A man applying for an IT job has been busted trying to brazenly cheat his way through the Skype interview — by lip syncing while someone else answers the recruiter's questions.
The bizarre video was uploaded to YouTube in February but went viral after being posted to Reddit yesterday, news.com.au reports.
"I'm working in the technical aspects, [in] some cases [I have] team members who are reporting to me," a person says, as the man wiggles his lips around.
In disbelief, the recruiter asks, "Okay, so have you worked on any triggers in your experience?" The man replies, "Yes, I'm using triggers" and begins to respond — as the candidate on-screen clearly doesn't move his mouth at all.
The recruiter laughs. "Man, hold on, hold on … I think it's not you who is speaking," he says. "Someone else is speaking here and you are just lip syncing. I can also hear your voice, the candidate who is sitting right in front of me."
He adds, "I caught you. It's not the right way, man. I already told you that it's not a position that someone comes and gives you a task and you're going to deliver it. It's a very senior-level position where you need to manage the entire instance. I'm sorry, you're not going to continue this interview process."
The recruiter offers some helpful advice. "Going forward, I suggest you not to take [interviews] like this," he says. "You need to be very formal and at least practise before you take the interview. I clearly caught you. The other guy is talking, you are also speaking in a very low voice, syncing your lips. Okay? I'm sorry about that. Thank you."
Users on Reddit were dumbfounded. "I went into this expecting that dude to Google answers to what he was being asked, but I got so much more," one wrote. Another said, "Same, I was expecting to hear a loud keyboard. This is next level."
Many were puzzled at the obvious hole in the guy's plan. "What if he gets the job and the manager tries talking to him then? What did he think would happen?" one person asked.
Someone suggested that "his friend would have to constantly be hiding in a bush not far off".
Incredibly, some IT workers said these scams were common. "The other side probably has no formal education so he can't get hired. This guy is basically the mediator and pays him a portion of his salary likely," one person wrote.
Another explained, "I have seen this happen in my friends' companies. The other guys are from India as well. This guy just puts in eight hours and comes home. Other guy in India has a full-time job and he is making around US$600 per month. He comes home, helps this guy in US in evenings. This guy pays him US$500 per month. It's a win-win situation for both."