1st Edition

Deception in Selection Interviewees and the Psychology of Deceit

By Max A. Eggert Copyright 2014

    The latest research suggests that 33% of people lie deliberately to achieve employment. The costs of mis-hires are significant in terms of management time, selection and reselection costs and potential legal costs. There are 101 opportunities for applicants to economize with the truth, exaggerate or simply lie, both on their CV and at interview. They may be desperate in a competitive job market; they may think that exaggeration is an expected part of the process or they just rely on the fact that many employers still fail to make the most rudimentary of checks of what they are told. Max Eggert’s Deception in Selection will help you, the recruiter, to understand how and why candidates deceive. The book examines proven techniques and tactics to balance the interview game, to restore equity in the face of the clever approaches that sophisticated candidates bring to the interview. Although there is no foolproof way of identifying deception, you can, with practice, become amazingly accurate if there is a commitment to master the basics. The object of this book is to learn how to detect more effectively the fabrications that candidates present in selection situations that would have a direct adverse effect on their performance in the job. Reading it will encourage you to look at lying and truth telling in a new light and discover how pervasively lies and self-deception influence selection decisions. This is a must read guide from a best-selling business author for all those who participate in the selection process.

    Introduction; Chapter 1 Some Background to Deception; Chapter 2 The Mystery of Candidates who Lie to Themselves; Chapter 3 What Constitutes a Lie?; Chapter 4 Deceptions from Person Perception; Chapter 5 Body Language and Deception; Chapter 6 The Signs of Interview Deceit: Visual, Verbal, Vocal (Body Language, Speech Content, Speech Delivery); Chapter 7 Discovery of Candidates’ Lies; Chapter 8 Types of Interview; Chapter 9 (The Person, The Problem and the Prevention); Chapter 10 Recommendations;

    Biography

    Max Eggert is Chief Psychologist with Transcareer which he founded in 1982 in the UK. He has been interviewed frequently on TV, radio and in the print media in Australia, the US and Europe. His work and publications have been reviewed both in the professional journals and the specialist media. He has lectured at premier Universities as well as leading many professional conferences. Max has degrees in psychology, industrial relations and theology. He has twenty one books in print in fifteen languages one of which is the British standard text on outplacement and two others are frequently in the Top Ten Business Books. His texts are on the recommended reading lists of many universities including Sydney, London, Harvard, Westminster, Brighton, Strathclyde and Sussex.

    'Deception in Selection delves into its examination with both broad perspective and focused inquiry. Long before coining the Liars Index® concept, I became progressively alert to the degree of deception imbedded in the process of employment selection. In a career spanning both corporate and consulting selection experiences, I have stumbled enough along the way that I have applied increasing discipline to the process, both in my own work and that of my clients. The often undetected risk is in missing a candidate's self-deception...where an honest falsehood results from one's inaccurate sense of who they truly are. Digging into this book can help both screener and candidate in keeping each other honest.' Jude Werra CMC, Jude M. Werra & Associates, LLC 'Deception in Selection is an entertaining, insightful, and brilliantly researched book that will help companies save millions by showing them how to weed out the liars, fakes and frauds and how to only hire the very best.' Max Stirner, author of Fake Resume: The Machiavellian Guide to Getting the Job and creator of FakeResume.com ’Max Eggert has done it again! Few people are able to write both highly accessible and well referenced books as well as Max. There is an increasing interest in the dark side of behaviour at work and this book focuses on that most important of topics: selection. This book is not only a very interesting read, but also one that will be of profound use to practitioners.’ Adrian Furnham, University College, London, UK ’Deception in Selection has plenty of fun as it explains why liars lie and, more importantly, how to spot them, taking in visual, verbal and vocal clues in admirably exhaustive detail.’ People Management, February 2014