Man lies his way into a job he’s super unqualified for with a fabricated resume, progresses by obsessively self-teaching under pressure through "trial-by-fire", ends up becoming legitimate expert in his field: ‘Ashamed of how I got my foot in the door’

Author image for Emma Saven
Emma Saven
Oct 23, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

Most people have slightly tweaked their resumes at some point in their careers (not us, of course), a little sugar-coating never hurt anyone… right? For some, their success stories didn't exactly start with the full truth. Still, they figured it out eventually, and were just thankful no one ever asked them to go skydiving, as boldly listed under "hobbies."

Take this guy, for example. He crafted a resume so impressive he could get all 5 yeses on Shark Tank: A spy, a doctor, and the most feared of all…a finance bro… You name it, he could allegedly do it. Somehow, he sailed through the interviews and landed a major role at an established company. The catch? He had zero real experience. Once on the job, reality began to hit hard. Not only was he drowning in work he didn't understand, but the weight of the lie was starting to crash down on him. Still, instead of giving up, he channeled his inner Mike Ross, spending countless nights self-teaching everything from scratch. Fast-forward twelve years, and that same guy, who once faked his way through the door, is now a respected, legitimate expert in his field!

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  • I guess he turned the tables into When Life Gives You Lemonade, Make Lemons…We'd never promote dishonesty. However, this man had to be intelligent and adaptive enough to pull a scheme like that off. It's sort of like a large-scale heist; it's by no means ethical nor suggested, but if they can successfully make five Ocean's 11 movies around it, there has to be an element that ‘impresses’ people. Although we do not doubt that he is 1, out of thousands, who did not get caught, so this may sound like a success story, but we're sure that there've been many who've followed suit and have not turned out as ‘lucky’. 

  • Business interview
    via gettyimagespro

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • My friend lied to get his current high-paying job, and it's a wild story.

    A good friend of mine once confessed how he got his start in his career, and it's a story that has stuck with me for years.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • He basically fabricated his resume for a role he was nowhere near qualified for. The first interview, against all odds, went surprisingly well.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • The experience he invented seemed to be exactly what they were looking for. Before he could really process it, he was in the final round, and then he had an offer.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • He accepted, even though he was terrified. The moment he started, the reality of the situation crashed down on him.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • He was completely out of his depth, facing a mountain of work he had no clue how to tackle.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • He told me he was in a constant state of panic, just trying to survive each day.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • He spent his nights glued to his computer, devouring tutorials, reading forums, and connecting with people in the industry on LinkedIn who shared their knowledge, thankfully without knowing the full story.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • Stressed employee leaning on his desk
    via gettyimages

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • It was a brutal trial- by-fire. Day by day, he pieced together how to do the job, learning from every mistake.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • Slowly but surely, he started to understand the work's complexities. That gnawing feeling of being an imposter began to recede as his actual skills started to grow.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • It was an incredible struggle, but he was hell-bent on proving to himself that he could actually earn the position he'd lied his way into.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • It's now been twelve years since he took that leap. Today, he's a respected expert in his field, a real testament to what pure grit and determination can do.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • The lie that opened the door became the catalyst for a genuine success story built on perseverance.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • He admits he's of two minds about it. One part of him is incredibly proud of what he accomplished against the odds, but another part is deeply ashamed of how he got his foot in the door.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • I'm the only person he's ever told, and honestly, even knowing him as well as I do, it's hard to picture him ever doing something like that.
    via best_coyotes_19
  • Resume
    via gettysignature

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • factors_wafts4a Nice. This is what two of my good friends usually do to get their jobs, they lie. They expect me to do the same thing but I just don't have the guts to do it. I feel like I'd screw up an answer in the interview. Also, I don't want a job for more pay just to not know what I'm doing the first couple of months. But hey, good for him.
    via factors_wafts4a
  • sevenfiftynorth I expect that a great many people could grow into most roles if given the chance, including CEO, Senator, etc. We don't want to try it with doctor or pilot though.
    via sevenfiftynorth
  • trumpmumbler I did the exact same thing thing, back when "the internet" and online database tools were first becoming a thing. I lied my arse off to get a VP role in charge of the data, research and deployment of apps to make that data viable internally (for manufacturing) and externally (for subscribed clients who sold accessories we provided). Committed to a full-blown, ready for prime time completed project in 90 days of hire. I did it, an my career took off. That was in 1998, and I've never
    via trumpmumbler
  • rmce101 What industry or job type? Curious if this is possible in many roles
    via rmce101
  • Icedcoffeewarrior A lot of boomers and gen X were able to lie about things that millennials and gen z can't lie about. A background check today can quickly verify education, companies worked as well as the months and years and even job title.
    via Icedcoffeewarrior
  • TheFlyingCzechman Lying is absolutely fine during interview as long as you accept that you might get caught and just move on. It's a game you don't always win. Had a friend who got a Senior Unix Admin role in the same fashion as you decribe, barely heard from him for 4 months, now when I need some unix stuff, he's the one I call first.
    via TheFlyingCzechman
  • Hot-Requirement9192 I have the same story. It's worked in my favor always.
    via Hot-Requirement9192

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