I hate it greatly when people <i>won't</i> say "I don't know", but instead hem and haw and avoid the question or give obtuse answers. Once someone admits they don't know, it's fine, you can work to solve the problem another way. But for that to work with most people, I think you have to be pretty nice and make it clear you are not the sort of person that is going to cause problems if they are honest about ignorance.
I think admitting you don't know isn't as hard as dealing with constantly admitting you don't know.<p>I often feel like a broken record when my boss comes to me and I have to answer that way. He doesn't seem to mind, but it eats away at my very soul... not to be overly dramatic, but it does cause more stress than it should.
In a discussion with my first post degree employers it came up that one of the reasons I got the was the fact that during the interview I was quite open about things I was not sure of, and asked the right questions to help guide me to the answer.<p>You should never feel a question is stupid, or feel stupid for asking one. If someone makes you feel that way, and you can, find a new situation!
I remember in the first pg essay I read he mentioned to work with the kind of people who are ready to say "I don't know" because of the confidence it shows in what they do know. It's stuck with me.<p><a href="http://paulgraham.com/start.html" rel="nofollow">http://paulgraham.com/start.html</a>
I recently interviewed for a position where I had to say I don't know, but I'll figure it out. Its was a weird situation because I knew the answer, but nerves wrecked my mind, and could not think straight.<p>Did not get the job. Even made a thread about it in Ask::HN.<p>But not knowing something is a great motivator for me. Something that I think employers should value.
Interesting, this was the first type of question I was asked at an interview, something like, "From our website, how do you think we plan to do x?". Obviously, there was nothing related to x on their site.<p>It's a great way to separate people who'll make up something vs people who are good at admitting what they don't know and are willing to look for the answer.
I recently started a new network admin job at a school. I knew I had the skills to do the job but I knew I would be asking lots of stupid questions.
I learnt the environment fast and only sounded like an idiot a few times.
Why would you think you should know how a business works because you have the skills for the job? That's weird.
The money shot is towards the end: "I don't know... but I will find out." I think that shows initiative and a willingness to learn and work as part of a team, which in many environments is just as important as being an expert.