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Landing a new job isn’t always the easiest of experiences for jobseekers; they may not have the specified qualifications needed or perhaps they haven’t had enough experience in the field.
It’s due to this that candidates have been found guilty of embellishing qualifications or experience in a bid to get ahead of their competition.
According to Twin Employment, 52% of candidates believe it is necessary to lie in order to get an interview, while a survey from CareerBuilder found that three in four employers (75%) have caught a lie on a resume.
Diane Arthur, President of Arthur Associates Management Consultants, believes recruiters and hiring managers can catch out liars during the interview process, reports Fast Company.
“Verbal lies, on the other hand, can be less consequential and harder to pin down,” she says. “They are, therefore, more commonplace. It’s up to interviewers to be thorough in their questioning and focus on seeking the truth.”
She has shared these tips to help recruiters catch out suspect fibbers:
Body language
Keeping an eye on a candidate’s body language during an interview can reveal if they are lying. According to Arthur increased blinking, an exaggerated, broad smile, unusually high or low levels of eye contact and long pauses can all be good indicators.
“The fear of being caught in a lie could additionally be revealed through eyebrows drawn together or slightly flared nostrils.”
However, she warns recruiters shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but if these microexpressions occur, consider probing further.
Vague answers
If the interviewee responds with a vague or unrelated answer, there’s a good chance they have told a few porkies to get to the interview stage or simply haven’t prepared. When faced with this situation, ask the candidate for more detail to determine whether they have embellished their CV or if they are simply nervous.
Speech patterns
“Absolute terms such as ‘never’ or ‘always’ are potentially concerning, as is a variation of the phrase, ‘to be perfectly honest’ or ‘believe me,'” shares Arthur. “‘The way I remember it is’ can also be a red flag that something is not true.”
Arthur also reveals that candidates who use sweeping generalisations may also be a cause for concern.
What to do if you think someone if lying?
Without hard evidence, it’s tricky to know for sure whether a job hopeful has fibbed. It’s therefore important to ask competency-based questions to prove if the applicant is telling the truth. “These questions and statements require specific examples supporting the candidate’s answers,” Arthur adds.
Look out for inconsistencies on CVs and LinkedIn profiles; do dates match up and is there a reference you can reach out to to corroborate? Looking in-depth at these things will help you determine whether someone is trying to get ahead by lying.
Isla Hosking