An HR expert said that detecting the sincerity of a job applicant cannot be determined just because he has shifty eyes or crosses his arms frequently.
"Eye contact, crossed arms-most of that stuff is meaningless unless you know the person's normal behavior," Joseph P. Buckley, president of John E. Reid and Associates said.
Mr. Buckley knows what he is saying for he teaches Human Resource personnel the tricks of conducting effective investigative interviews.
If you are interviewing a job applicant, here are two basic tips that you can use that will help you determine if he is telling the truth or not.
You can use body language as an effective means to ascertain if a job applicant is sincere in his answers to your questions. To be able to do this, you need to observe his manners right from the start of the interview.
Start the interview by asking him non-threatening questions, such as his basic personal information or something that is not really related to the job he is applying for. Notice how he sits and how he responds to your questions.
When you ask more probing questions about his experiences written in his job applicant letter, take careful notice concerning the difference in his manner and his responses. A drastic change is a red flag, although not conclusive each time. But you will get the drift.
2. Structure your questions to draw out the real person
The types of questions you ask will make it easier for a job applicant to lie. For instance, if you will only ask about the experience he included in his resume, you won't be able to tell if he is lying. Most job seekers will exaggerate their accomplishments.
But if you will ask him to re-create his job history orally and cite examples of his accomplishments, the typical job seeker would find it hard to do it, or can't even enumerate what he has written down in his job applicant letter.
