In an extraordinary tale of workplace anxiety and survival, an employee who had no idea what they were doing at their job for eight months found themselves unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight—and came out on top.
The employee and original poster (OP), user ahimaohw, shared their dilemma on Reddit, explaining that their academic background has nothing to do with their current role and that they were hired largely because they interviewed well and described themselves as a “fast learner.”
“Eight months in and I’ve been surviving entirely on confident nodding, strategic use of the phrase ‘let me circle back on that,’ and a browser history that is just Stack Overflow and ‘what is [word my boss just said],'” they wrote.
That approach worked while the pressure was low, but they were recently told they would be leading a meeting involving “actual numbers and actual questions”—and had only four days to prepare.
“I don’t know if I should come clean, speed-run eight months of learning in 96 hours, or simply walk into the ocean,” the OP wrote.
“What should I do?”
Reddit users flocked to the comments to weigh in, with one encouraging them to focus on the specific topic of the meeting.
“Research the SPECIFIC thing this meeting is on enough, and have fun improvising,” they wrote. “Can’t wait for an update if you’re willing.”
Another agreed, adding, “You can always put it down to lack of experience in running meetings if it’s really bad.”
‘Don’t claim confidence’
“Keep going,” one commenter urged. “Lots of impostors out there, and far more who just think they are. You also don’t need to know everything to be good at your job.
“Be good at research, making rational evidence-based decisions, and don’t claim confidence in anything you don’t know.”
Another quipped, “Now’s the time for a promotion. Fail up. How do you think anybody gets the title ‘Director’?”
‘I was built for this’
In an update, the OP revealed that leading up to the meeting, they had watched around 15 hours of YouTube tutorials and “brutally abused” ChatGPT and Claude.
“Many times I thought I should just come clean to my boss, but then I would open this page and your comments would give me confidence that I was built for this,” they wrote.
“The actual move that saved me was going into that meeting with three very specific questions prepared. Not answers. Questions.
“Thoughtful, slightly vague questions that I directed at the senior engineers in the room. Those dudes talked for 40 minutes out of a total of 60.”
After the meeting, their boss—who said the OP had done some “really impressive work”—asked them to lead the second-quarter project.
Liar, Liar
This isn’t the first time someone has turned to Reddit to come clean about lying in the workplace.
One previous Newsweek story reported on a man who was applauded after sharing how he decided to lie on his resume and quickly landed a good job.
“I’m making more money than I ever imagined, and it’s all remote,” he explained. “I faked everything except for my degree and certifications.”
Another Newsweek story covered an employee whose decision to lie on his resume turned his life around.
Newsweek has reached out to ahimaohw for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
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