Since people are often on their best behavior during a job interview—and have probably spent hours perfecting their résumé—it can be hard to tell whether they’re only “good on paper.” That’s what happened to Kristen, a supervisor for an accounting firm in New York City, who went through three assistants in 18 months before finding the right one. One candidate, fresh out of college, bailed after only a month when a better offer came along. Another lasted four months before she “flaked out and never showed up again,” says Kristen. And candidate No. 3 seemed absolutely perfect, until a background check revealed that she had lied about getting a college degree. “Our firm takes the hiring process very seriously, but we weren’t hiring the right people,” says Kristen. “It was frustrating.”
