Although statistics vary widely, there is widespread agreement that a substantial number of resumes and applications 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. Below are six of the most common fabrications claimed by job applicants.
- 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.
- Claiming a Diploma Mill or Fake Degree
A related issue to claiming an unearned degree is declaring a fake degree that can be purchased online from a Diploma Mill. Today one may obtain a degree simply by going online and using a 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.
- Previous Job Title
Applicants can easily give their career an artificial boost by “promoting” themselves to a supervisor position, even if they never managed anyone.
- Claiming Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, or Experience They Do Not Possess
Employers normally hire based on a job description that will describe the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) needed for a job as well as the experience required. These are exactly the areas, however, where employers often find a candidate has fibbed.
- Dates of Employment
Another concern for employers is applicants who 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.
One caveat—there can be times when the applicant is honestly mistaken about employment dates due to having started a position as a temporary worker on a staffing firm’s payroll. An applicant may have worked at a past employer for five years, but the first year was officially an employee of a staffing vendor. In the applicant’s mind, they were there for five years. However, the official records for the company may only show employment for four years.
- Previous Compensation
A related issue is past salary. Applicants have been known to exaggerate compensation in order to have a better starting point when negotiating the salary for the new job. However, for many employers past salary is a sensitive area and some HR professionals will ask for a written release first.
This information was taken from The Safe Hiring Manual 3rd Edition by Lester S. Rosen. For more information on this publication, please visit the BRB Bookstore.
Comments