Managers Beware: Video Interviews and a Potential Hidden Danger

​People managers arguably already have enough on their plates.
 
With typical day-to-day managerial tasks, coaching and development activities, plus ensuring their employees are engaged.
 
Now, however, it appears they would be wise to be aware of something that has apparently become more common during COVID, especially in the IT industry apparently.
 
When online interviews became more usual, with the rise in remote working.
 
𝙀𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚!
 
They interview magnificently, are offered the job, and agree on a start date.
 
So far so good, until the people involved in the interviews meet the now-employee:
 
🚩 They may look completely different to how they did when they interviewed.
🚩 They offer details about themselves, opposite to what they said while interviewing.
🚩 Almost immediately, it is evident that they are not at all skilled in the work.
 
It turns out, this is a known scam, with companies available for hire, to interview on-line on a candidate’s behalf.
 
𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚.
 
The employee may be the one on-screen during the interview, but they have someone off-screen feeding them the answers.
 
Or the person interviewing on-screen is not the person that actually shows-up to work.
 
It’s unclear quite what the real motive is – potentially just someone wanting a higher-paying job than what they're actually qualified for.
 
As opposed to wanting to steal information from the employer.
 
𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙟𝙤𝙗.
 
There are steps companies can consider taking to protect themselves (although it’s always best to first consult with an attorney):


✅ Announce up-front during every interview that lying is something that is not tolerated, and that people are terminated for such behavior.
 
✅ Get each candidate’s permission to take a screenshot at the beginning of the interview, letting them know that pictures are destroyed once someone is hired into the position.
 
✅ Refusal means the interview ends.
 
If the imposter makes it through the interview process and actually starts work, take immediate action.
 
When questioned, they will probably quit on the spot.
 
If not, and they flatly deny the situation, plus there is no way to prove it is not them who interviewed, focus on skills and performance, and manage them out as quickly as possible.
 
Every other employee, as well as the business, is relying on strong people leaders in a case such as this.