"...if you don't know, just freaking give it a go."
Best remote phone interview I ever had - and that got me the job - included my confession of ignorance about a particular technology. "Best Interview" status was reported by both the consulting shop trying to place me, who were eavesdropping on the call, and the hiring shop.
Be willing to be honestly ignorant when you ARE honestly ignorant.
If you were asked something you don't know anything about, Wouldn't it be better to say "I heard about it but I don't exactly know what it is" instead of BSing the whole answer ?
The teacher/employer analogy is a poor one. The teacher is not offering to pay you to provide services that support his company's reputation. Also, any teacher that you believe wants you to suck up by pretending to learn is not a teacher you want.
Mark's remark about not fooling some who knows the answer is dead-on.
Really, reconsider the idea that BSing during an interview is good strategy. It ain't.
I agree with the other comments... this is really bad advice. If I'm doing an interview and somebody starts to BS instead of looking for more detail or admitting ignorance it shows a complete overconfidence in programming.
Richard Uie
"Live and learn" should have been "LEARN or DIE."
"...if you don't know, just freaking give it a go."
Best remote phone interview I ever had - and that got me the job - included my confession of ignorance about a particular technology. "Best Interview" status was reported by both the consulting shop trying to place me, who were eavesdropping on the call, and the hiring shop.
Be willing to be honestly ignorant when you ARE honestly ignorant.