Tweet

How To Spot Biggest Applicant Lies

Written by: Carlos Morgan

Article Overview: Over the last few years we have seen a significant rise in unemployment rates nationwide, some of the highest in the last few decades actually. To some recruiters this is a dream come true due to the overflow of applicants that they now have, but to the true Talent Scouts this is a complete nightmare. Why? Because now it is that much more difficult to find that top 1%. I have always been a firm believer that a resume is a limited representation of the candidate. So if this is indeed the case, what does this say about them when the majority of the information in their resume is fabricated and/or inaccurate?

How To Spot Biggest Applicant Lies

Over the last few years we have seen a significant rise in unemployment rates nationwide, some of the highest in the last few decades actually. To some recruiters this is a dream come true due to the overflow of applicants that they now have, but to the true Talent Scouts this is a complete nightmare. Why? Because now it is that much more difficult to find that top 1%. I have always been a firm believer that a resume is a limited representation of the candidate. So if this is indeed the case, what does this say about them when the majority of the information in their resume is fabricated and/or inaccurate? It says that they are dishonest and they were willing to lie to get the job. Thus, chances are they will be dishonest once they are hired and with the economy being what it is, there are very few companies that can afford the huge expense of a bad hire.

Being aware of the common lies applicants tell, allows you to arm yourself with the knowledge and tools necessary to minimize the chances of a bad hire. Some of the most common things lied about in resumes and applications according to a nationally recognized background screening firm (esr.com) include:

1- Job Title/ Responsibilities: For me working in a fast growing call center environment has exposed to me to thousands of people from all backgrounds and walks of life and it seems the more people you interview the easier it becomes to spot inaccuracies, lies and exaggerations. What I have found to be the easiest way to spot these types of "self- proclaimed promotions" is by asking them very position specific questions. So if they claim to be a store manager (even if you don't know in specific what they do- you kind of have an idea of what is expected of them) you would ask questions such as: A) How did you measure your team's performance? B) How did you deal with employees that weren't performing? C) What were your individual goals as a manager and team goals? Questions like these should be no problem for someone who has been in the position, but to someone who hasn't its a surefire way to stop them in their tracks. Another easy way would be by checking their references (but this would only work if their references are accurate).

2-Claiming a degree not earned- This seems to be a very common trend nowadays and it seems to come in many different forms. The first one is where people award themselves a degree even though they still had credits to complete or only attended for a few semesters. The second one is where people claim to have graduated from schools they never even attended- now that's gutsy because with the internet what it is today and by simply asking some probing questions this is the simplest one to catch. Lastly there are those that simply buy there degree online for "3 easy installments of $49.95". They purchase these degrees from Degree Mills, these "Mills" often offer transcripts and even phone numbers that employers can call to verify that they attended. Talk about committing to your lie. But again, this can be verified by running an education background check.

3-Dates of Employment: No one wants to look like they are a job hopper, inexperienced or unstable so this is something that is common regardless of position or age. If this is not dug up during the interview process than the next easiest way to verify this is by calling references or simply running an employment verification check. But remember if your gut is telling you that there is something not right- than chances are that you are probably right and you should dig, dig, dig.

4-Compensation: Times are tough and its ok to exaggerate a little about your salary history so we can get that nice bump in pay, right? Wrong! There is no excuse for being dishonest, period. Every application I have always seen asks for the desired salary, so why not be honest with what you are looking or hoping to make- if they are qualified and deserve it than chances are they will probably get what they are looking for regardless of what they were making before. But when they sit in front of me lying to me and telling me they were making $50k a year when they only made $30k and are looking to make $60k- this is not only unacceptable but can also cause your company some major bucks.

5- Criminal Background- Different companies have different standards and different tolerance levels on what is acceptable and what isn't in the background checks but one thing I do know is that most applications if not all specifically asks if they have ever been convicted of a crime and to please specify. So, this to me is their amnesty period in which they need to be 100% honest. If not, no matter how small the infraction if not declared up front is considered dishonest and a possible reason for termination.

These are just some of the things that people tend to lie about in their resumes and applications but as I mentioned before some of these can easily be verified during the interview process by asking very thorough and specific questions, as you should be doing anyways. If a pre-screening/ background check is not in place in your workplace I would highly suggest that you implement one as it is a smart business investment. Remember that there is nothing wrong with trusting as long as you verify.

