It’s OK to embellish your fishing tales, but reel in your storytelling creativity when it comes to compiling your CV.
We are all proud of our achievements and quite rightly so. But some of us have been known to embellish our achievements and qualifications to gain a certain job. The latest www.myjobspace.co.nz poll revealed almost 40 percent of us lie about our employment history in a job interview.
Sometimes we get away with it, sometimes we don’t. If you have been following the news you will know that the former chief of Immigration Mary Anne Thompson embellished her credentials to secure a top job in the department.
So how do you, as potential employers, spot a liar before they wreak havoc in your workplace?
- When you receive an application for the position you are advertising, start looking for inconsistencies in the applicant’s CV. If you are unsure about qualifications the person says they have, you can request a copy of their certificate or degree. Or you can also talk with the education provider. With some providers you can also log online to find this information
- During a job interview keep an eye on body language. Fidgeting such as playing with jewellery or hair can be a tell tale sign they aren’t telling the whole truth
- The interviewee will also not make eye contact if they are embellishing the truth
- Interviewees may not directly answer a question you have asked. Ask interviewees open ended questions which they can’t answer with yes or no. The same goes when you are talking to their references
- Listen carefully to the voice. Tone and pitch can change if a person is lying. The same goes with the speed of speech
- Ask a range of questions to try and gain an idea of the interviewee’s personality to establish whether they would fit into your team. Try giving them space to talk about things that make them tick, such as music, children or animals. Also ask questions about training, previous experience and what they believe their key skills and attributes are. And always throw in a couple of curly questions to see how they think on the spot
- If an interviewee becomes overly defensive, that is a tell-tale sign something isn’t right
- From notes taken in your interview you should be able to formulate questions to ask references that confirm what the interviewee has told you is truthful. When talking to the interviewee’s referees remember to remind the referees that they must, by law, provide truthful answers (of course, in a tactful way). If the referee is misleading or less than truthful, there can be serious consequences for that person and their business.
Once you have hired someone it is difficult to get rid of them so you need to ensure you hire the right people, with the right experience and qualifications for the job.
Remember however, there is a difference between lying and being “flexible” with the truth.
