Successful careers and businesses built on white lies. Any good faked it till they made it story?

Lurker on 10/03/2020 - 10:53
Last edited 11/03/2020 - 00:26

Preferably real stories of people who lied in the beginning of their career and then made positive impact later in their career.

Right now I am trying to get into a conference/expo that everyone has to apply to attend.

It looks like I have to 'fake' it to get in there.

So I need some real stories to show my wife even 'successful' people did whatever it took early in their career.

So far , I can find only 2 credible stories:

……….iphone was technically not ready to be released when Steve Jobs did his demo.
e.g.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/and-then-steve-sa…
Jobs had been practicing for five days, yet even on the last day of rehearsals the iPhone was still randomly dropping calls, losing its Internet connection, freezing or simply shutting down.

……….Bill Gates promised IBM a product he had not yet developed.
e.g.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/07/ibm-pc-history-part-…
In the meantime Bill Gates was wondering how the hell he was going to come up with an operating system for IBM in the time frame they wanted. Then one day Paterson called Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen to tell him about QDOS, just in case

Thank you very much.

……….Edit:
Found a 3rd true story (pretty amazing story about white lies) , thanks to th88

The Lie That Helped Build Nintendo
The story of a man, a lie, a video game handheld, and a business empire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKgL8u4CPJ8
https://au.ign.com/articles/2019/12/09/the-lie-that-helped-b…

……….Edit 2:
Changed the title to reflect better what I am looking for.

Education & Work

Comments

  • kahn on 10/03/2020 - 11:04
    +17

    Any female actress working for Harvey Weinstein.

    • Lurker on 10/03/2020 - 11:08
      -2

      Unfortunately , that is the reality of work.

    • [Deactivated] on 10/03/2020 - 12:33
      +10

      Fake it. F a k e.

      Not (profinty) it.

      • monkeyfood on 11/03/2020 - 00:19
        +2

        donald trump?

  • life is suffering on 10/03/2020 - 11:22

    My personal experience - good to get through something but don't make it a habit.

  • DarthAntz on 10/03/2020 - 11:25
    +10

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-03/veronica-theriault-ge…

    This story is nothing short of awesome. Government is full of fakes, and I'm surprised shes the only one who got caught.

    What makes it so awesome is that in a month she earned my annual salary, contracted her brother, and then went on leave.

    This is our government.

    • [Deactivated] on 10/03/2020 - 12:05
      +8

      This is our government.

      That is actually SA's government but you're not wrong, that is government in general.

      Yet you see people wanting to hand over more power and liberties to the institution.

      • Bargain80 on 10/03/2020 - 14:57
        +15

        reminds me of this joke

        A son says to his father: "Dad, I'm thinking about a career in organized crime."
        Father: "Government or private sector?"

    • serpserpserp on 10/03/2020 - 15:09
      +2

      I know of someone that was working in a government job (a pretty well paying one) and was essentially going on annual/sick/carers/whatever they could get leave and doing copious "work from home" and "meetings across town" but was effectively also working in their spouses restaurant full time (during the day time). Was going on for 1 to 2 years before they were cornered and ask to stop. Which they didn't (they just lied and then worked part time in the business).

      I also knew of a bloke that was working at a big bank and basically was in a role where they just needed to engage internal stakeholders across different addresses this bank had in Sydney. Use to ring up one team and say he was working over at X building, then ring that team and say he was at Y building etc. but was actually at home/at the beach. Did this for about 9 months before someone started putting the pieces together and he then he quit before anything came of it.

      Know another guy that lied about his work experience to get into Uni. Given it was an "entrepreneur" masters degree. It is a bit hard to verify his story I guess! The kicker is the bloke that actually had the experience this bloke talked about also did the same degree (6 months or a year later I think) and basically told them the same story and they let him in too.

      • DarthAntz on 10/03/2020 - 15:28

        Moral of the story is yes - fake it until you make it.

      • catbug on 11/03/2020 - 08:03
        -1

        My ex boyfriend had a cushy well paying govt job, it always irked me when he took work from home days and would do nothing lol and for sickies he wasn’t required to have any documentation like med certs so very easy to call in sick as well. I felt like he was abusing the system and that I and everyone else was paying for it, through taxes.

