Background Checks - The Top Resume Lies People Tell

Maybe you’ve found the perfect job and are ready to apply for the position. Perhaps you’re an employer who sees the ideal candidate and proceeds with the interview process because their resume looks great. Either way, you may not be aware that under the ink and in between the lines on the paper lurk lies. Yes, I said lies! Also known as fallacies, deceit, and untruths, lies can be told in minor and major ways on a person’s resume. You should be aware of what the most common resume lies are and omit them if they are on your resume. If you’re an employer, this article will help keep you savvy to what kinds of lies to look for.

According to Forbes.com, 40% of resumes today contain some type of falsification. They also surveyed dozens of Human Resource professionals last year and a staggering 40% said that they are spending extra time on checking a candidate’s references due to resume lies. If you think about it, resumes are selling instruments by people looking for a better job who need to sell themselves on paper. That can be a tremendous amount of pressure for an individual who has gaps in their employment due to a lay off or staying home with children for a period of time. Playing with gaps of time is the number 1 most-lied-about item on a resume.

Believe it or not, lying about earning a college degree is still prevalent in today’s world of background checks and employment screening services. The driving factor here is fear. Fear that the person won’t qualify for an interview if they don’t pump up their qualifications. Fear that they won’t be given as high a position if they do get hired unless they have a degree to show for it. This is a game of chicken, however, because the one who will undoubtedly have to move aside to avoid a collision is going to be the employee.

Another common resume lie is also driven by fear: ageism. People commonly adjust the year of college graduation or their early years of employment in order to seem more youthful on paper. Obviously, their lie will catch up to them when they come in for their interview. That doesn’t look good to the employer and certainly can’t help the candidate with making a good first impression. Although I can sympathize with the person, this risky lie is one that a job-seeker can’t afford to tell.

Embellishing one’s career accomplishments is another one of the many resume lies that people commonly tell. They think that if they say they managed 200 employees, handled budgetary and fiscal matters, and can chew bubblegum while riding a unicycle; they will impress their potential employer so much that they will be given their dream job. All joking aside, this type of lie can lead to problems for any company because they’ve put an inadequate and under-qualified employee in charge.

If you are a job-seeker, let me advise you that there are companies out there like Accu-Screen that specialize in background checking and employment screening and they will find you out! Employers: isn’t it good to know that there’s someone out there who will help you truly find the best of the best?