Detecting Dishonesty: A CEO’s Guide to Identifying Candidate Exaggerations in Interviews

Hiring the right talent is crucial for any organization’s success, especially for fast-growing SMBs aiming to build a team of A-players.

However, one common challenge CEOs face is that candidates generally have a tendency to “exaggerate”—sometimes that can be as far as outright lies or more often omitted information, misleading information, or embellishment of skills. 

These exaggerations can sneak past mostly because interviewers lack the experience to sniff out “incomplete” or potentially misleading information from statements candidates make.

78% of applicants misrepresent themselves during the hiring process. As a CEO, understanding how to detect these exaggerations is essential to ensure you’re making informed hiring decisions.

Why Candidates Exaggerate or Mislead in Resumes and Interviews

Candidates may exaggerate their qualifications for various reasons:

• Competitive Job Market: In a tight job market, candidates may feel pressured to stand out by enhancing their resumes.
• Fear of Rejection: Some fear that being completely honest might cost them the opportunity.
• Lack of Experience: Entry-level candidates might embellish to compensate for limited experience.

A study shows that 36% of respondents admitted to lying on their resumes, with the most common lies about skills and responsibilities.

The Impact of Candidate Dishonesty

Hiring someone who has misrepresented their abilities can have significant consequences:

• Reduced Team Morale: Team members may become frustrated if they have to compensate for a colleague’s lack of skills.
• Financial Costs: The U.S. Department of Labor estimates the cost of a bad hire can reach up to 30% of the employee’s first-year earnings.
• Project Delays: Incompetent hires can cause delays, impacting deadlines and client satisfaction.

The Role of Effective Interview

The secret to getting to the truth or uncovering a problematic person who lies or embellishes as a “way of being” is to ask lots of follow-up questions and dig deep into the who, why, what, when, and how.

Inexperienced interviewers may accept surface-level answers, allowing exaggerations to go unnoticed. Training your team to probe deeper is essential.

How to Detect Exaggerations and Dishonesty in a Job Interview

1. Ask Specific Follow-Up Questions
   • Example: If a candidate says they worked on 500 tax returns last year, don’t take it at face value.
   • Clarify: “Did you personally prepare all 500 returns, or were you part of a team? What types of returns were they—1040s, trusts, corporations? Who else was involved?”
   • Benefit: This approach helps uncover the extent of their actual involvement and prevents misleading conclusions.
2. Use Behavioral Interview Questions

• Behavioral interview questions require candidates to provide examples from past experiences.
• Examples:
  • “Describe a time when you knew you did or said something that caused a problem for a coworker, a customer, or an employee. How did you know it caused a problem?”
  • “Tell about a time when something you had responsibility for at work didn’t go well. Whose fault was it?”
• Benefit: Behavioral questions can reveal honesty, self-awareness, and problem-solving skills.

3. Look for Inconsistencies
   • Cross-reference their resume, cover letter, and interview responses.
   • Tip: If dates, job titles, or responsibilities don’t align, it’s a red flag indicating potential dishonesty.
4. Conduct Thorough Reference Checks
   • References can provide insights into the candidate’s past performance and honesty.
   • Strategy:
     • Inform candidates that you will be conducting reference checks early in the process.
     • Use open-ended questions when speaking with references.
   • Benefit: Knowing that references will be checked can act as a “truth serum,” encouraging candidates to be more honest.

The Power of Reference Checks

Reference checks provide critical insights into a candidate’s past performance, helping employers verify credentials and avoid hiring mistakes.

Best Practices for Reference Checks

• Prepare Questions in Advance: Focus on areas where you need clarification.
• Ask About Specifics: “Can you describe the candidate’s role in project X?”
• Listen for Hesitations: Pauses or vague answers may indicate issues.

Training Your Interviewers

Investing in interviewer training can significantly improve your hiring outcomes.

• Provide Interview Guides: Equip your team with structured interview questions. For example, the Power Interview Guide covers how to dig deep into candidate responses.
• Role-Playing Sessions: Practice interviews to identify potential pitfalls.
• Encourage Critical Thinking: Teach interviewers to probe beyond initial answers.

Check out our talent acquisition webinars enriched with valuable hiring insights. 

Conclusion

Detecting dishonesty during interviews is a critical skill that can save your company time, money, and resources. By asking detailed follow-up questions, utilizing behavioral interview techniques, and conducting thorough reference checks, you can significantly reduce the risk of making a bad hire.

Remember, candidates generally have a tendency to “exaggerate.” It’s up to you and your team to “sniff out incomplete or potentially misleading information from statements candidates make.”Have you encountered challenges with candidate honesty during interviews? Use our automated reference check tool along with many useful features to filter out dishonest candidates and hire the the top ones.