More Articles

How To Identify The Top 7 Resume’ Lies

The best way to identify the top 7 resume′ lies is to do a thorough background pre-screening of all prospective employees. Ideally, an employment pre-screening to should be left to a professional employee screening company. AccuScreen, Inc. has the experience and skills to perform a through employment background screen, including a criminal records report.

When the economy is tight and applicants are desperate for work it is not unusual they will lie about:

• Job Title (Rank)
• Dates of Employment
• Inflated Salary
• Criminal Records
• Education (e.g. Bogus Degrees-Diploma Mills)
• Professional License (e.g. MD, RN, CPA, etc.)
• “Ghost” Company (self-owned business)

Job Title (Rank)
 
The main reasons candidates “fudge” on a job title is to self-promote themselves into a senior position. Rather than work their way up the ranks they give themselves a promotion, which is usually attached to an inflated raise on an application. A thorough reference check will usually reveal self-promoters.

Dates of employment

Some errors involving dates of employment are understandable, others questionable.

When an employee is adding years to his tenure at a company this raises issues such as the reasons for shorter tenure and the possibility he or she is covering “employment gaps”. In this situation a thorough reference check will reveal any inconsistencies.

Inflated Salary

One of the reasons employees inflate their salaries is because it is not easy to get a salary verification from past employers due to confidentiality issues. Sneaky employees are aware of this and use it to their advantage. A match against the verification of past job  titles through a reference check will help catch this type of job applicant.

Criminal Records

Fear of a rejected job application is one of the main reasons job applicants will sometimes lie about their criminal history. It can occur regardless of how petty or serious the crime was.

A more serious reason is the actual covering of criminal activity with the intent to repeat the criminal behavior in a new position. Examples may be a daycare applicant who has been charged or convicted of molestation or the accountant who stole from a previous employer. It is important that all employees go through a criminal background screen.

Education (e.g. Bogus Degrees-Diploma Mills)

Graduating one’s self seems to be a popular lie on resumes. Other times the applicant has basically stolen another person’s identity by “borrowing” information on a resume′. It is important to verify educational background so that flat out liars and identity thieves are avoided.

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 go hand in hand with the “bogus” diploma or fake education on the resume′. It is doubly important for an employer to verify this as avoiding this step can land an employer in court and in huge financial trouble.

“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. A criminal background screen is needed to eliminate this possibility.

Identifying the top 7 resume′lies
 
According to a CareerBuilder.com survey, only 5 % of workers actually admit to fibbing on their resumes, 57 % of hiring managers say they have caught a lie on a candidate's application. Hiring a pre-employment background screen agency is one of the best ways an employer can help avoid:

• Unethical employees
• Financial loss
• Employees with a criminal background

Contact AccuScreen, Inc. today for more information on how you get help identifying the top 7 resume′lies.