They say that lying comes naturally to humans; so it’s of no surprise that résumés will lie as well! It has almost become an epidemic of sorts. One never knows where it may originate from; and there seems no ways of finding a vaccine and curing it forever. As an individual looking to get hired, you can differentiate yourself by making it clear that your resume has integrity, such as by getting a Crederity seal. As a hiring HR professional or recruiter, it is very important to make sure to background check and verify the resumes of the individuals you express interest in, lest it be based on false information.
A few examples and numbers of resume fraud…
- In February 2006, David Edmondson (President and CEO) of RadioShack Corp.—a leading electronics retailer of US—was forced to resign for putting up false credentials in his résumé.
- VERITAS, the international software giant, sacked its former CFO for having falsely claimed a Stanford MBA in his résumé.
- In the UK, 39% of organisations admit to have gone through situations, ending up hiring people who has supposedly lied in their job application.
- According to BBC Risk Advisory Group 2004 study: two-thirds of the résumés they received had discrepancies! Of the various statistics:
- Women in their 30s were the worst offenders
- 55% of CVs had employment discrepancies
- 36% changed academic details
…and a very interesting caught-in-the-act instance!
The Port Authority of New York, in the late 90s, published an ‘electricians with experience in using Sontag conductors required’ advertisement. Almost one-third of the applicants claimed they had experience in using a Sontag conductor. The catch? A ’Sontag conductor’ didn’t exist!
The 10-point formula to catch that dishonest résumé
- Check for inconsistencies — slip-ups in dates, contradictions between job titles and duties, etc.
- Make interviewees fill out applications—and compare this with the résumé! Thanks to various “professional résumé writers”, most applicant do not even realise what is on their résumé. Some recruitment agencies juggle information between various résumés, creating fraud (with the approval of candidates).
- Test the applicant’s skills—through on-site, hands-on tests; check if claims of proficiency in a program or skill are true.
- Check references, then ask for more—do not be satisfied with the references in the résumé. They’re obviously ‘good’ sources. Ask for details of a colleague/supervisor/ex-employee and follow up on them.
- Make sure institutions exist—call the college admissions office, verify degrees and other claims.
- Investigate deep into “self-owned business” claims—names and numbers of past clients. Try to get their details / samples of the work done for them.
- Don’t confuse referrals with references—thoroughly check candidates referred by co-workers or friends.
- Don’t blindly trust your hiring consultants—one never knows if they have passed on a well-screened résumé. Do your own verification checks.
- Analyse why the applicant left his previous company—the situations; and if the firm had been liquidated firms, try and understand what role the applicant played towards the company’s fate.
- Do not be biased against a set/group of people—come out of the stereotyped thought that only youngsters stoop to such frauds; reports show that 49% of the perpetrators were above 40.
- And finally – verify the potential employee’s background using the world-wide-web. Probe deep into any mismatch with the details given in the résumé.
At Crederity, we’re trying to make it easier to accomplish some of the steps above and others to assess the authenticity and credibility of credentials and identity, to benefit both job seekers and employers, as well as people from all walks of life outside of the employment context.
What happens during a bad hire?
It is estimated that in the US, a single bad hire can bring losses of $25,000, in the case of a entry-to-mid-level position, and close to $1 million or more for an executive position. A bad hire can also mean an estimated loss to companies of approximately $40,000 in severance pay, training, wasted human resources time, possible search firm fees, loss of productivity, and impact on employee morale.
In today’s rat-race job market, many people are ready to go to any means to make the recruiter believe that they are the ones the company needs. And if you thought it happens only in small-scale institutions, where the chances of a background check may be perceived to be less likely, well you’ve already read what happens in big, multinational companies!
Pre-employment screening, though an added step, is a smart idea; you only stand to benefit! Accept it: the expense of a bad hire far outweighs the cost of a background check.
Crederity is the solution
We at Crederity currently verify a plethora of information including identity audits and identity verification, background checks, pre-employment screening, education verification, employment verification, online checks, legalities, reference checks, employment status check…You name it, and we’ll get it done! We gather information from references and relevant credential-granting organizations directly and even authenticate them! Our technology also allows us to complement our existing proccess with the use of web-administered quizzes for individuals combined with response analysis to determine how truthful an individual is being. And if you are hiring through a recruitment agency, we will verify them as well! So, if it’s a résumé that has the Crederity Seal, you can gain peace of mind that the resume holder has passed a significant test of integrity.
We think we have built a great system for helping to build trust online, but we know there is always room for improvement . As always, if you have suggestions on how we can improve our services to better address these problems, please let us know!