A candidate lying during an interview is an experience every hiring manager would have during their career, not least in the new normal of work, where most of the recruitment strategy has gone mainly remote. It has made it even more challenging for hiring managers to decipher candidates lying during interviews as more of the body languages are hidden behind the camera.
Whether you are conducting a physical or virtual interview, different types of recruitment fraud are perpetrated by some candidates. This makes it harder for HR professionals to future-proof their recruitment process and ensure they hire the right talent.
Over the last 16 years at Workforce Group, we have conducted internal and client-facing different interview scenarios, and can fully confirm that if you don’t build a process around gatekeeping the wrong candidates, you’ll find it difficult to hire right.
The tips shared here by our Director of Recruitment and Assessment, Akindele Afolabi in his originals post on LinkedIn. It has helped him recruit the right talent for my clients during the interview stage and identify when a candidate is dishonest while answering interview questions. Here are four signs you should look out for in candidates during a job interview.
4 Signs you Should Look Out for in Candidates During a Job Interview
Pay Attention to Candidate That Provides Vague Response
Paying attention to the types of responses a candidate provides, especially when they are about specific insights in their field, is a crucial area to always watch out for during the interview. Check if such information corresponds with what’s in their CV and LinkedIn profile.
When you notice this, probe them to provide further critical insights. In my experience, I have observed that such candidates lying during an interview hit a dead end or unsuspectingly give information to make an informed decision.
During your job interview session, you can also rely on subject-matter expertise in their field to join you to conduct the interview. Such an individual would provide critical insights to validate or not validate what the candidate says during the interview.
Candidates That Get Defensive
A candidate lying in a remote interview would surely get defensive when you begin to probe further and ask them to provide clarity. This is one reason why I always request for candidates’ cameras to be on throughout our remote interview session, as body language can reveal a lot. Their voice’s tonality would also show a certain level of discomfort when you are asking probing questions.
They Hide Behind Team Achievements During Interviews
It is true that “teamwork makes the dream work”, but for particular experienced hire roles, the candidates should point to their role in the team achievements. This can help you identify their job role and job ownership skills.
If such does not exist, your prospective talent might be lying their way into getting hired. You want to probe further into their role in such team achievements they hide behind.
They Make Obvious Excuses
You’ll hear some wild excuses when interviewing candidates for a job interview. If you pay attention to what is being said and how it is said, you’ll figure out that they lead you on with vague responses and obvious excuses.
HR professionals and everyone involved in the interview process should watch out for such red flags from candidates. Having a professional with several years of experience in the role can also help HR managers develop questions that probe such candidates further and help unmask their act.
Conclusion on How to Tell If Candidate is Lying During Interview
Several research studies show that many candidates lie to enable them to appear to you as the “most suitable candidate” for the job. Age-old job interview strategy alone might not prove proficient to allow you to hire the right talent for your organisation. You definitely should consider adding competency and skills-based assessment solutions to enable you to beat lying candidates at their own game during interviews.
