ONE “CATCH ME IF YOU CAN” CANDIDATE'S FALSE CREDENTIALS

Hiring policies vary on what stage to verify candidate representations. It’s never too soon once you recognize that some misrepresent themselves on such a grand scale as to be described as "Catch Me If You Can" candidates.

During a C-level executive search for a Midwest-based portfolio company of a New York City-based global private equity firm, I encountered an extreme case of “the big lie" involving a senior executive with a premier MBA and significant corporate career.

FAKE MBA DEGREE

The first red flag appeared when we were unable to verify the candidate's MBA. After informing him that his prestigious business school had no record of his graduation, he replied, "Ah, yes, this issue has happened before. It’s missing because I graduated in December, and the school has poor records for off-cycle graduates like me."

The second MBA red flag appeared when we pointed out that his name was missing from our search colleague’s same-school MBA alumni directory. We suggested, "If the school’s verification records are poor, then perhaps you can offer names of a few classmates so we can locate them in the directory as a measure of your attendance."  The candidate replied, "Sorry, but I have none to share - I really kept to myself."

FAKE UNDERGRAD DEGREE

The third red flag was undergraduate credentials. His large university had no record of attendance, much less confirming his degree. Contacted about this development, he replied, "Well, my undergrad diploma is in the attic if you would like a copy."

THE PRETEND QUARTERBACK

Recognizing that university records can occasionally be incomplete, we sought live person information. During our interviews the candidate had proudly claimed to be the starting quarterback on his university's Rose Bowl championship team – so I contacted the university's Athletic Director to confirm both story and attendance.

The Athletic Director laughed, saying, "Sorry, sir - not only do I not recognize this person's name—and I've been here for 30 years—but your candidate would have to be quite old because our only Rose Bowl appearance was in the 1920s and we didn’t win!"

GAME OVER

This outcome was “fully baked” as they say, what with the mix of careful listening, thorough interview notes, and as the executive search consultant, assuming the fiduciary responsibility to empower the client hiring CEO to confidently end early discussions with the candidate.