In the hiring process, it is a well-documented fact that at least 2 out
of every 5 applications contain one major fabrication.
What the employer doesn't know can, and almost certainly
will, have a tremendous impact on that organization!
Dr. Julian Cano, Ed.D, a Clinical Psychologist of 30
years, once said that we are all taught from birth both
to lie as well as catch lies. He reasons that most
people have the necessary skills and abilities to
effectively lie to others and to tell when someone is
lying to them in return. Dr. Cano adds that it can also
be morally and socially acceptable to lie, but at the
same time, unacceptable to indicate to others that they
are being untruthful! This is absolutely true and it
describes perfectly, a paradox specific to the hiring
process.
Obviously, 40% of all job applicants feel it's OK to
misrepresent the truth in one way or another. The
candidate can easily rationalize to his or herself that
they are lying in their own interest and that the
deception puts no burden upon the employer; no one gets
hurt in the lie. At the same time, the hiring
professional thinks that it isn't polite to point out
discrepancies in the applicant's description of his or
her background, education, and prior employment
experiences. In fact some people believe that the
process of verifying this information is not socially
acceptable because it begins with the presupposition
that the candidate may not be telling the truth.
In order to find the best candidate for the continued
success of an organization isn't it essential that the
employer has accurate and detailed information regarding
the ability of the applicant as well as his or her
integrity? Absolutely! This is a universal truth:
Honest people build profitable companies, dishonest
people tear them down.
That's why pre-employment polygraph exams were so
popular! However, with the ban of pre-employment
polygraph testing, employers were forced to learn new
and more acceptable ways of eliciting the truth from job
applicants. The science of "lie catching" and "deception
detection" without technological assistance remained a
mystery to almost every person charged with having to
make a hiring decision. Myths and homespun tales
describing the signs that someone was lying almost
became a junk science.
The reality of identifying untruthful behavior only
recently received academic validation. These techniques
are now gaining acceptance and popularity within
Corporate America. Specifically, the approach used to
obtain the truth from job applicants is called an
integrity interview. It is a non-confrontational and
effective method used to foster an open and honest
dialogue between the employer and prospective employee
from the very beginning of the hiring process. The
integrity interview has been proven to be both an
ethical and practical method to identify and attract the
very best employees available.
The integrity interview segment is a non-accusatory
interview designed to elicit truthful information from
the candidate and to gain an insight in to applicant's
possible participation in behavior that might be
detrimental to the requirements of the job vacancy.
Applicants can then be judged on the basis of facts
obtained through the entire prescreening process as well
as admissions they may make. Specific information
involving the following instances should be discussed
with every candidate:
• Prior employers not included on the candidate's
application
• Prior terminations and forced resignations
• Past involvement in various criminal activities to
include criminal convictions, theft of merchandise and
cash from employers, and illegal drug usage
• Attendance Issues including, excessive absenteeism,
chronic Tardiness, abuses of sick leave, theft of time
(i.e. a delivery driver at home while "on the clock")
Many interviewers are skeptical when hearing that
applicants will make admissions and will ultimately
disqualify themselves during an employment interview and
it goes without saying that most applicants don't come
to an interview prepared to admit acts of misconduct or
illegal activities. However, it is the responsibility of
the interviewer to create an environment conducive to
honesty and to sell the applicant on the notion that
telling the absolute truth is the only way to get the
job; then it becomes the interviewers responsibility to
ask carefully worded questions followed by a keen
observation of the applicant's behavior while answering.
The integrity interview is certainly not anything
new; the nation's top employers have been using these
techniques for almost a decade and it is considered a
best hiring practice. Small to medium sized businesses,
which make up the largest employer segment in the United
States, have been very slow to catch on however,
primarily because very little training has been afforded
them and they often lack the internal structure to
consistently provide documented training programs within
their organizations.
Until this is changed, Entrepreneurial America will
continue to be a victim of its own complacency.
L. Scott Harrell is the author of Truth or
Consequences: Hiring for Integrity, a manual which
completely and accurately describes proven
pre-employment hiring strategies and interviewing skills
developed from 14 years of experience as a private
investigator and principal of CompassPoint
Investigations.
More information regarding Hiring for Integrity and
other effective hiring practices can be found via his
website:
http://www.HiringProfessionals.com
