How to spot job interview lies – part two

by K B , updated on November 8, 2020

In my last post I asked a few recruiters for tips on how to spot job interview lies. Steve Ludlow from the Harlow Group commented on Recruiter Daily and then wrote an interesting post on his blog.

Steve’s group recruits sales and marketing executives. Here are his tips on spotting job interview lies.

Steve asks the question “what percentage of budget did you achieve in the last measurable year?” If his candidates say 100% he questions further. Steve says top sellers will know exactly how far they are above 100% and will mention it in interview.

Steve also says those that just hit target, will be able to remember the percentage as they will have been focussing on it to achieve it. But people who fall a long way off budget, will tend to give vague or evasive answers. If Steve receives a vague response he probes further, and follows up in a reference check.

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How to spot job interview lies

by K B , updated on November 8, 2020

I have been to fascinating recruiting seminars over the years. One in particular was by a gentleman who called himself the “Human Lie Detector”, Steven van Aperen. A former policeman who has worked on high profile investigations, he now trains corporations and government agencies on how to spot whether someone is lying. He uses verbal and non verbal cues plus behavioural analysis questions.

In his seminar Van Aperen gave similar advice to Pamela Meyer, author of “Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception” who was interviewed in this post, on Smart Blogs on Workforce.

In the blog interview Meyer gives these signs as indications that an interviewee is lying:

  • Nonverbal tells. Liars don’t rehearse their gestures, just their words. The cognitive load is already huge, so when they tell their story, they freeze their upper body, look down, lower their voice, and slow their breathing and blink rate. And they will exhibit a recognizable moment of relief when the interview is over. Interrogators will often end an interview prematurely just to look for that shift in posture and relaxation.
  • Verbal tells. People who are overly determined in their denial resort to non-contracted rather than relaxed language. “Did not” rather than “didn’t”. They will use distancing language as in “that woman” rather than someone’s name. They will often pepper their story with inappropriate detail as if to prove to you they are telling the truth. They will look you in the eye too much, as if to appear honest, when in fact most people telling the truth only look you in the eye a comfortable 60 % of the time.
  • Stories told in perfect chronological order. Try to get them to tell their story backwards. They can’t do it. Honest people remember stories in the order of emotional prominence. Liars tend to concoct a time-stamped story but they falter when asked to recount it differently.

These are excellent tips but it can be difficult to judge whether someone is lying in interview.

It’s hard to be truly objective when, say, you desperately want to fill a position. Or as a recruitment consultant there’s your salary and client at stake. With that going through your mind, the signals never jump out at you. It’s also easy to overlook those uncomfortable niggly things that don’t quite add up, as you may not want to see them.

Using the pointers above you’d also need to know whether someone’s body language, eye contact, tone and the like, are different from what they are normally like. Nerves can make everyone behave in strange ways. A visible sigh of relief can also just be that, a visible sigh that the interrogation is over.

To make an un-biased judgment as an interviewer, some self awareness helps as well. As an interviewer, my basic premise is that I believe someone. I generally like people and want them to do well. But I know that can cloud my judgment, especially when someone is super nice and accommodating in interview, or if they’ve buttered me up.

So I never ever make a decision on the spot. I make copious interview notes, and when I have finished all the interviews for the day, I take a break and review what each interviewee actually said. That, for me, removes the impact of their personality and allows me to question the logic of the information they’ve presented. I can then judge the interviewee just as much on the content of their answers, not just on whether I think they’re a nice person and couldn’t possibly “stretch the truth.”

For my blog readers out there, I’d love to hear what other interviewers do…

– Watch out story tellers! This first tip comes from Donna Svei @avidcareerist on Twitter:

“@InterviewIQ: An interviewee who claims all credit for a significant accomplishment makes me wonder.”

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Six career killers on Facebook

by K B , updated on November 8, 2020

I know many Aussies who read my blog don’t love social media like I do, for job hunting at least. I know this because I’ve had clients ask me if I tweet about eating spaghetti bolognaise.  I did a radio interview recently on social media and job hunting and the producer asked me before the show if I tweeted about eating a hamburger. (For the record, I do eat, but I don’t tweet what I eat), unless it was exceptionally good and I want to say thank you to the chef!)

Yes I am a big fan of social media because if you manage what you do, and you do it well, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can help you find your next job. From a job hunting perspective, even for me, having this blog, and tweeting regularly, has landed me some big and totally unexpected opportunities from big and totally unexpected directions. In short I’ve been headhunted.

