Question

Helen wants to move to a new community, and she is applying for a job with a small retail establishment. She is confident that she is fully qualified and will be able to perform well if she gets the job. The employer, however, has advertised for someone with three years of retail experience, and Helen only has two-and-a-half years. She is considering whether to exaggerate slightly on her resume in order to improve her chances of getting the job.

Helen asks three friends to offer their advice on what she should do.

Henry says, “Go ahead and claim three-and-a-half years of experience; they’re going to be so happy with your work that by the time they check (if they ever do) it won’t matter.”

Jennifer says, “I’m sure you’ll arrive at the best decision on your own; I’ve always known you to be an honest person.”

George says, “It is never all right to lie, even when you are unlikely to get caught and it seems relatively harmless to do so.”

Can you imagine other people using the same approaches to arrive at different kinds of advice?

Answer 1

I can imagine other people using same approach for advice. What Henry is offering advice to go and explore and enjoy, what Jennifer is offering advice is to give a try, whereas George is cautioning her about dos and don'ts.

What people use their own experience, attitudes to come to conclusions. We relatively get different piece of advice from group of our friends, or even family. Our sibling is usually supportive factor or positive factor in any decision, father holds the role of trying out whereas mother holds the role of caution - all about values and ethics.

Once even I wanted to go for Himalayan expedition. My sister was very casual about it, my mother was making me aware of moral values, how to be with other guys there - knowing own ethics and values, whereas my father didn't interfere bmuch but asked me try out and see if I liked it or not.