Just Tell Us The Truth: Integrity In Executive Search

I start most mornings with a ritual: check Facebook (to remember birthdays), glance at a couple of economic indices, and then dive into the news. I read the Star Tribune for local updates, followed by Fox and CNN. My logic? If I average those two, I might get close to the truth.

Shortly after publishing our May Blog (Looking for No Place To Park: Why Optimism Drives Better Outcomes – see https://www.abelnmagy.com/blog/looking-for-no-place-to-park-why-optimism-drives-better-outcomes), I encountered the following article on Fox: “Nearly half of Gen Z admits to lying on job applications, survey finds” (see https://www.foxnews.com/media/nearly-half-gen-z-admits-lying-job-applications-survey-finds).

I read it with surprise and concern. Nearly half? That’s not a small number – that’s a cultural red flag.

Today, Generation Z (Gen Z) Is Between 13 And 28 Years Old

A generation used to be longer . . . . . . I’m sure of it. Regardless, Gen Z represents a 15-year timeframe. From the Fox article:

“The findings from career.io – a career services platform – indicate nearly half (approximately 47%) of the age group admitted to falsifying some aspect of their job applications to fit the mold they think employers are looking for, followed by 38.5% of millennials, 20.4% of Gen Xers and 9.4% of baby boomers.”

This clearly isn’t just a Gen Z issue – although they lead the pack. The trend obviously crosses generations, and it challenges something fundamental: trust.

Verification Comes At Multiple Times

In executive search, we try to verify everything we can throughout our interactions with candidates. When we decide to move someone to an interview, we have candidates sign a release form allowing us to verify their education. This is a short process but a relatively easy step. We have found many instances of falsified degrees over the years. It still surprises us when it happens, but it does indeed happen. This form also gives us permission to check references. Before most of these steps are taken, it is not unusual for us to compare a person’s resume to their LinkedIn profile. The LinkedIn profile is publicly available and easy to find.

Titles and Dates

This was the title of our Blog from December 2023 (see https://www.abelnmagy.com/blog/titles-and-dates). We really do want them (titles and dates) to line up. I was recently referred to a candidate (by a client) for a search we were conducting. I received the candidate’s resume and looked at their LinkedIn profile. The dates were off (by a couple of years) and the titles were not identical. I decided to do a quick Google search on the candidate and found an announcement from his current employer welcoming him to his new leadership role. It included his bio – and a completely different set of dates, again off by a couple of years. You can imagine where my questions started during our interview.

Paying For A Lie

It can get worse . . . . . there is a firm that has as their tagline “The Trusted Name in Covert Disinformation”. You can hire them to create a fictitious reference (listed on their website) among other things. This firm has been around for years (since 2009). E-mail me – I will send you their name/website.

This company’s very existence has caused us to adjust our reference checking process. While we call references for a live conversation, we are now verifying the background of the reference her/himself. We simply want to make sure their bio lines up with the information we have.