To interview a psychopath

It is rare to interview a psychopath in the workplace. Most are locked up in a prison, mental hospital or are serious criminals. However, in the workplace, you still sometimes encounter extremely manipulative and self-absorbed people who have major character disorders.

Nowadays, various personality tests are often used to identify deviant personality traits. Traditional job interviews are not enough because it is so difficult to get any relevant information out of a psychopath. They are not predictable in the way they speak. They give a confident impression and often try to manipulate the interviewer with charm, arrogance or cunning. In addition, they have no problem lying if it benefits them.

At the same time, the problem is that the “psychopathy tests” that are used are not adapted to working life. The questions in the tests that are used in a “clinical” environment often feel offensive or provocative to more “normal” people. In working life, not everyone is like Hannibal Lecter in the movie “The Silence of the Lambs”. An example from an established “psychopathy test” is: “I like having sex with people I barely know”. Severely mentally disturbed people do not perceive such a question as strange.

For us test designers, the problem is that it is difficult to formulate questions that can reveal psychopathic traits and at the same time be acceptable from a social perspective. At best, a test result can therefore only indicate a character disorder, which can then be used as a basis for an interview.

Instead, you must trust your intuition and start looking for small clues. During the first interview, you might intuitively experience a certain arrogance, self-absorption, lack of empathy or a manipulative trait during the conversation. At the same time, it is difficult to dare to trust your own intuition. You can be wrong, and you don't "click" with everyone. Or maybe the client, or the boss, likes the candidate.

Here are some tips to help you understand better if you have just interviewed a psychopath:

• CV vs. LinkedIn - Don't just trust what the candidate has posted on LinkedIn. Many years ago, I compared a large number of "paper CVs" I had with the candidates' LinkedIn profiles. Several times they did not match. Most of the time, they had omitted some short-term employment. Sometimes the formal educational background did not match. In one case, the candidate had hidden a prison sentence. Of course, this is not a sign of psychopathy, but it is something that needs to be better understood.

• Distance to the test result - Don't just rely on a test result. Maybe the candidate sees through, or questions, some of the questions. It becomes difficult for the interviewer when he is questioned, sometimes quite brutally. As a recruiter, it can be difficult to handle the situation, both towards the candidate and the client.

• Negative intuition - Try to trust your intuition instead. Psychopaths often have superficial charm and strong charisma. They can be very pleasant to interview. However, a deviant test result still gives you reason to try to look at your spontaneous positive impressions with different eyes. Try therefore to distance yourself from your first positive impressions and see them as a warning signal.

Research suggests that it is our positive intuition that we should be vigilant against. The paradox is that we should therefore trust our intuitively negative feelings more but be suspicious of our positive feelings.

During the interview, there are therefore some questions that you should understand better:

1. Does the candidate seem to have difficulty maintaining stable relationships, personally or at work?

2. Do they handle the truth casually, are they capable of lying to your face?

3. Do they easily blame others for mistakes made?

4. Do they act casually and confidently, regardless of their current position and situation?

5. Do they seem to get bored easily, lose their temper, and become easily irritated?

A classic – and often overlooked – recruitment question is usually to ask the candidate three good things about themselves, and three negative things. Some people can’t say anything negative about themselves. That doesn't mean they're psychopaths, but they at least have poor self-awareness. At least at the management level, you should be able to keep a certain distance from yourself.

These are just a few examples of questions to ask. People with risky behaviors can be successful. But fundamentally, there are major disadvantages to having psychopaths in the workplace, especially if you are in a position of dependence on them.

Sources:

Psykometrika scientific background (2022).

F., Perri. (2010). The flawed interview of a psychopathic killer: What went wrong? Journal of investigative psychology and offender profiling. 8., 41-57.

K., A., Fowler & C., J., Patrick. (2009). Detecting psychopathy by thin slives of behaviour. Psychological Assessment. Vol 21, 1, 68-78.

Hayashi, A.M.,When to trust Your Gut.HBR, February 2001.