Spotting an Honest Candidate
In the wake of recent employment scandals involving candidate lies and omissions, it is an important part of a recruiter’s job to be able to see through these unqualified fibbers to unearth the truly qualified candidates.
One of the most common things that candidates lie about is if they have been fired, but how can you know if a potential candidate is lying about this? Two good indicators of someone hiding the truth about their termination are if they say it was a mutual decision or if they take too long to explain why they no longer work at their job. Don’t be afraid to ask follow-up questions about their answer, probe into the details but assure the candidate that you are just trying to get the full picture to better represent them to the client.
Another variable common lie is regarding most recent compensation. If a potential candidate’s salary is much higher than the position the recruiter is trying to fill, he or she will be likely be overqualified. If a potential candidate’s salary is too low, however, then he or she may be under-qualified or too junior. This is dependent upon the size of the organization, its industry, and whether the move will be lateral or an advancement. Often potential candidates report inaccurate salaries because candidates know their current salary is not in line with the job for which they are trying to be placed.
A recruiter must ask specific questions to avoid this misinformation and learn a candidate’s true, exact base salary. Some questions and comments that help decipher a candidate’s true salary include: “We will verify this information later in the process, but what is your base salary? How much is your bonus? How much of your bonus did you receive these last two years?” It also helps to verify it a few times throughout the process. For instance, write down the first reported salary during the phone interview, and then ask again during the in-person interview and compare. It is up to recruiters to weed through these lies and not just accept everything at face value. For more, click here.
For more on the dangers of lying on a resume, read our previous blog post here.
