Potential hires want the position you are offering for a number of reasons. While it is unfortunate, desperation sometimes motivates interviewees to tell partial truths, omit details, or blatantly lie. In fact, there are many posts on the internet that encourage white lies that seem “harmless.” Several of these deceits are common across multiple industries, and below are the ones employers most frequently see.
Lies About Experience
This is a top one for many reasons. Often, potential employees find it difficult to break in to the job market with the amount or type of experience they have. For this reason, they are inclined to exaggerate or even fabricate the types of jobs they’ve held in the past.
A small amount of negotiations training and influence training, however, can help you weed out sincere candidates from false ones. Are they being general or vague about their duties? Have they mentioned keywords that are irrefutably connected to expertise? Do they make an attempt to navigate away from their past experience rather than expanding upon it?
Educational Exaggeration
Negotiation training and corporate sales training both encourage diving deeper to get beneath the top layer of statements. This is a particularly important skill when interviewing a candidate regarding his or her education. Some common lies told by interviewees regarding post-secondary schooling involve areas that will be difficult for employers to verify – i.e., having completed all but three of their courses or having run into administrative issues when filing to graduate.
The best way to weed out these lies is by using logic. If a candidate paid for eight semesters of education and faithfully attended their classes, why would they choose to decline a diploma? Would a reasonable person allow administrative issues to negate the investment of time and finances they made?
Lies Regarding Termination of Employment
These lies are seemingly easy to verify, but current laws prohibit previous employers from disclosing many details about their employees. Therefore, verifying the accuracy of statements about past jobs falls largely on the shoulders of the potential new employer. If the interviewee’s old offices have given outstanding reviews, this shouldn’t be a difficult process. If, however, they were vague on the phone, consider additional factors.
What amount of time did the candidate spend at his or her previous job? How large is the gap in employment between the last position and the one currently interviewing for? Generally, those who make the conscious decision to part from a company leave themselves precious little time before deliberately pursing a new income source.
By checking that the statements made by candidates are reasonable, if not verifiable, business owners can ensure they hire the most qualified and deserving candidate.
