by Julie Desmond

According to the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA), with few exceptions, private employers are not allowed to use lie detector tests either for pre-employment screening or on current employees, and employers are not allowed to discriminate against employees and applicants who refuse a lie detector test. In light of the law, some applicants and employees are surprised to learn that companies use lie detectors every day. Not the strap-you-to-a-machine polygraph, but ancient, in-house systems that uncover all the little white lies applicants try to get away with on a job application, during an interview, and on the job.

The first corporate lie detectors a new applicant will encounter are powered by the little box on the application that asks: Do you have any felonies? Felonies are easy to get and tough to get away from. If you see this question on an application, and if you have ever been convicted of any felony, the answer to this question is, “Yes.” Applicants sometimes leave the box blank or answer no, saying, “It was a long time ago,” or, “I didn’t think you meant that kind of felony.” A routine background check is going to reveal your complete criminal history, so you might as well be honest. Having a felony on your record will not always keep you from being hired; lying on your application always will.

Companies use a second set of lie detectors during the interview. These are more commonly known as Interviewers or Human Resources representatives. HR professionals are experienced, trained, and used to being lied to. They recognize contradictions in statements and read body language better than Gary Spivey reads your mind. The most common lies told during interviews are about work history. Why did you leave your last position? Why have you been unemployed for six months (or six years)? Your interviewer will not be surprised to hear you say, “I was laid off when the company downsized last year.” Just say so. The white lies that do get by an interviewer are going to haunt you when someone calls your last manager for a reference and he reveals that you left two years ago, not last month.

Once hired, employees face a completely different set of polygraphs: managers and co-workers. You can’t be fired based on the results of a machine strapped to your arm; you can be fired or demoted based on what managers and co-workers see you do on the job. Don’t steal the company’s toilet paper or pens, even if your boss takes both home on a regular basis.

Expect to make mistakes – everyone does - and expect to own up to them. How you handle adversity has more impact on your future than all the successes you have on the job. No one remembers the computer project you sweated over for months; everyone remembers the lost account you were able to salvage over the weekend by managing the situation with grace and quick thinking.

Police polygraphs are almost 100% effective. Corporate lie detectors are almost there, too. The difference is, in employment, you might forget you’re being watched. Rule of thumb: Be truthful. If you’re always honest, you never have to remember which story you told the last time.

Julie Desmond has fifteen years recruiting, staffing and career counseling experience. She currently leads job search workshops in Edina, Minneapolis, and St Paul, MN. Write to julie@helpwantedworkshop.com.