[rocketbop]

I always say I don’t know in interviews when I really don’t, rather than try to bluff. Some interviewers don’t like this though. As with the parent, perhaps that’s actually a good thing as you avoid having to work in a bad environment. Other times though, you may be being interviewed with a bad egg who you’ll never actually need to work with in the actual job.

[jimt1234]

I love it when interviewees say "I don't know", so long as they follow up with some sort of mental process explaining how they'd find out the answer/solution. So, "You know, I'm not exactly sure how the new payments API handles excessive requests, I've only glanced at the documentation. I can look at the docs more closely and get back to you.", or even "I don't know how the new payments API handles excessive requests, but honestly, if we've reached that point, I might wanna investigate that specific issue first, and try to figure out why we're sending so many requests." - either of those responses are great, IMHO. The response I'm NOT looking for is basically, "I don't know [shoulder shrug]."

[AmericanChopper]

Yeah this is basically how I see it, there’s a natural selection to it. If you practice deceit and politicking in interviews (and in the office), you’ll select yourself into, and only be able to succeed in organisations that value those things. If you practice honesty and candor in interviews, then you’ll expect the same (over time at least). In interviews I think you should just be guided by your genuine values and be yourself (well, whatever version of yourself you feel most comfortable bringing to the office every day). It probably doesn’t maximise job offer conversions, but in my experience it maximises being in working environments that I’m most likely to enjoy and fit into well.

Edit: By honesty in interviews, I mean to a point. There’s some things you absolutely should lie about in interviews (if you’re confident you can get away with it). For instance “what’s your current salary” is a great question to lie about, that they really have no business asking anyway.

[eps]

Good answer format is "I don't know, but my best guess would be ..."