Related Articles
  The Six Biggest Applicant Lies Encountered in Employee Screening
  Setting The Stage For Your Interview - Building Rapport
  Carol Quinn's Interviewer Tip #2
  The Top 10 Signs You Are Hiring A Lawsuit Waiting To Happen
  What You Don't Want to See

Article Tags: background screening, bold color, call center, center environment, decades, firm believer, goa, inaccuracies, job title, nightmare, overflow, recruiters, resumes, screening firm, span style, style font, talent scouts, true talent, unemployment rates, walks of life



Related Forum Posts
Ranked #1 in just over 7 weeks - Hi all. i wanted to post this here just because I'm really happy with the results I've seen. Last week I was looking at my analytics and noticed I had a hit from a search engine using the term "mlm blogs". I researched it, and between "mlm blogs" and mlm blog" there are over 70,000 searches a month. On the down side, when you search for it, you get 22,900,000 results (not suing quotes). I started digging and found myself on page 5 in the 3rd spot. Spot #43 of almost 23 million wasn't too bad, so I decided to try and push it up some. After doing so, I noticed this morning (5 days later) that I managed to make it up to page one, in the 10th spot. There are a couple of very specific sites holding the top couple of spots, so getting #1 may not be easy, but I hope to see #3 or 4 soon. Thanks to all who take the time to read my little post.
9 Lies that are holding you back - I've picked up this book to assist me with my conversations when coaching business clients and I've found it to be quite enlightening as distinctions are made. The book is titled "9 Lies That are Holding Your Business Back..." by Steve Chandler and Sam Beckford (aka Small Business Millionaire). I'll use this post in two ways: 1. To highlight A Lie 2. To help me internalize the concepts by writing about it in my own terms/understanding so that I can use it in future conversations (yes, I'm feeling a lil selfish and want to take you guys along with the journey) first post to arrive shortly on the First chapter: Lie#1: I Just Need to Know [i:23sag391]How[/i:23sag391] to Do This"
Business plans are a waste of time - I really like what Shri said in a previous post about how the usefulness of a business plan depends on the individual. However, after reading some of Martin Lindstrom's "Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy"... I'm beginning to think that all business plans and traditional market research (i.e. using focus groups, surveys, etc.) are a total waste of time. No joke, I'm serious. Lindstrom says "That's because, just like market research, economic modeling is based on the premise that people behave in a predictably rational way", but "Most of the brain is dominated by automatic processes, rather than deliberate thinking. A lot of what happens in the brain is emotional, not cognitive." ("Buyology" pg 28). Basically, consumers will tell you one thing, and do simply do another with their unconscious minds.
Re: On taking Action - [quote="jvprosperity":1hd0zjku]I was surprised to not see the words along the lines of taking deliberate action within the article. Do yo think it's an important part of the 6 points Evan summarized from the article or is it implied?[/quote:1hd0zjku] Hi Andy, I think taking deliberate action is implied in the six points. For instance, I interpret them as follows: 1. Set your sights on where you’re going - Write your goals down on paper. 2. Educate yourself - Read everyday about your field and even take courses on it. 3. Passion pays off - Enjoy what you're doing. 4. Grow your money - Invest your money. 5. No guts, no glory - Go out and sell your product/service/self everyday as if it were last. 6. The Biggest Secret? Stop spending. - Put aside as much money as you can into savings your account/retirement fund.
Product promotion strategy - The effectiveness of our products is 200% Guaranteed. It is according to our feedbacks and the quality, reliability, efficiency and utility scale of the product. The product is not similar to any conventional products in the market at the moment. It could use to clean almost everything (include clothing’s) that do not contain Caustic Soda, Ammonia, Chlorine and Fumes. In short means, safe and do not work like bleach that damage the matter or fabric of the item being washed. Biggest Objection? I'm not quite too sure about what you are trying to ask here. If it for the product, it is fine. The product sell itself and I haven’t heard back from any of the customers yet. 99.9% of our customers came back for more and brought back more customers or buy for their friends n families. There were some customers that complained the products didn’t work. But majority of them didn't follow the instruction, and we convinced them to follow the instruction and they are happy again. If it for the business, I think the major objection or disadvantage for us now is the lack of business system, resources deployment and networking.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Sales Courage and Resilience

Are You Too Good for Your Job?

Is the iPad useful? One CEO tells all ....

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.