        Anyways not so much as faking it til you make it but he would pay people on Airtasker to do some of his work, you could look at it like he’s delegating his work or he’s cheating and is lazy 🤷🏻‍♀️

        • serpserpserp on 11/03/2020 - 08:29

          but he would pay people on Airtasker to do some of his work

          I'm surprised that this is done more. Especially for people who do programming. If you found a talented person on airtasker to do your work you could get away with murder!

  • coblos on 10/03/2020 - 11:35
    -4

    Spoiler Alert - The movie "Parasite" could be considered a good fake it till you make it story.

  • websterp on 10/03/2020 - 11:35
    +5

    Here is one more to your list: https://www.smh.com.au/technology/telstras-sacked-cto-vish-n…

    This guy lied about his doctorate all the way upto becoming CTO of Telstra.

  • mooney on 10/03/2020 - 11:44
    +5

    Friend of mine copied my brothers CV to get a job in IT. My mate had zero degree and zero experience, but is highly intelligent. He then bullshitted and blagged his way for the next few months, including several frantic calls to my brother to be able to fake experience and knowledge. After a while he worked hard and learned the required skills and became good at the role.

    This was 20 years ago. He is now earning ridiculous money and I mean RIDICULOUS.

    • 900dollaridoos on 11/03/2020 - 07:41
      +2

      How much is ridiculous and what is his role?

      • tomsco on 11/03/2020 - 08:03

        Jeff Bezos?

  • Bid Sniper on 10/03/2020 - 12:08

    Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1016268/

    The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019)
    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8488126/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

    • DonWilson on 12/03/2020 - 01:04

      Are you saying Alex Gibney faked his documentary making ability?

  • netjock on 10/03/2020 - 12:10
    +3

    Bernie Madoff, he almost got there.

    • Bid Sniper on 10/03/2020 - 12:24
      +2

      than bam 150 years jail

      • lostn on 11/03/2020 - 19:25

        are they going to give him life extension?

  • try2bhelpful on 10/03/2020 - 12:19
    +1

    Most of us do this, all the time, but on a smaller scale. We overstate experience and do lots of research before we go to the interviews. However, there are stories that are the downside. Where the person was found out and fired from the position. The ensuing publicity will make it difficult to them find something they are even qualified for. My other half’s company interviewed this guy, online, who was having “difficulty” with his FaceTime equipment. When the employee turned up it was a completely different guy; his English was poor and he was nowhere near qualified. He couldn’t answer the questions they’d covered in the interview. They booted him out. Not sure if he went through an agency but if he did the agency would’ve be on the outer as well. A lot of companies will do “trial periods” to see if they’ve bought a pup.

    My suggestion is fake the small stuff but, if something can be determined with a bit of detective work, don’t take the risk. Your reputation is your most important asset and if the word gets around you are dodgy you will find it difficult.

    Your missus is right, for the success ones there are far more crash and burn ones. Make sure you have a safety net and then go for the ring. Eventually you have to produce the sausage to go with the sizzle.

    • netjock on 10/03/2020 - 13:56
      +4

      Most of us do this, all the time, but on a smaller scale. We overstate experience and do lots of research before we go to the interviews.

      Amuses me that I can do my job in 4 hrs when everyone else just struggles. Oh yeah they lied.

      • try2bhelpful on 10/03/2020 - 15:00
        +1

        The secret is to come up to speed quickly, when you get in the door. It only works if you can actually “make it” quickly.

        In your case:
        - your coworkers sold the sizzle but couldn’t produce the sausage.
        - the hiring guy needs some retraining.
        - you lack ambition.

        • netjock on 11/03/2020 - 00:11

          In your case:

          I am amused by people who feel like they need to stick the boot in because apparently they are Mr Know It All.

          Why do I want to be in the 45% tax bracket? Giving 27 mins of every hour to the ATO. 5 mins an hour better spend figuring a tax plan to maximize income and reduce tax liabilities through better asset allocation.

