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When Experience Becomes Fiction: Can We Still Trust Candidate Stories? · Edan Haddock - Total Talent

• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Hello everyone and welcome back to Eden Haddock Total Talent.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Eden Haddock, Head of Talent and People Experience at Movember.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: No guests, no sponsors, just one practitioner, still on the tools, talking about what I see happening across recruitment and talent.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Today's episode started because of something that genuinely stopped me scrolling.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: I came across a LinkedIn profile.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before anyone starts wondering, no, this isn't about naming people.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: It isn't about exposing someone.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, the individual almost doesn't matter.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: What matters is what it made me think about.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Because while sitting on that profile, I had a read.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: And they worked in a role at an organization I used to work for.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: A role I knew extremely well.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: I knew the projects, I knew the priorities, I knew the leadership team.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: I knew what had been delivered.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Then I started reading the achievements, one after another.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Transformation projects, programs, initiatives, outcomes, business impact.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Except none of it happened.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not saying someone else delivered it.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying they exaggerated their involvement.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: The work literally didn't exist.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: It never happened.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, that's led me to a question I just haven't been able to stop thinking about.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: If someone is willing to publicly invent experience, could they also successfully interview for it?
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Recruitment has changed enormously.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Twenty years ago, interviews were often what are your strengths?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: What are your weaknesses?
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: What motivates you?
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: We've become much better.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Behavioral interviewing, star responses, capability frameworks, competencies, evidence-based hiring, structured interviews.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: We've spent years trying to remove bias, trying to make hiring more objective.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a good thing.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: But the irony.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Every behavioral interview still starts with exactly the same thing.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: A story.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me about a time.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Walk me through.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Give me an example.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Describe a situation.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Everything begins with a candidate telling a story.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: And unless someone else in the room lived through that exact experience, we're relying on trust, not proof.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's uncomfortable to admit.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: But it's true.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Behavioral interviewing doesn't validate experience, it validates someone's ability to explain experience.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: They're not necessarily the same thing.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Some people have incredible achievements and tell terrible stories.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Others tell phenomenal stories about average work.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's another category altogether.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: People who simply invent them.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Something I've noticed over twenty years in talent acquisition, aging myself again, confidence impresses interview panels.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: We all like to think we're immune to charisma, but we're not.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: People who answer quickly, speak clearly, maintain eye contact, have polished examples, they naturally feel more credible.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: There's a psychology to this.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: We unconsciously associate confidence with capability.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: But confidence and competence have never been the same thing.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the best leaders I've hired have been quietly brilliant.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the loudest people I've interviewed couldn't deliver once they joined.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: And yet, recruitment often rewards performance.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Not performance in the role, performance in the interview.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's a very different skill.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: The interview becomes the audition, not necessarily for the job, but for telling convincing stories.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And if somebody has rehearsed those stories enough, who's to say they aren't believable?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Especially if nobody in the room has any way of verifying them.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I know you're thinking, well, you've gone through the interview process and then you validate through referencing, but references aren't the silver bullet we think they are.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because you know, references make us feel safe.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: We've checked them.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: But have we?
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Candidates choose their referees.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: The person whose credibility we're assessing also chooses the people who will assess them.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's hardly independent validation.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: And before anyone misunderstands me, truly most referees are ethical and most candidates are honest.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: The overwhelming majority of people aren't inventing careers.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: But references are rarely designed to detect fabrication.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: They're designed to confirm employment, culture, working style.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Would you rehire them?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: They're not forensic investigations, and nor should they be.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: As recruiters, we also have ethical obligations.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: We don't ring random people inside organizations.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: We don't go around someone's current employer asking questions.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: We don't breach confidentiality, and nor should we.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's fundamental to our profession.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: So there is an interesting paradox.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: We have a responsibility to validate.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: We also have a responsibility to respect confidentiality.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: And those two things don't always sit comfortably together.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Which means sometimes trust becomes part of the hiring process, whether we like it or not.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe we're asking the wrong questions.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps the answer isn't more background checks.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps it isn't longer, deeper interviews.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps it isn't another competency framework.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's changing what we ask.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of what did you deliver?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe ask what failed?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: What would your stakeholders say you got wrong?
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: What would your manager disagree with?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: What compromises did you have to make?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because fabricated stories usually focus on perfect outcomes.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Real careers don't.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Real careers are so messy.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Projects go late.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Stakeholders disagree.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Budgets disappear.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Leaders change.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: Priorities shift.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: People who genuinely lived through work usually remember the complexity.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: People who memorized a story often remember the highlights.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's the difference.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now, not often, not always, you know, but there is a difference.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a reflection and it's a short reflection today.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't want this episode to leave people cynical.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Most candidates are honest.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Most people are trying to present themselves in the best possible light, and that's human.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: But there's also a difference between putting your best foot forward and inventing the foot entirely.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: The LinkedIn profile I saw reminded me of something important.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Recruitment has become very good at evaluating stories.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not convinced we've become equally good at validating reality.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe we never completely can.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe hiring will always involve an element of trust.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's unavoidable.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: But perhaps our responsibility as talent professionals isn't to become detectives.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's to become better listeners.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: To look for nuance, complexity, reflection, learning.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: The things that are incredibly difficult to fake over a sustained conversation.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to know what you think.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever discovered experience that simply didn't add up?
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever hired someone whose capability was completely different to the person you interviewed?
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Or have you been the candidate who struggled to explain genuinely brilliant work?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because someone else was simply just a better storyteller.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Please jump into the comments, join the conversation, and let me know.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Short and sweet today, but if you've enjoyed today's episode, I'd really appreciate it if you followed the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Left a rating and shared it with someone else working in talent, HR, or leadership.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Every follow helps this independent podcast reach more practitioners.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: As always, no guests, no sponsors, just real conversations coming from someone still on the tools.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Eden Haddock.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you in the next episode.