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9 signs a candidate is lying

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June 4, 2009
1 minute read
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Though most candidates give honest interviews, there are always a few who invent or exaggerate achievements, skills, previous jobs, etc. Here’s how you and your managers can tell when someone’s lying.
There are several non-verbal signals people typically display when they’re telling a lie. These are some of the most common ones you and your managers should watch for during interviews, according to Wayne D. Ford, author of How to Spot a Liar in a Job Interview:

  1. Touching the face — for example, scratching the nose or covering the lips or chin
  2. Avoiding eye contact, (or, in some cases, looking the listener directly into the eyes for a long time because they’re trying to control eye movement, knowing it’s a giveaway)
  3. Sitting farther away from the interviewer than the interviewer intended
  4. Using a tone of voice that’s inconsistent with body language
  5. Putting a briefcase or other object in the lap
  6. Playing with objects (e.g., a pen or coffee mug) or placing them between themselves and the interviewer
  7. Using the exact words of the question when formulating an answer
  8. Looking down before or while answering a question
  9. Using only the mouth when making facial expressions — for example, a natural smile will utilize muscles in the entire face, whereas a liar will only make select movements.

Of course, spotting a liar isn’t an exact science. A perfectly honest person could display any of those signs for a number of reasons — for example, the interviewee may just be nervous.
But they could give you or a manager an indication that more probing questions need to be asked, or tell you what you’ll want to ask about when you check references.

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