As the economy improves, the job market becomes increasingly competitive. Although new jobs are being created, identifying qualified candidates for available positions grows more challenging for hiring managers.

One reason for this is that job applicants want their resumes to stand out among the hundreds submitted for a position. Applicants often view their resumes as marketing tools designed to generate phone calls from hiring managers.

As a result, many candidates intentionally misrepresent or omit key information on their resumes.

The top lies job candidates put on their resume include embellishing their work experience and leaving out previous employers.

The risks to employers who hire applicants with intentionally disingenuous resumes is significant. For example, applicants with criminal histories place company assets, employees, and customers in jeopardy.

When the lies are revealed, employers may take disciplinary action, and incur turnover costs related to recruiting, hiring and training replacements.

Lies on Job Resumes

There are several ways applicants lie on their resumes. Some make entry level positions appear to have a higher level of responsibility. Others lie about their qualifications for the position for which they are applying.

Another common deception is inflating salary levels at previous jobs in order to secure a higher offer from a prospective employer.

Some candidates omit information to hide disciplinary actions or terminations by previous employers. Others manipulate dates of employment to cover gaps between positions.

Making false claims about education is another way candidates misrepresent themselves on their resumes. This includes raising grade point averages, including schools lacking accreditation, or listing bogus college degrees. This also includes lying about earning industry-specific certifications or commercial licenses.

Sometimes applicants claim to have technical proficiency when in fact they only possess cursory knowledge of software applications.

Other candidates profess fluency in a foreign language in order to qualify for a bilingual position or a job interacting with international customers.

What Can Businesses Do To Protect Themselves from Fraudulent Resumes?

Businesses can protect their property, employees, and customers against fraudulent resumes by partnering with a qualified background screening provider.

Background screening providers have specially trained staff who can help hiring managers see through the lies and identify truly qualified candidates.

Background screening providers know how to contact former employers and human resource professionals who can authenticate the information on an applicant’s resume.

Professional background screeners are also proficient at verifying educational attainment at technical schools, colleges, and universities.

They also know how to analyze supporting documents like pay stubs and tax returns to verify a candidate’s salary history.

Due to time and staff constraints, hiring managers typically conduct only a basic review of applicant information. Background screening providers offer a comprehensive screening process that includes an extensive criminal history search.

Hiring managers expect resumes to be factual representations of an applicant’s employment history and qualifications. The best way is to verify this is through an employee background screening provider.

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