Job applicants aren’t the only ones who are lying

Year after year, surveys show about 70% of job applicants lie on their resumes or applications. People lie about their skills, employers, college degrees, you name it. The onus falls on hiring managers and HR to dig deeper during the screening process and interviews to root out a liar.

What if the people doing the hiring are lying? ResumeBuilder recently found that 4 out of 10 hiring managers lie to job applicants too! A quarter of them admit to lying on a routine basis, to boot.

Hiring managers say they lie to applicants most frequently about:

1. role responsibilities (40%)

2. growth opportunities (39%), and

3. career development opportunities (38%).

They’re also not shy about painting their companies out to be better than they really are. HR pros admitted to lying about factors that matter to applicants who are trying to pick the right fit, such as company culture, benefits, the company’s financial well-being and (ugh) compensation.

That last one leaves companies open to lawsuits and fines, of course. None of these practices benefits an employer in the long run because it damages their reputation. Social media makes it easier than before to warn others off a bad actor.

Phony-baloney behaviors that suggest they’re lying

Hiring managers and HR departments that do play by the book can afford to focus squarely on how honest a job candidate is! Many seasoned HR pros say they can spot a liar. Maybe, maybe not.

The best bet is to pay attention to body language, things like facial expressions, posture and the like, while also listening to an applicant speak. Positive behaviors include seeming comfortable talking to and dealing with people, being open to suggestions, and politeness.

There are also red flag physical behaviors to watch out for. Here’s the top 10:

1. failing to make eye contact
2. not smiling
3. playing with an object
4. showing bad posture
5. fidgeting in their seat
6. crossing their arms over their chest
7. playing with their hair or touching their face
8. having a weak handshake
9. using a lot of hand gestures, and
10. looking away while you’re talking.