Insider Finance - Business - ‘Bait-and-switch’ job interviews

Nicholas Carlson November 24, 2022

Hello, Insiders. Happy Thanksgiving! Insider’s US team is off for the holiday. I’m feeling very fortunate to be able to spend the day with my loved ones. If you’re celebrating today, I hope your day is restful and relaxing, and that you can take time to reflect on what you’re thankful for this year.

As for me? I’m thankful — as always — for the readers, the journalists, and the sources. Being a part of this incredible newsroom is such an honor. 

So today, since I’ll be off eating turkey and pie (while watching the World Cup), I wanted to showcase some of the fascinating stories we produced this year. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about any of these. Let’s dive in.

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Top reads

Tyler Le/Insider

• The rise of the “bait-and-switch” job interview. In the hiring frenzy that's taken place during the "Great Resignation," there's a growing wave of candidates who are quietly trying to cheat the system by employing stand-ins to do their job interviews for them. Read all about the scheme.

• Serena Williams has had an unparalleled career — but still has more to bring to her court. For Insider's first digital cover story, the tennis superstar spoke about mom guilt, growing up in the public eye, and her investment firm Serena Ventures, which aims to back founders with diverse points of view.  Check out the cover story.

• Conan O'Brien's assistant of 13 years naps on the job. Sona Movsesian told Insider that she started as an NBC page before landing a job as O'Brien's assistant in 2009. According to her, she and O'Brien have an usual employee-boss relationship — she talks back, expenses things she shouldn't — and she'll probably work for him forever. Read more here.

• “He was my high-school journalism teacher. Then I investigated his relationships with teenage girls.” Matt Drange, now a senior correspondent at Insider, took Eric Burgess' class at Rosemead High School in Southern California in 2006. In an investigation, Drange put the reporting skills he first learned in Burgess' class to use — interviewing more than 40 current and former teachers and reviewing hundreds of emails, records, and documents — and found that Burgess repeatedly groomed female students for sex. Read the full story.

• Elon Musk had twins last year with one of his top executives. Court documents obtained by Insider show that the tech mogul quietly had twins last November with Shivon Zilis, one of his top executives. Zilis is a rising star in Musk's empire; she holds the title of director of operations and special projects at Neuralink, where Musk is a co-CEO. Here’s the report.

• What really happened when a mountaineer fell 1,000 feet. In May 2021, a group was trekking up Denali, North America’s highest peak. They reached the Autobahn — a notoriously dangerous icy slope. One member of the group fell, but amazingly survived. And six months later, one of them was criminally charged and brought before a judge. Get the full story.

• They went to fight Russians. Chaos ensued. After Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called on foreign fighters to help defend against Russian attacks, volunteers poured into the country —  including Lukas and Tobias from Germany, who were ready to become war heroes. Less than three weeks later, they had to return home. Here’s what happened.

Today’s sound bite

"Casey [DeSantis] is the image setter. She humanizes her husband. He listens to her more than anyone else, and it seems to be working for him."

Kimberly Leonard on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ wife, Casey. Check out the full segment in today’s episode of The Refresh from Insider.

Watch this

Saied Hussain has been hand making tiles out of cement for over 50 years. He says he’s one of the last still doing this work in Egypt — most other workshops couldn't withstand competition from marble and ceramic tiles. We went to Cairo to see how his business is still standing.

Today's team

This edition was curated by Nicholas Carlson, and edited by Lisa Ryan. Get in touch: insidertoday@insider.com.

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