You’re in a job interview. The interviewee’s resume is vague in some places and even contradicts itself. And something about the job candidate seems a little off. They keep avoiding the important questions and their smile seems a little too big. These are just some of the signs that a job candidate is lying. If you start to think that a job candidate is lying, you might be unsure of how to continue. You don’t want to call them out if your guess is wrong, but you also don’t want to hire someone who lies. These are a few tips on what to do when you think a job candidate is lying:
Rephrase Questions
If the job candidate gave a vague or concerning answer to a question, rephrase it and ask again. This will help you to get more clarification if the candidate wasn’t lying. If they were lying, then they will have trouble holding up against additional questioning.
Ask Questions That Require Specific Answers
For example, you could ask something like “tell me about a time when you found a creative solution to a problem” or “when have you had to deal with a difficult team/co-worker/manager/etc.? What did you do?”. These sort of questions will give you a good view of the job candidates’ character and it will be hard for them to lie when giving specific examples.
Bring in Another Interviewer
Sometimes your opinion of an interviewee might be driven by unconscious bias. Having another interviewer present can either change or confirm your suspicions. Ask them what they think in an un-partial way such as “what did you think of the candidate?”. This will help make sure you don’t influence what the other interviewer thinks.
One thing you don’t want to do in a job interview is jump to conclusions that may be incorrect. Use these tips whenever you think a job candidate is lying to better understand what is happening.