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The Six Biggest Applicant Lies Encountered in Employee Screening
| Guest post by: Lester Rosen |
Article Overview: Why do background checks? Because employee screening has revealed that a very high percentage of resumes are works of literary fiction. Screening firms’ routinely uncover fibs in applications that are just not true. It is one ting for an applicant to accentuate the positive and put themselves in the best light possible. But when resumes go beyond fact into the world of make believe, then employers need to be careful. After all, if a person is dishonest in the way they got the job, there is a concern they may be dishonest once in the job. This column outlines the six biggest lies seen on resumes applications.
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Free Download - Employers Must Manage Risks of Using Internet for Employment Screening Background Checks of Job Applicants By Lester Rosen |
The Six Biggest Applicant Lies Encountered in Employee Screening
Although statistics vary widely, there is widespread agreement that a substantial number of resumes belong in the "fiction" section of the bookstore. The rate of fraud can be as high as 40% and higher according to different sources. Applicants certainly have the right to put their best foot forward, and puffing their qualifications is an American tradition. But when puffing crosses the line into fabrication, an employer needs to be concerned. When you hire an applicant who uses lies and fabrication to get hired, the issue is that the same type of dishonesty will continue once they have the job.
What are the six most common fabrications from job applicants? According to a nationally recognized background checking firm,Employment Screening Resources (ESR)they are:
1.Claiming a degree not earned: Yes, believe it or not, applicants will make up a degree. Sometimes, they actually went to the school but never graduated. Some applicants may have had just a few credits to go, and decided to award themselves the degree anyway. On some occasions, an applicant will claim a degree from a school they did not even attend. The best practice for an employer is to state clearly on the application form that the applicant should list any school they want the employer to consider. In that way, if an applicant lies, the employer can act on the lack of truthfulness regardless of whether the educational requirement is part of the job requirements.
2.Diploma Mills or Fake Degree: A related issue is diploma mills or fake degrees that can be purchased online. For those that actually attended classes, read books, wrote papers and took tests to earn a diploma, you apparently did it the old fashioned way. Now, getting a "degree" is as easy as going online and using your credit card. There are even websites that will print out very convincing, fake degrees from nearly any school in America. In fact, the author obtained a degree for his dog in Business Administration from the University of Arizona-and the dog had been dead for ten years. A transcript was even obtained and the dog got a "B" in English! Some sites will even provide a phone number so an employer can call and verify the fake degree. Some of the degree mills even have fake accreditation agencies with names similar to real accreditation bodies, in order to give a fake accreditation for a fake school.
3.Job Title: Another area of faking is the job description or job title. Applicants can easily give their career an artificial boost by "promoting" themselves to a supervisor position, even if they never managed anyone.
4.Dates of Employment: Another concern for employers is applicants that cover up dates of employment in order to hide "employment gaps." For some applicants, it may be a seemingly innocent attempt to hide the fact that it has taken awhile to get a new job. In other cases, the date fabrication can be more sinister, such as a person that spent time in custody for a crime who may be trying to hide that fact.
5.Compensation: A related issue is pay - applicants have been known to exaggerate compensation in order to have a better negotiating position in the new job.
6.Lack of Criminal Record: Nearly every application will have a question about past criminal conduct. Although employers may not "automatically" eliminate a job applicant without a showing of a "business necessity," if the person lies, then the employer would have grounds to deny employment based upon dishonesty.
The common denominator in all of these: they can be all be discovered by a program of pre-employment screening. To quote a phrase popular in the 1980s. "Trust, but verify."
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About the Author: Lester Rosen RSS for Lester's articles - Visit Lester's website Click here to visit Lester's website   Telephone Screening Form Employment Reference Worksheet Sample RFP Backgrond Screening |
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- I so agree! Actually, the business world as we know it IS in trouble. I heard some stats last week that they expect by the time 2050 that 70% of workers will be freelancers. Employee/Executive Bullying won't be able to stand it when it could be easier for someone to simply contract with the nicer guy (or gal). I, for one, will be choosing the nicer ones!
2 Forums Updates
- Many of you have been writing in suggesting that on my website and in my newsletter we include the link to the actual forum post and not just the name of the post and a link to the Forums home page. Well, after looking into it I'm pleased to announce that this feature is now available. Thank you everyone for the suggestions!
We've also added names for members based on how much they post. Level one is Newbie, Level 2 is Intern, Level 3 is Employee and so on... There are 10 levels in total. I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone does!
Keep the suggestions coming - they are great!
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: Finding AND Keeping Good People
- Employee retention or as you mention “Keeping the Good People” is one of the biggest challenges for any growing business. It takes a huge effort from the entrepreneur’s end.
I can come up with the following when it comes to KEEPing the good people-
1. Motivation of the employees
2. Recognition of the needs of the employees
3. Activities to make the employees feel valuable towards the organization
4. Make benefits more accessible
5. Offer profit sharing incentives
6. Create clear career paths at the company
7. Consider telecommuting, job sharing and other flexible working arrangements
8. Incentives are essential and they don't have to be huge
9. Have other managers praise an employee's work
10. Be sensitive to the balance between work and private life
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