A hedge fund HR boss says too many young people are making this error and destroying their chances at a job

Photo courtesy of Point72 Asset Management

Mike Butler, the head of human capital at Point72 Asset Management.

More and more young candidates for hedge fund positions aren't being completely honest on their resumés.

Of course, they're getting caught, and as expected, they're not landing a job they otherwise may have if they were forthright.

Business Insider recently caught up with Mike Butler, head of human resources at Point72 Asset Management - formerly SAC Capital - the $11.4 billion family-office hedge fund led by billionaire Steve Cohen.

Butler said this is happening more often than you might expect.

"One thing that-and this ties back to ethics and integrity-one of the things I observe more often than you might expect are candidates who are in one way or another, whether it's on their resumé, the application process, the initial interviews, are less that completely forthright. There's a gap in their resumé, there's a stumble academically, there's something in their background that they've they tried to get cute with or finesse or cover over or be less than direct about."

According to Butler, this is the quickest way to get screened out of the job selection process at Point72.

"Life is complicated. People stumble. There are lapses. Fine," he said, "Be straight with us about it."

He said he couldn't pinpoint why there has been an increase in this kind of behavior, whether it was friends encouraging the candidate or campus career services.

He added: "I've seen too many cases where really talented people raise question marks because of how they've handled a bad grade or something else in their background that they weren't completely comfortable being straightforward about."

Another "red flag" that comes up during the job interview process is when folks express that money is their motivator for the job.

During our 45-minute conversation, Butler emphasized that the firm was looking for really smart folks with high standards and a real genuine passion for the work.

The firm's compliance department also has the right to veto any candidate.