The Wall Street Journal spoke to U of G psychology professor Dr. Deborah Powell about research she and colleagues conducted about how people lie during job interviews. 

The study, conducted in U of G’s industrial and organizational psychology graduate program with PhD candidate Jordan Ho, found that people tell small lies and exaggerations when they feel like they already have a shot at being the chosen candidate but have not yet been offered the job. They also mislead hiring teams more when they’re not up against a huge number of people. 

Powell is an industrial psychologist whose research focuses on personnel selection as well as finding fair methods of hiring the best employees.