Do All Candidates Lie?

You might be surprised.  We had one of the more egregious ones just this week.  Our candidate in this case was very responsive and engaged throughout the process.  Said all the right things.  Expressly said they wanted the job. Several times.  Our client was excited.  Thought they were making a good hire.  So, what went wrong?

Things started to smell funny when the written offer came.  My Firm’s practice is to negotiate all material offer terms in advance, so that there are no surprises when the written offer comes. Well…when the written offer came, the candidate’s expectation of the job title was different than what was in the offer letter.  Keep in mind – the compensation was acceptable, and the candidate expressed that he wanted this job.  But, the word “Senior” was not in front of the job title.  Shouldn’t be a deal-breaker, right?  Well, this candidate said it was.

We went back to the hiring manager and explained the situation.  The hiring manager was firm on the title (for good reasons) but wanted to explain to the candidate via phone.  That call seemingly went well, and the candidate accepted the job.  The hiring manager specifically asked if the candidate was “giving his word” on accepting the job.  The candidate “gave his word”. He signed the offer letter and returned it.  Two weeks later, he was scheduled to start with our client.

Four days before the candidate was scheduled to start, our client called us.  The candidate had yet to complete any of the pre-employment process documentation.  “Have you heard from him?”  We had not.  Our client called him. His reply, “Oh yeah, I was going to email you this week.”  He then proceeded to tell our client that he would not be starting work the following Monday.  No details; no explanation; no “I’m sorry.”

The good news is that our client dodged a bullet.  This individual is a liar and has no integrity.  Do all candidates lie?  Not all of them.  But some sure do.