If you do want to use social media, you do need to be educated about how you use these tools. This article: “six career killing Facebook mistakes” popped up in my inbox today, listing career killer moves on Facebook.  These are:

–  Posting inappropriate pictures

–  Complaining about your current job

–  Posting conflicting information to your resume

–  Statuses you wouldn’t want your boss to see

–  Not understanding your security settings

–  Losing by association: what your friends post on your profile

I had a depressing conversation with a headhunter recently and asked him how he used Facebook.  He said he started one search on Facebook and eliminated someone immediately from his shortlist because of a profile photo they had of themselves. He didn’t look at their page. He didn’t look at their status updates. He didn’t look at the company they kept. He just looked at their photo.

Scary stuff and so many question marks!

The writers of the article suggest:

“The best advice is to lock down your personal profile so that only friends you approve can see anything on that profile. Then, create a second, public profile on Facebook purely for professional use. This profile functions like an online resume, and should only contain information you’d be comfortable telling your potential employer face to face. Having a social networking profile is a good thing: it presents you as technologically and professionally savvy. Just make sure your profile is helping to present your best side, not the side that got drunk at your buddy’s New Year’s party”.

PS: Anyone interested in whether Australian job seekers are using social media – read this article from Destination Talent’s Phillip Tusing.

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Chef Shane’s New Life

by K B , updated on November 8, 2020

I like a good success story. Not because I am a sickly sweet set your goals type, but because for some of us, and particularly me, life is a lot more complicated than that.  Life was complicated for Chef Shane too. He was stuck in a remote destination in a job he hated and had to use imagination and the internet to find a way out.  He’s done it now. He landed a post in Vietnam.  Here’s a bit of a re-cap, some lessons learned along the way and the next chapter in his story……

A while back I was an eager job hunter, using social media to supplement, and replace part of my traditional job search.

I was spending a lot of time updating my LinkedIn profile, meeting recruiters and colleagues on Twitter, and documenting my skills and interests on my blog.

I was keeping in touch with colleagues, ex-bosses and friends on SKYPE, and it was this that got me the perfect job.

I had applied for a job through an online job ad, actually got it through an agency that I had kept in touch with online, and was recommended by my old GM, who was chatting with my prospective boss on skype at the same time that I was chatting to him.

It couldn’t have happened by responding to a newspaper ad.

I was in before anyone else had a chance, and had the credibility of 10 verifiable recommendations on LinkedIn and two personal references from the Agency and the GM who knew the head of the company I applied to.

I could have been lucky, but if I hadn’t made my availability, profile and desired job type fully known, the opportunity would have bypassed me.

I accepted a position in Vietnam – a country I knew little about, and found it to be the perfect position with a great company in a fantastic city.

My employer is everything I have been looking for; well organised, far-sighted, and hospitable and making it possible to reach the full potential by providing the right tools, attitudes, support and people for success and growth.

Here’s a bit more of the story.

It took around 3 months to get a position that I felt right with.

Most advertised positions failed to call, email or respond in anyway, even when I was perfectly suited to the position.

I researched and followed a LOT of ‘resume format’, ‘recruiters want one of the two standard formats or the application gets binned’ and ‘how to make a resume’ advice. Most of them failed. Best results came when I used ‘my format’ and expressed my thoughts, personality and abilities through a creative and non-standard CV.

Many said it wouldn’t work, too ‘out there’ and ‘not what companies are looking for’ – On the contrary, my responses tripled.

I found that it was better for me to shortlist companies and interview them – rather than send out lots of applications hoping they would shortlist me.

It is overwhelming to receive many offers and weigh up the pros and cons of each position. In the end, I made the right choice. My advice? Research the one that will offer you the best lifestyle and the most day to day happiness and emotional/mental reward. I look now at the choices I could have taken and by now the honeymoon would have worn off and I’d be regretting my career choice due to the daily grind and company culture.

Be yourself. You can pretend to be the perfect candidate to get a prized job – but leopards never truly change their spots. Better to be yourself, and look for a position in a company where your personal, moral and professional values are reflected – not despised. I could have gone for a 16 hour a day, snooty, upmarket, formal, conservative position and adjusted my CV accordingly to get a high salary and better future career opportunities. But how long until I was miserable, burned out or confined by company culture and incompatibility with my new colleagues? 2 months? 1 year? 5 years? 10? Regret this piece of advice at your peril. I’m quite old now, and it is more important than any CV advice or ‘how to fool the recruiter into hiring you’ advice that is so common. Find the right match. THAT alone will give you stability, career satisfaction, and a happy rewarding life – as well as a ‘job’

There are a lot of narrow minded, old fashioned, rude, ignorant, selfish and unintuitive managers and recruiters out there. Not as many as there are unreliable, pathetic, undesirable, mean, lazy or dishonest staff – but bear it in mind.

