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How to spot the top seven resume lies
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Here is one of the most-asked questions I receive as a human resources professional: How do I spot resume lies?
The best way to identify resume′ lies is to do a thorough background and criminal screening of all prospective employees. Ideally, this should be left to a professional employee screening company. If you can not afford a pre-employment screening firm, then it will be up to you do your homework and comply with due diligence. This is especially important in today’s tight job market. The competition is fierce and job candidates are fully aware of this fact. With that said, some applicants are desperate for work and it is not unusual they will lie about:
Job Title (Rank)
The main reason candidates embellish a job title is to promote themselves into a senior position. Rather than work their way up the ranks they self-promote. This is also usually attached to an inflated raise.
Criminal Records
Job applicants will sometimes lie about their criminal history is fear of a rejected job application, regardless of how petty or serious the crime was. A more serious concern for an employer should be the actual covering of criminal activity with the intent to repeat the criminal behavior in a new position. An example may be an eldercare applicant who has been charged or convicted of abuse or the bookkeeper who stole from a previous employer. All employees should go through a criminal background screening.
Dates of employment
While some errors involving dates of employment are understandable, others questionable. When an employee is caught adding years to his tenure at a company this should raise concerns, such as the reasons for shorter tenure and the possibility of covering employment gaps.
Inflated Salary
One of the reasons employees inflate their salaries is because it is difficult to get a salary verification from past employers due to confidentiality issues. Unethical job candidates are aware of this and use it to their advantage.
Education (e.g. bogus degrees-diploma mills)
Graduating yourself seems to be a popular fib on resumes. It is important to get an official transcript verifying graduation. It is equally important to make sure the institution verifying the education is a legitimate educational facility.
Professional License (e.g. MD, RN, CPA, etc.)
Just as some applicants are “graduating” themselves, they are adding unearned titles to their names. This will usually be accompanied with the “bogus” diploma on a resume′. It is doubly important for an employer to verify education as skipping this step can land an employer in court due to negligent hiring lawsuits.
"Ghost" Company (self-owned business)
A “ghost company” is a made up company or employer by a job applicant. It is added to a resume′ or job application to appear more experienced or to cover gaps in an employment history. Some applicants will use “ghost companies” to cover up gaps of employment due to incarceration or an involuntary termination.
Hopefully this article will give you an idea of some of the most common resume′ lies. Conducting a thorough pre-employment background screening is one of the best ways an employer can help avoid unethical employees and financial loss.
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