Ever feel like job candidates are lying to you? They probably are!

1. The 8 Most
Common
Lies You’ve
Probably
Been Told
By Job
Candidates

2. Are you a suspicious hiring manager?
Do you ever think that the people
you are interviewing are to
you?

3. Figures Show
Of jobseekers admit to lying on their CV
They probably (definitely) are.
50%

4. But do not !
Today, we’re revealing the
you’ll come across

5. 1. Employment dates

6. Employment gaps look terrible on
a CV
Or so jobseekers are told on a daily basis.
People with gaps that aren’t easy
to explain are left with two choices
…

7. Trying to tell the truth in a more
appealing way on their CV and
possibly not even getting a
call-back for jobs
OR
Risking it, lying and hoping you
won’t find out

8. What should you do?
If something looks a bit “off,”
clarify dates with your job
candidate in interview.
“So you worked at [Company Name] for
how many months?”
Probing them further may reveal more
information.

9. What should you do?
Or when you send off for references,
ask the candidate’s past employers
for their start and end dates and
contractual hours.
Easy.

10. But it’s a bit late then?
This lie is the hardest one to
confront, because you can’t speak
to a candidate’s referee until
you’ve made an offer.
If you do find out they lied, what
happens next is up to you…

11. …is it a big enough deal to make
you withdraw the offer?

12. Recruiter Pro Tip.
Don’t immediately write off a
candidate with unexplained
unemployment gaps on their CV
There could be a variety of
personal and professional reasons
why they’ve not been in work…

13. Instead, schedule a
telephone call and ask
specific and investigative
questions to find out more

14. 2. Education

15. No one would have the audacity
to fabricate an entire degree on
their CV would they?
You’d be surprised.

16. Studies have revealed that
20%
of candidates lie about education on
their CV!

17. What should you do?
Ask for certificates from your
job candidates.

18. Be wary, this can slow down
the process and candidates
might drop out from the sheer
hassle
(Do you still have a record of your GCSE
results?)

19. 3. Skills

20. Of job candidates
57%embellish their skill set

21. What should you do?
Set up some kind of skills test during
the interview
OR
Ask their references

22. 4. Salary

23. Candidates often feel the need to
inflate their salary
This will put them in a better
situation to negotiate for a higher
rate with you.

24. What should you do?
Ask for the candidate’s salary from
their previous or current employers…
(they don’t have to tell you)
OR
Check their last payslip on arrival
(if you really want to know.)

25. Again, both of these tactics are
probably a bit “too little, too late…” so
it might be worth warning your
candidate during the interview:
“We would need one of your previous
payslips when you started, would that
be OK?”

26. 5. Weakness

27. “What’s your greatest weakness?”
You’re bound to get some awful reply along
the lines of…
“well, I’m a bit of a perfectionist.”
Yawn.
Not only predictable, it’s also probably a lie.

28. What should you do?
Don’t ask it in the first place.
Make the question harder,
for example, “what would your
referee say is your biggest weakness?”

29. Or be upfront:
“That’s not really a weakness
is it? Could you give us
another answer?”

30. 6. Relationships

31. No one wants to come
across like an unmanageable
or unsociable worker

32. So candidates will lie, if they
didn’t particularly get on with
co-workers or managers
Although, some bosses are
just genuinely horrible!

33. What should you do?
If anything went ridiculously
awry, it should come up in their
reference.

34. Otherwise…
Use your initiative, ask
investigative questions, to find out
why they’re leaving the company
Candidates who badmouth their boss
& colleagues could be trouble-makers.

35. 7. Interests

36. What do you do in your spare time?
What they say:
“I play the violin, am training to
run a marathon, host charity
events, read industry news…”

37. What do you do in your spare time?
What they do:
“I get home from work, whack
on some joggers and have a 6hr
marathon of Walking Dead”

38. What should you do?
Test them! Ask investigative questions.
‘So tell us some more about your
charity events”
How long can they keep up the
conversation?

39. You could also be really mean
and test them to prove it.
For example:
If they say they speak
German, ask for a
demonstration!

40. 8. References

41. Studies show
1 in 5
smaller businesses have
received fake references from
candidates!

42. So, when you think you’re
receiving a glowing
reference from the Head of
Sales,
you could be speaking to
Mike, from down the pub.

43. What should I do?
the company in question
and look for their main number.
Call that directly and ask to speak
to the referee in question. If they
don’t exist, then you have your
answer.

44. Summary

45. Everybody lies.
Honestly, (pretty much) every
jobseeker will lie about something.
Whether they merely exaggerate
their profile for your benefit or
completely fabricate an entire
degree, the lies are there.

46. What’s important is that
YOU can recognise the
difference between a little
white lie and one that
could genuinely affect their
ability to do the job.

47. That bit’s down to you!

48. If you would like to discover
more great
interview questions and
insider recruitment secrets,
Check out our HR blog here.