Resume Fact Checking: Yes, It Is Important

Employers understand that criminal background checks are important, and in some cases even required. However, many fail to realize that resume fact checking applications from potential employees is just as important.

Resume fraud really is a thing, and experts in the field believe that as many as 50% of applicants pad their resumes in some way. The most popular areas for padding include education, employment history and even job duties. For new employers who hire those who lie on their resumes, failing to verify the information can quickly lead to a wealth of headaches and problems.

Why Applicants Lie

The job market is tough, and potential new hires know it. Many feel that padding their credentials will help them stand out from the crowd so they can land the position, and unfortunately, this happens all too often. Applicants often use exaggeration to help their resumes align more closely with the job listing, especially those that require detailed experience and education. Why? Well, most applicants believe that their exaggerations are necessary to ensure someone reads their resumes – and most know that employers rarely check this information.

What Resume Fraud Means for Employers

Employers who fail to include resume fact checking in their background checks are opening themselves up for major issues after the hiring is complete. Consider this: you’ve gone through the applications, ran a criminal background check and hired the candidate with the best credentials. In fact, you’re actually quite pleased that you were able to find someone with the exact experience required for your position. However, after two or three weeks on the job, you discovered that your new expert doesn’t seem to have the knowledge required for the position. This means you have to take additional time for training, which is an added expense, or replace them completely, which is also an additional expense.

If you had taken the time to include pre-employment fact checking as a part of your background screening, you would have known this person wasn’t right for the position before he or she ever made it through the door.

If you want to make sure you are hiring the best person for your available position, you need to include resume fact checking as a part of your background checks failing to do so could cost you even more over time.