Are your applicants lying on their resumes? Here's how to sort fact from fiction

There is something about applying for a job that brings out the best and worst in people. It is a process filled with anticipation and hope from both sides, so there is no surprise that it can leave a bad taste in your mouth.

While we could probably reflect on the old adage that ‘a small percentage ruins it for others’, there is extensive research that suggests when it comes to beefing up the resume; there is indeed a large percentage of applicants that overly indulge the facts.

It may be cleverly exaggerating a front desk customer position to a ‘Customer Experience Manager’ or more boldly creating degrees from prestigious universities abroad that simply didn’t happen. Some will blame a competitive marketplace or justify the embellishment with “well, everyone else does it”. Irrespective of the motive, the outcome is that employers are left with the arduous task of validating the data to make sure they hire the right person for the role.

When a candidate seems too good to be true

It is human nature to want to see the best in people so when a ‘perfect’ resume passes our desk, it is normal to become a little excited at the prospect of hiring talent and start kicking some goals. But what if that ‘perfect’ candidate had exercised some creative liberty in the resume and instead of having 5 years leadership experience they only ever filled in once when the boss was on annual leave?

Interviewers and recruiters need to have an inquisitive mind and treat each resume like its own mystery to solve. Is there really such a thing as a Graduate Diploma of Employee Experience? Is it likely that they spent 2 years volunteering in Cambodia when there is no room for that in the timeline?

The bottom line is that when recruiters do not do their due diligence to detect resume fraud, it can do reputational damage to the business when a key customer uncovers their account manager is in fact not bilingual as promised. Becoming caught in an employee’s lie can make the business look guilty by default.

5 tips to sort out fact from fiction in the hiring process

1. Do your due diligence

Key roles can receive hundreds of applicants, so recruitment can be a labour intensive process. Invest in some technology to auto screen and then be prepared to roll up your sleeves and put your detective hat on. Do your own research to confirm certain elements of the resume, however, always be careful to not breach an applicant’s privacy.

2. Review your recruitment process

It is a lovely idea to trust each applicant, however it is not smart to do so. It is a good idea to ensure that the whole recruitment process is robust enough to assess different and key elements. For example, rather than spending time trying to ascertain if an applicant does have book keeping experience; consider adding a practical element to the hiring process where this skill is assessed.

3. Ask for evidence

Is your candidate stating that they were top of class graduating with first class honours? Then I am sure they won’t mind sharing their academic transcript. If they do have three awards for top salesperson, then this will be something they will be bursting to share. If the applicant has mysteriously lost their academic evidence, surely they won’t mind contacting their educational institution for another copy.

Employers may want to also consider:

• Ensuring that there are provisions included in the employment agreement or industrial instrument where employees must acknowledge that they have not or will not make false representations about their skills, experiences or qualifications.

• Asking applicants to acknowledge in the online application process that all information is true at the time of lodging. 

4. Ditch calling the mobile; go straight to the source

An issue that has been arising in the reference check stage is some applicants are taking some ‘creative liberty’ when providing their previous manager’s contact details. Some sneaky candidates have teed up their best mate to be the ‘Accounts Manager’ who is willing and able to give the highest of referee checks. It is therefore recommended that employers conduct reference checks by ringing the direct number of the organisation and asking to be transferred to the named person. This may identify some honesty issues to further investigate if the person listed has never worked there or the phone number is incorrect.

Hiring managers are also encouraged to listen carefully to the referee’s description of the employee’s duties and achievements. Is it verbatim what is in the applicant’s resume? If so, this may flag that the referee is not speaking authentically, but rather have agreed to provide a reference check exactly aligned to how they want their skills and achievements to be positioned.

5. Use a multi-disciplinary approach

Consider a resume as merely the first initial step in a thorough recruitment process. It is the entry point to a discovery phase where the employer learns more about the applicant and vice versa. The recruiters should then:

• Do their own fact finding
• Use questions in an interview process that are designed to ‘deep dive’ into some of the key elements of the resume
• Consider role plays or group interviews
• Introduce some targeted job assessments to determine competencies
• Conduct relevant checks where appropriate (e.g. Working with children check)
• Interview with a diverse panel to gain different perspectives and challenge unconscious bias
• Many employers use psychometric testing as an objective strategy to assess the suitability of a candidate for a job. Conducting these assessments can provide a broader insight into an applicant’s fit for the position by providing accurate, reliable and impartial information on a candidate’s strengths and gaps in relation to inherent job tasks. They test things like abstract reasoning, aptitude, personality, emotional intelligence and workplace behaviours.

Employers are cautioned from relying on just one aspect of the recruitment cycle and encouraged to incorporate a broad strategy which will provide the most accurate outcome.

Be alert, not alarmed

If you have ever hired a data expert only to find them struggle with basic numbers, you could be forgiven for losing faith in the recruitment process; but not everyone is out to dupe the system. It is recommended that employers safeguard themselves and the business by having a multi-dimensional approach and remember when an applicant seems too good to be true; they usually are.

That being said, it may feel at times like an uphill battle but each day endless quality candidates are sending in their authentic and accurate resumes hoping to catch your attention and when they do; your faith in the system will be restored. 

Further information

For assistance with your workplace matters, Members of Ai Group can contact us or call our Workplace Advice Line on 1300 55 66 77 for further information. 

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