It seems like a day doesn’t go by without a new personality type circulating in the media. The psychological flavour of 2025?
The ‘dark empath’—a bit like a narcissist, but more devious—is here to wreak havoc in your workplace and your life.
OK, so the dark empaths, narcissists and sociopaths are (thankfully) a rare breed, but in today’s online world, fraught with catfishing and internet scams, we’ve never been more alert to the potential of being misled by not knowing who someone really is.
In this article, we’ll look at how you can find out what someone is actually like, online and in reality, and why it’s becoming increasingly important to understand exactly who you’re talking to, working with or hiring. Boost the quality of your connections by digging a little deeper—find hidden gems and expose those who are not as they seem….
Why It’s Now More Difficult to Really Know Someone
It can seem like there’s never been more information available to us about people than at this point in time. We have become accustomed to sharing intimate aspects of our working and personal lives online, breaking down the barriers of privacy that used to cordon off aspects of our lives only reserved for close family and friends.
However, it would be misleading to think that because there might be more information available about a person on social media and websites, that we therefore can get to know them better. Quite the opposite.
Impersonation is on the rise, with criminals and catfishers looking to cause financial and psychological harm by pretending to be someone who they are not.
Gen Z are statistically the most susceptible age group to fall for identity fraud, with almost half of under 25s having been targeted by an impersonation scam and more than half of these then going on to share personal information with criminals posing as a person or organisation.
While identity fraud lies at the extreme end of the spectrum, there are also other factors unique to a digital environment that make it difficult to know who someone really is. For one thing, the way that social media has been designed is to allow individuals to reveal selective (or even fabricated) information about themselves, without serious repercussions. People can easily create fake online profiles, to achieve a range of purposes, from trolling to catfishing. Even those with real profiles may only share information selectively, to show themselves in a particular light.
So for the average bystander hoping to find out more about someone’s true personality and life—for example, in the context of choosing whether to hire or work with someone—from a simple Google search, they are likely to only produce a partial impression of the person.
How To Find Out Who Someone Really Is
Why is it important to know who someone really is? You may think that knowing more about someone’s life is more than a little nosey, perhaps edging on the intrusive. However, businesses can no longer afford to work with people who are not quite who they say they are.
In an age of business transparency, having complete clarity about individuals’ backgrounds, behaviour and actions is crucial for building reputational resilience into your company’s future. In 2024, the prevalence of ‘cancel culture’ in the media has turned the spotlight onto cases of workplace discrimination, harassment and scandal, with the questionable behaviour of individuals at the heart of these business-damaging stories (with TikTok being the latest company to hit the newsstands for the case of a UK content creator suing the social media giant for discrimination).
In terms of what you should be looking to share as a company, the list above is a good rule of thumb, but depending on your company context, you may decide that some information should remain confidential, unless legally requested.
So, how can you find out who someone really is, and avoid the heartbreak of an unmasking (and corporate scandal) down the line? Here are some methods to try:
The quickest solution for finding out who someone really is, is to use intelligent background screening. While your own online research will only reveal a partial, or embellished, picture of an individual, a thorough screening check will bring to light insights and data that help you to know someone on a deeper and more authentic level. AI-powered screening checks from YOONO are a super fast and diligent method for exploring more about a person’s online persona and background.
Use psychological questions to get to know someone in an interview faster. Most interviewers focus on the job specification, and whether the person they’re talking to will fit the criteria. By taking a more cerebral approach, you can find out whether the person has the personality type and traits that will bring human value to your business, not simply skills alone. So swap “Why do you think you’re the best person for the job?” to “In this situation, how would you react…?”, to get to know someone more thoroughly without a long line of questioning.
Encourage an open and honest work culture. Some stories about individuals who behaved badly in the workplace do seem to be completely unexpected (”I had no idea they were like that!”), but often there is a network of people who will have been affected by the person’s actions but were too scared about losing their jobs to speak out. You can do your best to make sure only good people work in your business, but it’s also wise to make sure that employees feel like they will be listened to if something concerning takes place. Make it clear to employees that they can talk confidentially to senior colleagues or management, and heed the warning signs of a toxic workplace culture before it develops into a deeper problem.
The Importance of Psychology in Hiring
Therapy culture has become normalised in our personal lives, and mentoring and career coaching is also becoming commonplace in our work lives. We apply psychological approaches to many aspects of our lives, so why not in hiring?
The UK falls short of introducing psychological strategies to boost morale and productivity at work, perhaps because our ‘keep calm and carry on’ demeanour has made talking about people’s personalities and emotions at work somewhat taboo.
Is psychology important in the workplace? Yes, absolutely! We are not robots; people come to work with thoughts, feelings, moods and motivations, and employers are missing a trick if they do not consider these factors when they choose who to hire.
Reading a CV, conducting interviews, and analysing screening results are all opportunities to consider if the individual would be a good psychological fit for the role and the company more broadly. The way to assess this is to identify the person’s personality type and their pattern of behaviour.
Personality types in work can be generally split into 4 categories—the Director, Thinker, Socialiser and Supporter—but people may also demonstrate a combination of characteristics that span two or more categories. So, let’s say you are looking at recruiting a person for a leadership role, and they seem to be the perfect fit skills-wise. However, through psychological query, you might find that they demonstrate qualities that make them a better supporter of others, and not the Director type you were looking for.
Of course, while it is useful to think of assigning people to one of these four personality types, it is very simplistic. This is where observations of someone’s patterns of behaviour can give you an even better idea of how they will fare if you hire them. Asking the individual situation-specific questions at interview are a great way to assess how someone is likely to behave and react in certain contexts. For example:
These types of questions are designed to dive deeper into someone’s psychological reactions and behaviour, and help you to gain clarity about how they’d react in certain contexts, such as team conflict or time-pressured situations.
Do YOONO Who They Really Are?
In today’s online environment, it’s bad business to take someone at face value. Gaining a fuller picture of someone’s personality and background gives you the reassurance that you’ll be bringing only the best people into your business, and helps you separate fiction from fact.
With YOONO, the process of screening the people you’re hoping to hire is both fast and thorough. We don’t cut corners, we simply bring you the most up-to-date, relevant information about an individual, to help you make a confident decision going forward. Try YOONO today (sign-up is free!) and see how knowing more about the people you hire will make your business stronger in the long-term. It’s just good to be in the know, YOONO?
