I have a former client in the tech industry who called me out of the blue. He said that he was worried that he had just gotten off a zoom interview with a fake candidate. I said “How did you know?” “Well… frankly, I am just not sure.”
I will tell you this: he is right to be skeptical. According to Inc magazine, deep fake candidates are definitely a thing, and they are especially a thing in the tech industry. Read more here.
What my client did right was to NOT ignore his instinct. You as the employer have the right to not hire someone that you think isn’t on the up and up. But what if you can’t tell and you are still interested in them? Here are a few tips:
- Set up an in-person interview. Yes, it will cost money to fly the candidate to where you are, but that money is nothing compared to being scammed out of your intellectual property.
- Fly someone from your company to them. I have flown to many a different location to have an in-person interview with a candidate.
- Call the university where they attended college, if they went to college. Confirm all information that is on the resume.
- Check ALL references. A lot of companies don’t call references, or only call 1 or 2. Call every single one listed.
- Don’t accept the excuse that the camera isn’t working, they don’t have references, or the dog ate their homework. If they are legit, they will make sure that you can vet their legitimacy.
- ALWAYS trust your gut when something doesn’t feel right. No candidate is worth your business.
And finally, I actually think that some “Deep fake” candidates aren’t trying to scam you. I think that there is a valid language barrier. Either way, fake is fake. Hold out for real.
POWER THOUGHT: “Deep fake” candidates feel fake. Don’t let them fake you out.