When searching for a job, it’s easy to believe that all employers are great, and they must reply and try to give you a job.

WRONG.

They assume most applicants are the wrong one, and make it hard to get the job. Many recruiting systems and procedures are not efficient, and weed out perfect applicants as well as bad. Applicants assume that they are rubbish compared to everyone else, and start to lose confidence and faith in themselves. Use the downtime to learn new skills, get fit, change bad habits, demonstrate your abilities, start a blog, and generally be positive and useful.

This helps your chance of getting a job, makes you stand out from the crowd, and keeps your focused on moving forward.

You will see just as many bad employers as they will see bad CV’s and unsuitable applicants.

Target your search, don’t take rejections and lack of responses to heart, and try to get feedback on why you were rejected so you can improve your skills in applying, interviewing and researching.

Research the boss and the company you will work for. They will surely research you. Check their reliability, professional integrity, company culture, profitability and social morals. Make sure they are the type of people you want to work for.

Get a feel for the interviewer, and the people you will be working with. It’s important to ‘click’ with them, so that you fit in and work to the best of your potential. This was a key factor in me choosing and getting my current role.

No point in acing an interview with someone you don’t like.

Have some examples of what you do available online. These can include photos, videos, documented achievements, scans of certificates, reviews, recommendations or connections with people, companies or associations. It builds your credibility and helps employers feel comfortable about you.

Listen to professionals and surround yourself with people, attitudes and emotions that move you forward. It’s easy to be cynical, negative and point fingers at GFC, rude HR people and the like – but better to be working constructively when you are out of work, making each day count towards building your ‘personal brand’.

Ignore personal branding. It’s a myth until you are good at it. That comes from being friendly, positive, approachable, sharing your experiences and demonstrating that you are good at what you do. It doesn’t come from formulas or advice from personal branding experts.

That’s it from me.

Feel free to drop me a line, give me some feedback or ask any questions on my tumblr blog http://chefshane.tumblr.com/ and if you’d like to see what we are achieving in Vietnam, follow us on twitter @LifeDanang

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If you’ve recently arrived, here’s how to get a job in Australia

by K B , updated on November 8, 2020

How to create your own job –  Naishadh’s story

I landed on the shores of Australia, in Brisbane, on 6th August 2007 on a cold day. I knew very little about Australian culture and weather so the very next day my training began. The first few things were to organise my bank account, TFN No, and in the most important of all “look for work”.

I was confident that I would land up a decent job within next few days as because of my experience and qualifications, but, I soon learnt that I had no idea about looking for work as I never had to look for work in India. This is the case for most of the skilled migrants. In India because my experience and network was so strong I could change the job without any hassle.

I started a journey in Australia in an unknown territory with very minimal support! When it came to applying for jobs I knew only 1 mantra – www.seek.com.au I spent more than 4-5 hours per day and applied to about 60-70 applications per day. I received a 75% response saying that my application is unsuccessful and got 5-7 phone calls per week for interviews.

During this time I learnt 3 valuable lessons: 1) To socialise and meet new people irrespective if you’ve the job or not 2) Surround yourself with positive people or keep yourself away from negative and toxic people who crib and complain about jobs and careers in Australia 3) Your job hunt has to be strategic, not generic, you must plan and work on the plan

Then came the ‘day’ in early October, I was interviewed for a Sales Engineer position based in Dandenong, a suburb in Melbourne. After reaching the train station I found that it was a long walk to the company. I kept walking and walking and after 90 minutes I reached the company. The first question my boss asked “How did you get here?” I said “I walked”. I could see light in his eyes and he smiled. The interview went fine and next day I got the call that I was selected and could start work in 2 weeks. I am still so proud of the fact that I didn’t give up and kept my morale up.

I’ve always been always passionate about having my own enterprise and working for myself. I soon discovered an incredible opportunity of writing professional resumes and cover letters; further research in the subject led to me undertaking courses offered by two brilliant and accomplished resume writers. After 6 months of study and training I launched my business “Resume Solutions” and started helping professionals and skilled migrants who are struggling to find work. I also completed Get Hired Now (Job Search Training) and Interview Coach training; this boosted my credibility and also competency in delivering holistic solutions to my clients.

