In Hiring Do Not Compromise Integrity

Early last year, we were recruiting marketers for a leading FMCG company. Some of the applicants came all the way from Port Harcourt and from the North for the interview that held in Lagos. It was a two-day exercise. A particular candidate who was to be interviewed on the first day finally showed up on the second day. According to him, he had been on the road from Kano for 48 hours, the vehicle he was travelling with had broken down twice. He had not slept and had not had a bath for two days. He had picked a new shirt from the market, found somewhere to wash his face and feet, and had headed straight to the interview venue.

His account of his ordeal had a softening effect on the members of the panel, and we were hoping in our hearts that he would perform well at the interview. And he actually did. His CV suggested he was very qualified for the job.

We were about to conclude the interview in his favour when I decided to look at the history of his academic career vis-à-vis his declared age. He had shown an NYSC exemption certificate which suggested he was over 30 years at the end of his university education. But his declared age suggested he was 23 years when he left the university. We wanted an explanation.

First, he pretended he could not remember when he entered or left primary school. But when we asked further, he gave a year that meant he started his primary education before he was born! 

Further probing revealed he had doctored his age by as much as nine years. It was a devastating lie, and we promptly disqualified him from the interview.

The sad thing was that the job he applied for did not have any age limit. He lost a good job to a silly and senseless lie!