Hirebox News
Talent Acquisition:
The 10 Lessons I learned from evaluating, testing and selecting over 56,000 applicants in the last 10 years.
Lesson 7
INTRODUCTION
Through the evaluation and selection of almost 60,000 candidates in the last 10 years, we at Hirebox learned many hard lessons. These became practical tips that we would use on a daily basis to separate the real performers from the talkers, and the honest applicants from the liars, the pretenders, the unscrupulous and the criminals.
As a professional recruiter, I keep reminding myself that over 30% of all bankruptcies in America are due to employee dishonesty. Don't believe me, check the FBI statistics. It has always been for me a moral duty to ensure or at least to make everything possible so that my clients would avoid being part of that sad statistic.
Here you go!
1. Hiring is Marketing
2. The deadly power of social media
3. The biggest mistake in hiring
4. The second biggest mistake in hiring
5. Dealing with candidate ghosting
6. Why business owners must be great headhunters
7. Never trust what they tell you
8. Never offer the job before doing these 3 things
9. 51% of hiring failures occur… AFTER the hire
10. Hire for happiness: THE key to success.
Lesson 7: NEVER TRUST WHAT THEY TELL YOU
In lesson three, I mentioned that per our experience, 53% of resumes contain lies and over 30% of them contain gross lies. So, you definitely want to detect during the recruitment process any possibility of FALSE or temporary personality traits, otherwise called “masks” (see lesson #3).
Here is a harsh reality many small business owners do not think about: Just as much as the success of your business depends on its personnel, so does its failure. According to the FBI, corporate theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States. It’s bigger than identity theft, cyber fraud, credit card theft and internet scams. (Source)
Warren Buffet (Picture: Shutterstock)
Warren Buffet said it best in his popular quote about talent acquisition:
"Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don't have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it's true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy."
How do you pick honest people, knowing that up to 78% of resumes are misleading (Source) and up to 81% lie during the recruitment interview (according to research by the University of Massachusetts)? (Source)
Per the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE): (Source)
• Employee theft accounts for $50 billion in annual losses for businesses.
• One of three bankruptcies are caused by employee theft.
• Employee theft events occur for an average of 2 years before companies discover what’s
happening.
• Although around 25% of thefts involve damages in excess of $1 million, a significant portion
of shrinkage losses are in the $1,000 to $500,000 range.
The ACFE also found that about 87% of those who committed fraud against their employers had never been previously charged with that sort of offense.
This means that background and criminal checks would be almost worthless during a recruitment process. (Source)
Golden Rule
Honesty should be THE first and most important soft skill to look for. Therefore, every step of the hiring process should be investigative:
• Efforts should be made to obtain evidence of a candidate’s pretended achievements and statements – either
on their resume or in a conversation.
• Always conduct reference checks – even if it is hard to obtain vital data from previous employers. Their
reaction to your questions will tell it all.
• The Golden question every recruiter must be willing to ask is: “Who could verify or confirm (what you just
said, or what you wrote in your resume)?”
• The key word is: Challenge! Never blindly accept any proud assertion from any applicant, no matter how
convincing they may seem.
• Ensure that integrity is part of your organization’s core values. Establish firm policy about business ethics and
honesty at work. Create a “zero-tolerance” environment for dishonesty – same level of importance as drug
intolerance. Make your company code of conduct known to all new and existing employees, insisting on that
subject. Manage by example: if people at the top are not showing high ethical standards, you cannot expect
employees to adhere to acceptable moral values.
• Your company presentation to applicants should include a firm statement about your “zero-tolerance” for
dishonesty – exposing how lack of integrity can hurt people and the whole business.
At Hirebox we systematically evaluate applicants on their true intentions and motivations. Although some States have made it illegal to test for honesty (yes, you read it right), you as an employer can always challenge applicants on what their true intentions and motivations might be in applying for your open position. Find out how we can help you to investigate it at www.hirebox.us.
If you did not read my latest bestseller, “Taking Off the Mask,” you can get it on Amazon. In the book, I present techniques to evaluate for honesty. I also propose a disruptive definition of good, qualified candidates:
“The right people are those who not only fit the job and the culture of your organization but live by the fundamental principle that honesty is the key to success and happiness – theirs and yours!
The right person for a specific job is one who, while offering some required hard skills, mostly excels in job-related important soft skills. And the most vital soft skill in any applicant (no matter the position) is honesty.”
Find out HOW you can be (more) efficient in selecting people who are honest, loyal, and dedicated. Visit https://www.hirebox.us and see how we can help.
Best success,
Patrick Valtin,
CEO Hirebox
BY: Patrick Valtin
In the ever-evolving landscape of small businesses, where technology, economic conditions, and workforce expectations shift rapidly, one management function remains perennially critical: talent acquisition. As we look towards 2025 and beyond, the strategic importance of acquiring the right talent for small businesses cannot be overstated. This is not merely a task for HR departments but a core competency that business owners, especially in small enterprises, must master.
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