          • try2bhelpful on 11/03/2020 - 06:46

            @netjock: Not trying to put the boot in just indicating how it seems to be. If you can do your job in so short a time why wouldn’t you strive for something more challenging and, probably, better paid. It is OK to do what you do but it would appear to lack ambition if it is, currently, so easy. I would also twin that with a better tax accountant.

            • netjock on 11/03/2020 - 09:22

              @try2bhelpful:

              how it seems to be

              Sorry but you don't have much of an idea and read the below. I'm working on two start ups as a side gig.

              Difference between being an employee making more is: you work reputation by association (of the company). You are only good as the next offer. Also you can't really tax manage as the super contributions have come down drastically.

              Having your own business you build equity which means if you want to leave you can sell it. Problem is:
              1. You got people who have no idea doing crazy things (like open a cafe with no experience and selling below cost or taking away your business so both have to close up at some point)
              2. You've got VCs who are willing to fund 9 crap businesses and burn money, make a loss for that 1 that makes a killing

              You determine how much you get paid. If you are in the 45% tax bracket you can retain profits in the company and pay out in future years.

              Note most tax accountants are not very good unless you make the effort to pay and attend pretty regularly. No point turning up 1st of July every year because you can't adjust the tax year that just finished.

              • try2bhelpful on 12/03/2020 - 07:55

                @netjock: I agree with you on the tax accountant. You can’t expect to meet them once a year and then expect them to “fix stuff.

                I don’t read every entry in every forum post. If you using the current job to fuel your start ups then good for you.

          • Harold Halfprice on 12/03/2020 - 18:48

            @netjock:

            Why do I want to be in the 45% tax bracket? Giving 27 mins of every hour to the ATO.

            For someone who is so humbly bragging on the internet and claiming to have everything figured out - what you just said is completely wrong. If you're in the 45% tax bracket, you're not paying 45% tax on your entire earnings - so it's not 27 minutes out of your hour going to the ATO.

            • netjock on 12/03/2020 - 19:37

              @Harold Halfprice: LoL wow. You are so smart. Where have you been.

              Every dollar you make over 180,000 you pay 47% tax. What do you not understand when I say "bracket"

              If dividing it over a larger number makes you feel better.

              I guess if I made a million bucks and have 800k in the 47% bracket then it doesn't make much difference whether I am paying 47% tax or keeping 800k as retained profits in my company at 30% tax. It is only what a 136k difference plus Medicare levy Mr Big Picture guy.

              • Harold Halfprice on 12/03/2020 - 20:05

                @netjock:

                Every dollar you make over 180,000 you pay 47% tax. What do you not understand when I say "bracket"

                45% actually.. but regardless, it's you who doesn't understand that obviously. You're the one that wrote:

                Giving 27 mins of every hour to the ATO

                You're claiming you get your job done in "4 hours" when "everyone else" struggles - yet at the same time claiming that if you were any more ambitious you'd be earning over $180k and don't even seem to understand how tax brackets work. The difference on the overall tax rate between earning $150k and 200k is 3% - and it's not even close to being 45% overall.

                • netjock on 12/03/2020 - 20:28

                  @Harold Halfprice: LOL you still don't get it do you.

                  My manager makes another 100k more than I do. That $100k they are paying $45k in tax. They have to go home, do additional hours and get additional stress. You think it is free money. Hours is one part of it. I've done those days when you get off so late you race to the gym before it closes then race to the supermarket to pick up food before it closes and go to work before the sun goes up.

                  I'll just kick off those businesses and employ my partner and pay them. Save a lot more tax being able to income split.

                  Why would I want to stress up and make another $100k and pay $45k to the tax man when I can take it easy and get another $100k in my partner's pocket and pay 25% on that $100k + equity on sale of the business.

                  I do love Australia, we got such a single tracked mind.

      • crentist on 10/03/2020 - 16:54
        +1

        Amuses me that I can do my job in 4 hrs when everyone else just struggles.

        This is what annoys me about regular office hours. Sometimes things don't take that long, and then the rest of the day is either busywork or a waste while running down the clock. The important thing is often about being the right person when things go wrong, but this can make things highly variable in the good times.

