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Enemy at the Gates
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tact and learning more about the candidate. Psychopaths, though,
can be expected to pad their résumés with false references—for example,
friends posing as past employers—or to provide names of individuals
who do not exist at all.
Many candidates also provide the names of personal and professional
references who will vouch for them. These individuals are a
good resource if they are questioned carefully. Unfortunately, some
references may verify résumé information that is false, such as job titles,
scope of responsibilities, salary level, and performance. This situation
is very hard to get around unless you know the reference
personally—perhaps through a professional organization.
For each reference it is important to have a list of key questions
that focus on verifying known information and soliciting new information,
but keep in mind that the data collected are often only impressions
or hearsay. Recall, also, that psychopaths leave behind
pawns, patrons, and patsies in their wake, each with his or her personal
perspective of the candidate. Patrons will be expected to give glowing
reviews, while patsies and some pawns will provide a decidedly negative
picture of the same person. Dramatic differences in their reports
may provide a clue to potential problems.
Former bosses can provide valuable firsthand knowledge about
the person’s qualifications, work ethic, diligence, accuracy, ability to
get along with others, approach to problem solving and decision
making, and other hard-to-define characteristics. A good approach is
to ask the reference how the candidate handled work situations that
the candidate related during the interview. Because these situations
were also discussed in detail during the interview, the hiring manager
now has two points of view to compare. One cannot expect them to
be a perfect match, but any distortions or exaggerations should be
readily apparent. Other typical questions include:
• What is the applicant’s record of accomplishment when it
comes to project management and completion of assignments?