The Level of Competition in the Internship Market - Essay Example

ETHICAL DILEMMA Name: University: Date: Lying In an Interview to Get Internship Considering that the internship and job market have become very competitive, applicants are trying to be noticeable from many other job seekers in the market. For this reason, they use lies so as to put their best foot forward with the objective of increasing the chances of being selected for an internship interview. The level of competition in the internship market is so intense to the extent that lots of applicants have restored to lies in order to get some slots. Because of this pressure, applicants have gone beyond the ethical line and started line in order to gain some edge over other applicants. Using ethical theories, this piece seeks to analyze the effects of lying in an interview to get internship. According to Hewitt (2010), it is not realistic to assume that every ethical dilemma in the search for an internship is straightforward or can be resolved easily since the majority of the situations are multifaceted. Lying can be defined as the process of making a false statement in order to deceive. Without a doubt, lying is an unethical act because it taints the crucial aspect of being human and the ability to make choices rationally and freely (Scott, 2013). When the internship applicants tell lies, they contradict the part of themselves that offers them the moral worth. Besides that, lies deny other people the freedom to make rational choices. Telling a lie during the internship interview can result in a different decision other than one that could have been made if the truth was said. As a result, the human autonomy and dignity of other applicants are harmed. According to Kant, people can value themselves and others as ends rather than means; therefore, it is their duties to steer clear of interfering with, damaging, or exploiting the ability to make decisions freely. That is to say, people should not lie. Applying for an internship is clearly frustrating since in most cases the employers search for interns with some years of experience as well as with other skills. Bearing in mind that the objective of the internship is not only to gain experience but also learn something new from the professionals. Therefore, in order to get an internship, applicants are forced to lie. Still, lying is unethical and in case the applicant is found lying, he/she could stain his/her reputation and could miss out on the future opportunities. Lying in order to get internship is considered as an immoral act, instead, the applicant should be honest regarding his/her experience and exhibit how it could be valuable to the internship. More importantly, the aim of the internship is to gain experience; therefore, most of the employers do not look for perfect professionals, instead, they expect the applicant to be honest. Virtue ethics, as mentioned by Mazur (2015), holds that lying is unethical, but the theory is not more strictly as compared to Kant. Instead of judging wrong and right behaviour according to the reason, virtue ethicists place emphasis on what should be done or the character development. According to Mazur (2015), virtues can be described as a person’s desirable qualities, which affects his/her behaviour in a certain way. For instance, fairness is a virtue that everyone should emphasize on while pursuing the human potential. Therefore, being virtuous according to virtue ethics is being ethical. As mentioned by Work (1999) lying purposely to another person with the objective of benefiting is certainly unethical. Many internship applicants often lie in order to make themselves look good so as to achieve a positive outcome, but in the process, they violate the ethical standards set forth in most workplaces. In most internship and job interviews, applicants normally lie about their experience or qualifications mainly because the employers are looking for people with particular skills (Work, 1999). Even though virtue ethics’ nature makes it challenging to examine individual acts’ morality, proponents of this theory view lying as something that is morally wrong since it contradicts the virtue of honesty. According to this doctrine, the virtuous person that everyone is striving to become must achieve all virtues. And so, when there is a conflict between different virtues, virtue ethics expects a virtuous person to act the way an ideal person would act. Essentially, lying according to virtue ethics is immoral, especially when it is far from the act of a virtuous person. The utilitarian ethics balances the harms as well as benefits of the consequences brought about by lies. According to utilitarians, actions which include lying are ethically permissible when outcome minimize harm or maximize benefit. Therefore, utilitarians do not consider lying as immoral if it reduces harm or increases benefits. Therefore, the internship applicant should examine correctly the overall consequences of his/her actions prior to deciding whether to lie or not. The following example illustrates what utilitarian decision makers must consider when lying is an option. From utilitarian ethics perspective, lying during a job or internship interview is immoral because it increases harm and reduces benefits for other applicants who are honest. Kant insists that people should live with non-detrimental and useful values and they should understand that lying cannot benefit them or others in their life aspects. Therefore, while growing in the contemporary society, people should not allow original morals to be displaced with unethical acts that seek to satisfy personal interests. For that reason, they should undo their ills, which include their defective assumptions. Still, conceptualizing lying as an unethical act makes it challenging to reconcile with its commonness. As opined by Levine and Schweitzer (2014), lying has become a common part of modern-day life; for that reason, people normally for their own benefits while others lie to serve both pro-social and self-interested motives. When a person lies during an interview, the affect their moral character since they are not honest and genuine. Although utilitarians view on lying is somewhat logical, applying it practically in making interview decisions is seriously flawed. Most people normally estimate poorly their actions’ consequences or overlook the damaging social consequences brought about by lies such as mistrust. Telling lies can result in trust erosion, the spread of cynicism, and decline of life quality. Telling lies in order to get an internship spot in an organization or to achieve the greater good may result in what Mazur (2015) terms as ‘slippery slope’. A slippery slope is a situation where the line between ingeniously premeditated empty excuses and moral justifications for self-centered behaviour is very thin. Therefore, it is morally correct to disagree with utilitarians who believe that lies that result in maximized benefits or reduced harm are ethically acceptable. When an applicant lies during an interview, he/she seeks to achieve outcomes that would maximize benefits; however, the act of lying is not morally acceptable because it influence decisions made and denies other people an opportunity because they choose, to be honest. To sum up, it is clear that lying is a major issue that has become prevalent in the modern-day society. These days, lies have made it difficult for people to agree on or understand, the rules that govern their behaviours. Clearly, social uncertainty flourishes since people are a mixture of utilitarians, virtuists, as well as Kantians, and they do not share a common ground. People normally consider ethical perspectives such as utilitarianism when they face a situation that lures them to tell lies. It is ethically unjustifiable to tell lies in order to become an intern; therefore, applicants should choose the honest way and ensure they demonstrate how their skills and experience would benefit the organization. References Hewitt, B. (2010, February 5). Ethics in the Job or Internship Search. Retrieved from Penn & Beyond: https://ulife.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/blog/2010/02/05/ethics-in-the-job-or-internship-search/ Levine, E. E., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2014). Are liars ethical? On the tension between benevolence and honesty. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 53, 107–117. Mazur, T. C. (2015, November 13). Lying. Retrieved from Santa Clara University: https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/lying/ Scott, G. G. (2013 ). The Truth about Lying. London: BookCountry. Work, B. L. (1999). Body Language at Work. Wimbledon, London: CIPD Publishing. Read More