If you have to qualify a statement with the word, “technically,” then, at least in a job search, you have probably crossed the line.
Mark Haluska, Founder and Executive Director of Real Time Network talks about a candidate who repeatedly answered “yes” to the question, “Are you employed.” When it got down to offer time, the background check revealed he had actually resigned 3 weeks earlier. When asked about this discrepancy, the candidate said “technically” he was still employed because he still had vacation time left.
The moral of this story … The truth will always come out. When it does, it will burn you … because, it really is much more than just semantics. If you can't be honest upfront, employers worry what else might get fudged down the pike.