Falsify Something on your Resume? Background Checks Easier than Ever
By Zaid Srour, Marketing –
It’s easier than ever to do background checks on employees. Experts recommend not fudging the information on job resumes.
Some people think it’s harmless to lie on their resume to get the job they want; at least, that’s what David Tovar thought. Tovar, the vice president for corporate communications at Walmart, was forced to resign after working for the company for eight years because someone discovered he lied about receiving a college art degree from the University of Delaware.
His dismissal goes to show that even if you got the job and you are a senior member in the company, you are not protected from even the small lies in your resume you thought everyone would believe.
Weeding out the Deceptive through Background Checks
Generally, big companies offer pre-employment screening services to perform background checks on what job applicants say or write about themselves, but not all companies have the resources to use these services in the recruitment process.
Traci Canning, managing director of First Advantage in Europe and the Middle East, said in a recent news article that she believes honesty is the best policy when applying for a job because everything can be uncovered during the screening process.
Lies, by Category
First Advantage reckons that there are four common things that employees lie about to get the job:
1) Education and grades
2) Professional qualifications and organization memberships
3) Work experience and role
4) Unemployment period (time between jobs)
Knowing this, organizations should take the time or create a process to screen applications for deception. Perhaps one solution could be as simple as looking the person in the eye and asking the questions. If the job position is important enough, more advanced methods of lie detection can be used.
