueless about my true ethnic origins or where my name came from!” or “I think my pet rock is sometimes eligible for childcare credit!”

n

It's generally illegal to ask about age and ethnicity, but small shops ask them b/c they can get away with it. Watch out for similar questions that indirectly ask things about yourself without directly asking, i.e.
nWhat are the origins of your first/last name?
nHow do you spend your weekends?
nWhere are you living and do you like living in an apartment? For a house, who handles the house maintenance? How many room are there? How many roommates do you have? (Trying to figure out if you are married but not wearing a ring, if you have kids, etc)

n

These are very natural conversation questions when you meet someone new, but how you answer these in an interview gives the interviewers clues. You can be polite, but you don't have to give too much information – you can give fairly broad answers.n

n

I really can't pass again!

[onestep]

I know this is wrong and unethical, but it really wasn't my intention from the start. So this is basically what happened. During the interview, the interviewer kept on asking me how much times I took each part and I felt so much pressure that I told her once for each part except regulations. The truth was I took each part twice and FAR three times. I really didn't want to sound dumb, but instead, I think I made it even worst. I am feeling so bad right now. Do you know if they can find out? I really want this job as I've been unemployed for over a year since I graduated. I have no experience under my belt except passing this exam.

[Anonymous]

Lying is never good and I doubt that they could ever found out because you and your state are the only who has access to your scores. . I would have tried to put a positive spin on your situation. For the next time, you could say something like “I really struggled with the exam but was determined not to give up no matter what and finally passed last Mar” or “I did not pass the first time around but only about 15-20% of candidates do” or just tell them the truth. If they know anything about the exam it will mean probably nothing. Not sure why they would continually ask such a question because I think how many times it took to pass the exams has no bearing on your potential contribution to a company.

Obviously, you know what you did was wrong because you feel awful so next time work through the question so you feel confident in answering. Good Luck in your Job Search. By the way, what area (city) are you looking for a job?

[financeguy]

I don't know what to tell you as far as the lying goes, but here is another way to look at it if it comes up in the future. Rather than you thinking you are dumb for needing several tries for each exam let them know that it shows how persistent you are and how you won't give up and must complete the job.

AUD - 81, BEC - 74, 80, FAR - 82, REG - 81
Done!

[onestep]

Thanks for the replies guys. Lee_In, I want to stay anonymous, so I will just say west coast. I have a second inteview tomorrow, and I just don't know how to face the interviewer (a different person). Should I just dig a deeper hole and go with the flow and straight everything up? =/

[Anonymous]

Understand on the anonymous. If it comes up just come up with a positive response without any specifics like “I had to take each of them more than once but was determine to pass and get the job done because I never quit once I start something”. I think you get the drift but forget about your past answer and come up with a better response. I would even practice it in front of the mirror 4 or 5 times. This way you are not caught off guard and are more confident in your response. Good Luck.

[onestep]

hehe thanks for the advice. Yeah, I had the interview one and an half right after the interviewer called, so I totally caught off guard.

[jeff]

While honesty would have helped you sleep better at night, the truth is that they won't ever know.

Even if they wanted to call your past employers, they could only find out if in fact you did work there…no opinions on your work performance is allowed.

[Anonymous]

onestep

Most employers are just happy that you have passed! You spent your time wisely – and have something very important to show for that time and effort. Sometimes during interviews people like to put you in an uncomfortable position to see how you react. Be yourself and be proud of what you have achieved!

[GSU Josh]

This is a little off topic since it is directly related to lying in an interview, but I'm just wondering what the deal is with employers these days. I know it is a tough job market, but I consistently see accountants/CPA's in the top 10 job lists over and over. Anyway, I was called in for an interview last week and was interviewed for all of probably 10 minutes (not enough time to show who I am). I answered normal questions and communicated well, but was not called in for a second interview/accounting assessment. It's all just very frustrating, and I sometimes feel like I'll never get hired. I only have one year of audit experience, and I know this hurts me. The problem is that how can you get more experience if no one will hire you because you have little or no experience!

I will be a CPA soon, and I just hope that people will look at you differently with the full blown license in hand. Anyone have any comments/suggestions about finding an accounting position with only one year experience?

AUD - 74, 87; BEC - 84; FAR - 78; REG - 79
It's done, Son!

[financeguy]

GSU Josh

For that particular situation it sounds like the company had already decided on a candidate. For instance you interview on Friday, and on Wednesday that had already found the perfect candidate, but they are not going to cancel the rest of the interviews.

The best thing to do is network. Yes people will definitely look at you differently once you have passed. I haven't even passed all of the exam yet and I am getting hookups just because of the people I talk to about the exam and becoming a cpa.

And just keep in mind you are experiencing arguably the worst job market in the history of the country.

AUD - 81, BEC - 74, 80, FAR - 82, REG - 81
Done!

[GSU Josh]

I believe it. It's all very difficult, especially when your parents quit helping you completely and you're worthless/disgraceful because you don't have a job. It's not a choice to be in this position. Is accounting not a good profession, though? Why do I consistently see it listed as one of the best jobs along with nurses and the like.

About the interview, though, I don't think they have hired because I saw the position pop up on Accountemps which I'm certain was the same job. I really think they didn't want me because I have one year audit experience and no tax experience.

AUD - 74, 87; BEC - 84; FAR - 78; REG - 79
It's done, Son!

[financeguy]

I'm not sure of your age, but for the group of 18-29 year olds, the unemployment rate is at 30%. The reality is, there is no driver for jobs. Yes accounting is a good profession to be in. It is a profession that will never be obsolete, unlikely to be mostly automated, and it is a “general type of skill”, and by that I mean you can go from manufacturing, to government, to healthcare, to finance, to (whatever). It is not specialized, in which if you can't transfer your skills to another area of industry.

It is possible that they wanted someone w/ more experience, however don't make that think that you can't get a job w/o experience. They already saw your resume w/ your experience before they interviewed you. If experience was the issue, then they would have never even called you in for an interview. Interviewing is a skill. I interview for the hell of it just simply to practice and get experience…even if I know full well that I don't want the job. Try to write down the questions that you remember as soon as you leave and then later on come up w/ your own perfected answers.

AUD - 81, BEC - 74, 80, FAR - 82, REG - 81
Done!

[Author]

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