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Enemy at the Gates
229
do not decide alone
A well-structured hiring process will include a meeting of
interviewers—a selection committee—to discuss the qualifications
and relative merits of the candidates. This is good practice because
different interviewers see different strengths and weaknesses in any
single candidate, and these should be compared and discussed. It is
invaluable in the case of screening out a potential psychopath. Recall
that psychopaths attempt to build private one-on-one relationships
with those who have utility to them. By definition, this would
include all interviewers and decision makers involved in the hiring
process.
As informal students of human psychology, psychopaths may
easily ascertain the specific psychological needs and wants of each interviewer
and then customize their approach to best advantage. On
the surface, each interviewer will come away with a positive impression,
and, to the degree that decision making relies on this good feeling,
they will all agree that the psychopath is the ideal candidate,
almost too good to be true.
By increasing the number and varying the types of interviewers
beyond the human resource professional and hiring manager, the
chances of finding discrepancies that lie behind the “ideal employee”
façade increase. Expanding the interview schedule with a
technical expert, a future peer or subordinate, the current job holder
(if still on staff), a member of upper management, and even the department
staff assistant can provide different perspectives that
might uncover important information. We also know that psychopaths
treat individuals differently depending on their perceived
status. Psychopathic responses to perceived “lower-status” interviewers
may include condescension, flirting, disparaging side comments,
and displays of entitlement, among other things. “High-status” interviewers
may provoke discussion of overly ambitious career aspirations
and expectations, bravado and deceitful boasting, and even the
disparagement of another “lower-status” interviewer. By getting all