        • netjock on 10/03/2020 - 23:58
          +1

          This is what annoys me about regular office hours.

          That is why I got a side gig. The following things happen.

          I got a spreadsheet:
          1. Looks at current tax rates and projected tax rates
          2. Feed in my composite income right now and projected to work out liabilities for #1
          3. Current and model portfolio to feed into numbers 1 & 2 above
          4. Super contribution and projections with sensitivity to % returns
          5. Numbers on start up I am working on with some school mates
          6. Numbers on my own projected start up

          Nobody is going to get too bothered about spreadsheets that look the part.

  • [Deactivated] on 10/03/2020 - 12:50

    Myer's Andrew Flanagan is one of the better ones.

  • dasher86 on 10/03/2020 - 13:18
    +2

    Frank Abagnale

  • GG57 on 10/03/2020 - 13:51
    +4

    Most of the people raised in comments here are not successful; they may have been for a short period of time but were eventually found out.
    I think Jobs and Gates were lucky, in the examples given; there are many more similar stories, for otheres, where the luck was not so good.

    • netjock on 10/03/2020 - 13:58
      +1

      Lying about the product / technology that doesn't exist but might come to fruition based on timing is very different to lying about your skills.

      Example1: Elon Musk says we can build reusesable rockets and he then had to figure it out.

      Example2: I am going to lie about being a heart surgeon and proceeds to cut into chest of a patient in a surgical theatre.

      Somethings catch up other things you can't catch up.

      • try2bhelpful on 10/03/2020 - 15:02
        +1

        Even Musk runs very close to the wind. I like what he’s doing but he has come close to disaster on a number of occasions and he does tend to shoot himself in the foot.

        • netjock on 10/03/2020 - 16:46

          Okay mate.

          If you are going for moonshots you got to have a fair idea that either you recombine some existing technologies to get it to work in short time or technology is catching up. That is the difference between iPhone, Palm Pilot and Apple Newton.

          • try2bhelpful on 10/03/2020 - 17:10

            @netjock: So there are two comments made about “moonshots” for Musk, one is a payout based on stock pricing and the other is about sending some people in a rocket around the moon; which one are you alluding to?

            The technology they used for the first moonshots was absolutely primitive, compared to nowadays. It was driven by the “need to beat the Russians”. They skirted with disaster the entire time. Personally I think the Apollo 13 recovery was their finest hour. I remember listening to the news and really hoping they would get them home. That was seat of the pants science and engineering.
            There is a reason why people haven’t gone back, there really is no imperative to do so. All Musk is doing is creating space tourists.

            Sometimes an idea gets ahead of its time and it just can’t be justified. Hence the Apple Newton. The Palm Pilot was more successful but the Apple iPhone was truly innovative for its time. It combined form and function very well. The problem is Apple has priced their phones outside their current level of innovation.

            I want Musk to succeed with his electric cars, battery technology, and with the rockets. I’m just not sure the world needs space tourists, right now.

            • netjock on 10/03/2020 - 17:16

              @try2bhelpful:

              So there are two comments made about “moonshots” for Musk, one is a payout based on stock pricing and the other is about sending some people in a rocket around the moon; which one are you alluding to?

              Neither

              I went to a top Australian university to do bachelor then went to do a masters at the top 10 global university (after working for 10 years). There is night and day between the thought process nurtured between the two.

              • Lurker on 10/03/2020 - 18:55

                @netjock: Can you please give us the names of both universities.

                What could you get at a top 10 university that you could not get at your Australian university?

                Perhaps it was Master vs Bachelor nurturing?

                And also your opinion if that kind of nurturing could be done by a Chinese Commmunist run top university?

                I am curious

                • netjock on 10/03/2020 - 19:44

                  @Lurker:

                  Can you please give us the names of both universities.

                  One of the top 2 in Melbourne. The other one is if you look at any of the rankings in Times / QS top 10 that is in the UK.

                  What could you get at a top 10 university that you could not get at your Australian university?

