Spot Interview Fakers Before They’re Hired

Hire people who deliver, not people who just interview well.

The Hiring Crisis Every Manager Faces

Candidates now train for interviews with Olympic-level discipline—studying YouTube influencers who promise perfect answers, rehearsing their stories until every word lands just right. Meanwhile, you’re skimming résumés minutes before the interview, wedging meetings between calls, and relying on gut instinct to make decisions that could make or break your team. The mismatch is stark—and costly.

❌ 46% of newly-hired employees fail within 18 months ¹
⚠️ Only 19% achieve unequivocal success ¹
🛑 82% of hiring managers saw warning signs they ignored ¹
💀 Interview performers beat job performers too often

¹ Leadership IQ study - a three-year study of 5,247 hiring managers from 312 organizations who hired over 20,000 employees

Download Your Free Strategic Guide

Stop hiring the best actors in the room. In 10 minutes, you’ll know the 5 response markers that separate a polished story from provable experience. Download the cheat-sheet, incorporate it in your interviews ASAP, and see which details hold up—and which unravel on the spot.

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The Storytelling Solution That Changes Everything

“The Five Forces of Truth” reveals the court-tested interviewing method that justice system uses to separate truth from fiction—adapted specifically for hiring. This strategic guide teaches you Criterion-Based Content Analysis (CBCA)—a systematic approach that evaluates what candidates say, not how they say it.

You'll discover the 5 evidence markers that expose deception:

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Logical Structure: Does their story actually make sense?

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Contextual Embedding: Can they place events in specific times and places?

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Rich Details: Do they include information that would be hard to fabricate?

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Direct Quotes: Can they recall actual conversations?

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Unexpected Facts: Do they mention surprising but authentic details?

Plus advanced techniques including:

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Reverse Chronological Questioning: Force fabricators to unravel their stories

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Derailer Detection: Spot the smooth operators who poison team dynamics

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Enhanced Candidate Experience: Create better interviews while filtering out fakers

This isn’t about becoming paranoid or cynical. It's about bringing the same rigor to interviewing that candidates bring to preparation. It’s about protecting your team, your reputation, and your career by making hiring decisions based on evidence, not charm.

What This Crisis Is Really Costing You

Every mis-hire doesn’t just hurt your budget—it damages your reputation, disrupts your team, and puts your own career advancement at risk.

Hiring managers know their reputation is on the line with every hire.

The average cost of a bad hire is $14,900 according to CareerBuilder research ², and it takes 5-8 months for new employees to reach full productivity according to Human Panel Research³.

² CareerBuilder (2017, December 7) - Nearly three in four employers affected by a bad hire, according to a recent CareerBuilder survey. PR Newswire.

³ Human Panel (2021, December 29) - Structure onboarding to speed time to productivity: 7 tips from CEO.

Meanwhile, polished candidates are getting better at faking it:

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ChatGPT just polished a project story for your candidate that never happened—and you’ll never spot the seam… unless you know Marker #3.

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They memorize STAR method responses that sound genuine but lack substance

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They’ve learned to turn every weakness into a "strength in disguise"

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They know exactly what you want to hear—and say it with conviction

You end up with smooth talkers who can’t execute, charming candidates who poison team dynamics, and "high performers" who crumble under real pressure.

Your instincts tell you something’s off, but you can’t put your finger on what. You make the hire anyway. And six months later, you’re dealing with missed deadlines, frustrated stakeholders, and starting the hiring process all over again.

Ashli Molina

Staff Technical PM, Transit Tech

“I've been following FirstWho since day one, and I love how it has evolved. Yes, FirstWho provides the tools but also the training because good hiring decisions depend on people.”

Jeff Liberty

CEO, Good Trouble Strategic Advisors

“FirstWho’s approach focuses on the fundamentals of great hiring: knowing who and what you’re looking for and preparing your interviewers for honest, authentic conversations that matter. Their unique process and tools help hiring teams differentiate interview charm from candidates’ real ability and potential.”

Paul Kim

Software Engineer Team Lead, Capital One

“The level of AI faking in technology interviews is off the charts. FirstWho is a game-changer for hiring managers who want to see through the smoke and mirrors to learn about the full candidate.”

From the CEO and co-author of the forthcoming book “Fakers”:

Ryan Mahoney is the CEO of FirstWho, where organizations learn proven methods to consistently hire top talent—right from the start.

A veteran hiring manager across government, nonprofit, and private sectors, Ryan helped build standout teams at MBTA, Blue State Digital, and TransitOPS. He’s also advised dozens of hiring managers—from Fortune 100 companies like Amazon to local YMCAs—on how to fill mission-critical roles with confidence.