From someone who didn’t know how to look for work and now assisting individuals in finding meaningful employment is such an extraordinary opportunity and I enjoy every second of it.

Naishadh Gadani
Professional Résumé Writer, Job Search Coach, Interview Coach
Résumé Solutions

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What is Personal Branding?

by K B , updated on November 10, 2020

You might have heard about personal branding, it is a much hyped concept that is all over the web at the moment. How does it affect us normal folks and what can we do to make the most of personal branding? Jorgen Sundberg, aka The Undercover Recruiter, will briefly explain what it is, what you should be doing and what you can expect from it.

What is personal branding?

Personal branding is how you project yourself to the world, how you create and maintain your image. Your brand is just as much about your profession and career as your background, what type of person you are, your interests and any interesting facts.

Personal branding is essentially very similar to company branding, for example the golden arches of McDonald’s or the jester used by The Motley Fool have become instantly recognizable as part of those companies. This is what you want for yourself, you want to stand out from the crowd and be memorable.

Personal branding is where you and your career are bundled together into one. It’s the way you market and promote the image of yourself. What you do and what you are all about and above all what you can do for others. Compare your personal brand to a rock star’s image, something that needs to be maintained.

All interaction you have with other people make up your personal branding. Having a meeting, making a phone call, sending an email are all activities that demonstrate your brand. Offline and online, you only get a few seconds for a first impression so you will want to get it right.

Do I need a personal brand?

You already have one. What you need is to maintain it and make sure it projects what you want it to by staying consistent continuously improve it. You will want to take control of your brand because you want to be noticed and stand out from the crowd. It will help you to be seen by current and prospective clients, business partners, employers and so forth. You want people to remember who you are and what you do.

Your online brand

First impressions count, also online. It’s free and very simple to sign up for online networking sites and they are great tools for promoting your brand. Any typical professional will have a profile with LinkedIn or Facebook, some will have lots more than this. As long as you use and maintain your profile in the right manner, you are on to a winner.

Try googling your name and see what happens. Now consider that others (prospective customers for instance) do the same. Are you happy with what they see? If you were a client, you would probably want to see a supplier with a professional profile on LinkedIn and possibly other platforms.

We already know that headhunters and HR people are all over LinkedIn like a cheap suit. Guess what, they also cross reference you on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and other sites to see that you are not simply putting on a corporate act. Make sure the brand you project is consistent and well positioned, it will help you to get that raise, promotion or even a new and better job. Just like having 20 recommendations on LinkedIn weighs in your favor, one ‘wrong’ photo can be a complete dealbreaker and leave you regretting ever signing up for that service.

My experience

I have long been prolific on LinkedIn and used it as a tool for expanding my network and to do research on people and companies. I have a large and growing network which has supported me when building this site and even coming up with ideas for posts. I set up The Undercover Recruiter to promote myself as well as the blog. Setting up a blog is optional and perhaps not the first step you want to take, although if you have the time it is definitely worth looking into. I promote this blog across a few platforms (mainly LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter) and try to have exactly the same brand on all of them.

Call to action

Make sure you are consistent with everything you communicate to the world. This includes how you speak, your emails, online presence, your resume and even how you dress. Will your prospect customer be surprised or even disappointed when they meet you for the first time? You have to make sure you are one and the same across all channels and you will then come across as genuine and trustworthy. Share information about yourself, tell stories and inspire others. Add some personality to your brand, we all know it’s easier to sell on emotions than facts. When you think you are finished, anyone should be able to locate you online and find out what you do and what makes you special. If this isn’t the case, you need to put some more work in.

Bottom line

You need to be aware of your personal brand and you should ensure that you are projecting the right image of yourself. By being consistent and congruent, online and offline, you will build up your image and people will notice and trust you. As long as this is a positive message, you will improve your chances of having a great career/building your business/making friends/whatever your goal is.

What is your experience of personal branding?

Jorgen Sundberg is a Personal Branding Consultant based in London. He helps sales people, entrepreneurs, business owners and executives to create, build and promote magnetic brands to attract more business online.  After 7 years of marketing people in recruitment, he  started Personal Branding UK and he blogs at The Undercover Recruiter and JorgenSundberg.net. You can connect with him on Twitter @jorgensundberg.

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