                  Masters programs in Australia are generally university cash cows. You have 80% of the course consisting of students from either India or China. Most of them want good marks but they just try the same formula they have tried at back at home here and results get a bit weird and they try to blame everyone but themselves. IF your universities are not top 10 or even 25 then it is probably catering to those on a budget.

                  Globally elite universities can enforce quotas. For my masters they tried to get even splits by gender, industry and geography. If you down the pecking order to meet your revenue targets you need to start making trade offs.

                  And also your opinion if that kind of nurturing could be done by a Chinese Commmunist run top university?

                  China isn't communist. It is just capitalist in communist drag because they want to stay in power. Chinese communists are probably corrupt and we just vote for the perceived least corrupt party. I haven't studied at a Chinese university so therefore can't say.

                  • Lurker on 10/03/2020 - 19:55

                    @netjock: Thank you very much for your thoughts.

                    I appreciate it very much.

      • serpserpserp on 10/03/2020 - 15:11

        Example2: I am going to lie about being a heart surgeon and proceeds to cut into chest of a patient in a surgical theatre.

        https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSimpsons/comments/dggssi/oh_im_n…

      • crentist on 10/03/2020 - 16:32
        +1

        That's basically what a lot of research is supposed to be. Smart people given leeway to do something they think might work. But when there is an expectation of guaranteed return on investment, doing anything without known results becomes harder. So it makes sense for Musk to bs that they "can", not "think they can" do something (I don't know your example well).

        I think Australia struggles with r&d for a similar reason. Conservative economics is scared of risk, so anything slightly unknown is avoided in favour of milking whatever is already proven to work. We have an economy built around a few guaranteed money spinners, and a proven willingness to stifle anything new (eg nbn, renewables). This then leads to people being terrified of anything they don't fully understand, and not trusting the ability of others to make better sense of things. eg I've worked in r&d environments where managers with limited technical knowledge prevented engineers from making anything but tiny incremental changes while ignoring fundamental problems. And pretty much everyone I studied with is in sales/support of existing and imported technologies.

        The irony is that some study that found research generates more money when there are less commercial expectations. Essentially, scientists etc aren't going to work on something they know won't work and be useless, but commercial interests want more guarantee that it will work and be useful.

        • netjock on 10/03/2020 - 16:44

          I think Australia struggles with r&d for a similar reason

          Because stuff that is dug up out of the ground or will grow once you add water (free sun) and fertiliser is basically free.

          Or Australians just likes to talk trash because it really is free and zero risk. Rest of the world just think we're laid back but we just talk about stuff but nothing much ends up happening.

          You can see the top companies on the ASX. 4 big banks, BHP, RIO, Telstra. Pretty much old school industries. CSL is probably the only one that stands out but then blood products is pretty old school too.

  • DingoBilly on 10/03/2020 - 15:21
    +2

    Read Bad Blood about Theranos. Elizabeth Holmes became a billionaire from her lies although it did eventually catch up to her.

    Jho Low's story is even more incredible. Same sort of deal, became a billionaire through lies, partied with celebrities and is still a wanted criminal.

    Of course, this is probably far and beyond what you asked. I'm not really sure about the question - why do you need to prove to your wife anything? If you think it'll help and are comfortable with lying about it then go for it. Trying to justify your guilt through others isn't going to change much (not to mention all the stories you don't hear about people lying and failing horribly). Not sure why she'd be too upset although it'd be nice to have more context.

    • Lurker on 10/03/2020 - 15:43

      My wife is very law abiding and risk avoidance.

      I am more of a risk taker.

      Having a big argument now about our clashes in values.

      • Blitzfx on 10/03/2020 - 23:33

        Good luck with that argument. A lot of the successful people have exaggerated / lied to some small degree to get where they are.

        • try2bhelpful on 10/03/2020 - 23:34

          So have a lot of people who have crashed and burned. Google is not your friend, if you are found out.

          • Blitzfx on 10/03/2020 - 23:37

            @try2bhelpful: I cannot fathom how someone can crash and burn, ie. completely destroy their life and career, for slightly exaggerating their CV

            • try2bhelpful on 11/03/2020 - 00:52

              @Blitzfx: I don’t think the OP is talking about “slightly exaggerating” his CV.

