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Applicants with a Tarnished Past: Stealing Thunder and Overcoming Prior Wrongdoing

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Abstract

Prior negative performance and wrongdoing are difficult for applicants to overcome during their job search. The result has often been that they resort to lies and deception in order to obtain employment. The present study examines “stealing thunder” as a trust repair tactic that might be useful for overcoming prior indiscretions when it is used by applicants during the selection interview process. Stealing thunder refers to the self-disclosure of negative information that preempts allegations of wrongdoing by third parties such as hiring managers. Data were collected (n = 184) using a scenario-based 2 (accept responsibility; blame others) X 2 (low, high likelihood of discovery) experimental design in which perceptions of integrity, trust, and employability were measured. Results indicated that a stealing thunder strategy that involved accepting responsibility under a low likelihood of transgression discovery led to higher ratings of trust than blaming others when discovery of wrongdoing was imminent. The stealing thunder strategy was somewhat more effective than when a traditional, post-allegation apology was used. But stealing thunder did not lead to higher levels of an overall willingness to hire the applicant.

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Notes

  1. Complete scenarios are available from the first author.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of People and Organizations, NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France

    Ksenia O. Krylova

  2. Department of Management, C.T. Bauer College of Business, The University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-6021, USA

    Teri Elkins Longacre & James S. Phillips

Authors
  1. Ksenia O. Krylova
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  2. Teri Elkins Longacre
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  3. James S. Phillips
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ksenia O. Krylova.

Appendix: Interview Dialog Relevant to Manipulations

Appendix: Interview Dialog Relevant to Manipulations

“Before you contact my references and make your decision, I want you to know the details about why I left my last job at American Manufacturing. I got caught up in a bad situation and had to leave.

High Likelihood of Discovery “My references along with almost everyone else at American Manufacturing know all about this unfortunate situation. They know what happened to me and why I left the company. So I’m sure that you were going to find out about everything sooner or later. But that’s not why I’m telling you now. I’m telling you because I’m hoping that once you understand the situation, you’ll be willing to give me a chance to show you what kind of an employee I can be.”

Low Likelihood of Discovery “Other than my boss and me, no one knows anything about the situation or what happened to me. As far as everyone else knows, I resigned voluntarily. Other people have no idea that I was asked to resign or why. My boss promised me he wouldn’t tell anyone. And now, I know that he’s retired and living somewhere in Florida. So, there’s almost no chance that you would have ever found out about this unfortunate situation. But, I’ve decided to tell you anyway. I’m hoping that once you understand the situation, you’ll be willing to give me a chance to show you what kind of employee I can be.”

Accept Responsibility “Right up front, I admit that I was guilty of knowingly approving a reimbursement request that was a policy violation. I have no one to blame but myself. I wish that there was some way to undo the poor decision that I made. I regret being responsible for an inappropriate reimbursement getting approved…Here’s what happened.”

Blame Others “Right up front, I admit that I approved a questionable reimbursement request that ended up being a policy violation. But, you should also know that I was only partially guilty. I wish there was a way to undo the whole situation because I am sorry for the part that I played. I regret having contributed to a situation…Here’s what happened.”

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Krylova, K.O., Longacre, T.E. & Phillips, J.S. Applicants with a Tarnished Past: Stealing Thunder and Overcoming Prior Wrongdoing. J Bus Ethics 150, 793–802 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3216-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3216-5

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