85% of applicants have lied or embellished a resume.  It’s become so common, that many of them are getting through undetected.  Learn what to look for.

The top things job seekers lie about are:

·        Job experience (76%)

·        Job Duties (55%)

·        Education (33%)

·        Employment dates (26%)

Why do candidates lie?  Often, candidates will tweak their resumes to avoid being weeded out right away.  Many candidates have learned that companies are using applicant tracking systems to review resumes and will do what they can to not get thrown out.

What to look for

1.      Vague Descriptions – Beware of terms like “familiar with” or “involved with.”  That could mean they simply observed or played one small part in the activity.  Pre-employment skills test can help decipher which skills the candidate actually possesses and at what level.

2.      Employment Dates are Missing – Sometimes if trying to hide periods of employment or short stints, candidates will leave off the months and only show years.  Address this during the interview by asking for exact dates of employment and give them a chance to explain any gaps uncovered. 

3.      Strange Body Language During Interview – If a candidate is showing discomfort or avoiding eye contact it could indicate dishonesty.  But don’t judge too quickly, they could also just be nervous.  If they seem particularly uncomfortable when you address a specific part of their resume, continue to ask questions to dig deeper and uncover their true experience.

Three most common lies

1.      Education Embellishment – For example, a candidate may have taken just one online course, yet state “Cornell School of Hotel Management” under education on their resume.  This can be very misleading and would be uncovered with a proper pre-employment background check.

2.      Date Deception – Some candidates will stretch the end of one job and the beginning of another to cover up an employment gap.  Again, proper pre-employment background and reference checks should uncover this.

3.      Skill Stretching – Some candidates will give a laundry list of skills, but not all of them are equal.  Using a program once or twice doesn’t make you an expert.  If there are particular skills the candidate must have, consider pre-employment testing for a valid analysis of skills.

What to do if you catch a lie

Big things like lying about education or fabricating prior positions should immediately take them out of the running.  But if they simply embellished a position slightly on an unimportant aspect of the resume, use your best judgement.  If anything was an outright lie, the candidate is likely not trustworthy.

Additional ASE Resources

Pre-Employment Background Screening - ASE can protect your organization from the cost of bad hiring decisions with our complete background screening services.  They include credit profile, education verification, reference interview, criminal search, and more.  For more information please contact Susan Chance.

Pre-Employment Assessments - ASE’s pre-employment assessment tools will give your organization additional insights into job candidates, so you can make better-informed selection decisions. Our verified tests measure skills, cognitive abilities, occupational interests, and behavioral characteristics.  For more information contact Mike Burns.

Sources:  HRmorning.com, Monster.com