              You think this guy is coming back from this at any high level in an organisation? I don’t think all the google washing in the world is bringing him back from this

              https://www.afr.com/companies/myer-fires-new-recruit-andrew-flanagan-over-fake-résumé-20140625-jgq7c

              • Blitzfx on 11/03/2020 - 02:24

                @try2bhelpful:

                I don’t think the OP is talking about “slightly exaggerating” his CV.

                What do you think OP is talking about then? Flat out lying and saying you graduated from Harvard and is the CEO of Microsoft?

                The logical conclusion to an argument that revolves around lying on your resume is to what degree you take it, which what they are arguing about with their wife. The least amount I imagine is slight exaggeration because anything non-quantifiable is subjective and can be interpreted as lying.

                Also, I couldn't particularly care about whatever guy you just linked, given you missed my point I was making and is probably irrelevant to the minimum level of falsity on a CV I tried to point out.

                Google is not your friend, if you are found out.
                I don’t think all the google washing

                I don't know what point you're trying to make here, bringing it up twice. No one here mentioned anything about googling/searching but you keep bringing it up.

                • try2bhelpful on 11/03/2020 - 06:41

                  @Blitzfx: The examples you gave in the original post are fairly extreme ones, and a certain amount of luck was, probably, involved in delivery. What I mean by the Google comment is the person doing the job interview can Google the applicants name and if they have been caught lying something “large” before they might be caught out because a result might be returned; hence showing the example I did. If you look at my response, 19 hours ago, you will see that I said most of us “fake it until we make it” on the small stuff. A lot of companies go through agencies now, and if you get caught lying you will burn bridges.

                  Not sure what you are trying to achieve here? You can spin all the stories you like but I doubt you can convince the missus with anecdotes. The better suggestion would be to do the research and come up with a solid business plan. The ones who make it big are the innovators not the drones. If there is something particular you want to do then prove to her it will work. “I heard that …”, frankly, doesn’t cut it because she will counter with the fact that all the anecdotes in the world don’t prove it will work in your case. Your wife is not being “stubborn” she is being cautious and sensible. By all means try to go “bigger” but base it on something solid. My first degree was in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering and I finished during a recession. I spent 12 months working in a job I could’ve got with HSC. There was a course mentioned in the paper on Digital Technology so both my man and I decided the best way forward was for me to go back to Uni and get the second degree. It turned out to be a brilliant decision and we’ve both reaped the benefits. The point is, we could both see that IT was where the jobs were and we had a plan for me to go forward in it. He supported me and I did the hard yards. If it had been the wrong decision we both would’ve worn it.

                  Best of luck.

                  • Blitzfx on 11/03/2020 - 19:13

                    @try2bhelpful:

                    The examples you gave in the original post

                    Yeah that wasn't me. I can see why what you said didn't quite make sense

                    • try2bhelpful on 12/03/2020 - 11:24

                      @Blitzfx: The bottom line is people can fake it until they make it, up to a point but the consequences can be pretty bad if someone is caught out. The bigger, more public, the lie the bigger the risk.

          • netjock on 10/03/2020 - 23:53

            @try2bhelpful: They deserve to crash and burn if they didn't know how to Google the proper way to cover your tracks.

      • p1 ama on 11/03/2020 - 01:18
        +3

        Good on you for taking up the fight.

        I remember when I was much younger (back in uni), I wanted to pursue some business ideas. No idea whether they would take off or not, but one of the greatest obstacles I faced was actually from the people around me.

        Having to explain to my parents why I couldn't just pursue a "normal career", explaining to my girlfriend why I had to stay at home on weekends working on my random business ideas rather than taking her out, explaining to friends and family what exactly what my job is. I was pretty bitter then. I've grown a bit more mellow towards the opposition I faced though, now that I'm a bit older.

        The honest truth is that for the overwhelming majority of people, going with a "normal career" is the much better option. Many people also don't realise that entrepreneurship or any sort of business endeavour is very, very hard work. In that sense, I see where your wife is coming from. She's probably grown up with that advice and followed that advice and it's worked out well for her.

        I think the only way to be able to convince her to see your point of view is to acknowledge that (in all probability), she's actually correct. However, you don't always just take risks to get higher rewards. Sometimes taking risks is fun in and of itself. People do things like skydiving after all.

        • Lurker on 11/03/2020 - 04:38

          Thanks for the empathy and the advice and taking the time for the long writeup.

          Yes , I am facing the same kind of battle trying to follow my heart and fake a bit in order to get to attend this conference/expo.

          And you are right. My wife has followed the traditional route and gotten her 9 to 5 work paycheck all her life and does not entertain the idea of risk taking for fun and profit.

          I feel like a person who wants to lose weight yet the spouse is totally against it.

        • Lurker on 11/03/2020 - 04:54

          duplicate entry

  • slow on 10/03/2020 - 15:46
    +1

    When the rest of us were working in pubs in London in the 90s, a housemate of mine bullshted his way into a well paying IT job without knowing a whole lot. I remember him coming home seriously stressed every day on the verge of getting fired and sitting up studying at night, but he was a smart guy and hard worker and persevered and gradually found his feet, and within a years he had an even better job and the rest was history as they say

  • chack008 on 10/03/2020 - 16:02
    +2

    Elizabeth Holmes

  • th88 on 10/03/2020 - 17:18
    +1

    The Lie That Helped Build Nintendo

    • Lurker on 10/03/2020 - 18:48

      Thanks,

      This is the kind of inspiring true story I was looking for.

  • Noblejoker on 10/03/2020 - 17:28

    I came here to post about the UK Carpark attendant scam - but when I googled it just now found it was myth - damn
    Cool story though https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fake-parking-attendant/

  • alienurbanite on 11/03/2020 - 00:46
    +9

    In my twenties, I used to be write people's entrance exams to law school as a side job. One day, while running away from a drug deal gone wrong, I was accidentally hired by one of the leading law firms in New York. Now, before I go any further, I have to admit I'm a total genius and I was able to quickly learn the common law and master oral advocacy simply by watching others. Soon, I become one of the most trusted associates of my supervising partner Harvey…

    Anyway, I may not have a lot of time to story… it would take at least 134 x 44 minutes. Drop me a line… maybe I will start a AMA.

    • Lurker on 11/03/2020 - 04:56

      Fascinating.

      Please do an AMA.

      Thanks.

      • tomsco on 11/03/2020 - 08:11

        Haha. I hope there was a /s you missed there.

        • Lurker on 11/03/2020 - 08:20

          You are right.

          I can be very naive sometimes.

          Because I could be too trusting in the wrong people.

          I was giving him or her the benefits of the doubt.

          Part of the deal of me keeping an open mind.

    • 900dollaridoos on 11/03/2020 - 07:47
      +4

      That's almost unbelievable, all its missing is you hooking up with a princess

    • Hansi on 11/03/2020 - 07:49
      +2

      Bullshitting your way even through the Ozbargain forum like this really Suits you!

  • Hansi on 11/03/2020 - 07:55
    +1

    German postman Gert Poster posed as a medical doctor and psychiatrist for years, only to stick it to the trades. The reason why he did this he claims, is that doctors and psychologists misdiagnosed his mother. He wanted to proof that anyone can do their job.

    Interview

  • OzHunterNSW on 11/03/2020 - 10:16
    +4

    Life is FAKE… if you up yourself from the chains of sub-caste barista paid slavery, and enter the FAKE overpriced University system, you will find your dream job is not what it said on the prospectus leaflet, but by that time you have a mortgage in a FAKE overpriced realestate sector of inflated housed devised to convey an element of worth, and a FAKE overpriced vehicle that is subjected to recall after recall, that can literally kill you, then a wife that warned you, subliminally as she summed you us with, what job, got a house, been married, etc, to only then FAKE a marriage and take everything you ever studied and worked for…. and where are you?

    Back pouring coffee for those who have not woken up yet!

    • peterpeterpumpkin on 11/03/2020 - 19:48

      Not your main point but…are you a barista? I wanted to try it but most start really early or applying to work for someone else requires 2 years experience. Many male baristas in my area seem to smile during their job (which is rare in any job).

  • zzzsianzzz on 11/03/2020 - 13:10
    +1

    i think more went bad than successful on news. they are company CEOs. they have a higher bet, lose their companies or jobs if they lose.

    if u want to stay in that industry, some industries are small. Some companies have immediate termination policy when you applied for jobs with fake bullshits, saw some actions. A bad reputation in industry, on news, you are looking to leave the country or smaller bullshit, join another industry.

    and pray.

  • kramkramkram on 11/03/2020 - 14:53

    I know a lot of people who just ozbargain all the time while pretending to work.

    Edit: I can't say if they are successful or not. Depends on the definition of success.

  • Skramit on 11/03/2020 - 15:48

    Waiting for everyone in my team to reply to this thread….

    • try2bhelpful on 11/03/2020 - 16:00

      I once knew a manager who said he got the staff that John West rejected.

    • chriskq on 12/03/2020 - 10:35
      +1

      awesome - thanks for sharing. I posted a good read further on down too.

  • DiscoJango on 11/03/2020 - 19:05

    Mcdonalds advertising image vs reality

  • lostn on 11/03/2020 - 19:26

    I would argue a number of our PMs.

    • [Deactivated] on 11/03/2020 - 20:39

      Julia Gillard definitely, didn't even get voted in….

      • lostn on 11/03/2020 - 21:03

        that was the government where the cross bench (greens + independents) had more political muscle than the incumbent. A poisoned chalice if there ever was one.

        If Kevin didn't get Even in the end, the 2013 blowout would have been a whole lot worse.

  • qvinto on 11/03/2020 - 21:35

    Maybe read this before feeling so keen "while lies"

    https://samharris.org/books/lying/

  • syousef on 12/03/2020 - 08:50

    This isn't something to aspire to. This is like most crime. Most people get were getting caught even when procedures were much more lax and the game has gotten more sophisticated now. i.e. Most of the high profile sensationalist outlier cases you hear about are eventual failures. - there are a lot more low profile frauds caught earlier and that never get reported on (unless you count official confidential company reports, and water cooler gossip). Best to get your foot in the door properly, if at all possible.

  • zine21 on 12/03/2020 - 09:13

    I'm not sure this counts but after I graduated and started working in this medical clinic - the first thing the clinic manager asked was to lie to patients about how long I was in the field for. They were vague and made it sound like I had years of experience. I didn't feel comfortable with lying so instead I too was vague about it if someone asked.

    By the end of the year though most of the patients there wanted to see me instead of the other 3 practioners available. They also referred a lot of their friends and family across to me- needless to say I became very busy very quickly. This transition wasn't because of the lie as such since the others had years on me and just by age alone people could see I was new but at the start people aren't too comfortable seeing someone that's a noob.

  • chriskq on 12/03/2020 - 10:30
    +1

    Who's read The forgotten Employee - The American Dream?

    This is sort of the opposite of what the OP was asking, but i think its a great read.

  • SlavOz on 13/03/2020 - 08:12
    +3

    Err everybody lies in their careers. The corporate world is basically a competition of the biggest and most adept liars. Go on LinkedIN, every profile is littered with overstated bullshit. Think of it like Facebook - everyone is going oversell the positives without even mentioning the negatives.

    Even large companies lie on a daily basis. You're applying for a role that's basically a checkout clerk and they'll label it as 'Head of Customer Experience and Sales Initiation'. I know plenty of people who've left $120k positions because while the pay was legit, the company totally lied about the position, as well as why it was empty in the first place.

    Out of Uni a mate and I started our own side business doing online marketing for websites. In the early days it was hard to compete because the industry is oversaturated so we told a few lies to land our first major client. We basically made our two-man start up working from his parents' garage sound like an established media agency. We got the client, did a good job, built a decent customer base thereon, and then sold the company years later.

    Its a toxic world. If you don't lie you ain't going anywhere. Employers know it too, they basically set up jobs to identify and reward those who can consistently think on their feet and tell bullshit lies. "If they can lie that well in the interview, imagine how well they can lie to senior management when were doing our annual team presentations!!"

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