Recruiters Beware: Job Seekers Tell Lies to Secure Employment!

Job seekers will do anything including telling lies to secure employment. Take the case of the former CEO of Yahoo as an example. Sometime in 2012, the former CEO Scott Thompson resigned in disgrace because the truth about his college degree was exposed! He did not possess the qualification he claimed to have got. This is however no surprise. It only goes on to support the assertion that employment hunters often lie to recruiters to land their dream jobs.

The hiring manager should therefore not be fooled by a properly packaged resume. Job seekers often embellish their curriculum vitae to include qualifications they do not possess, fictitious accomplishments and none existent skills and abilities, all in a bid to secure employment. The recruiters therefore need to protect themselves against such lies by knowing the telltale signs whenever prospective employees present them.

To avoid making a mistake about employing a candidate you consider to be Mr Perfect (who will later on turn out not to be one), the recruiter must ensure therefore that the job seeker is not making the whole thing up.

Biggest Lies Job Seekers Tell

Detailed below are some of the lies prospective employees tell to secure employment and how you as a hiring manager can detect them.

1. Lies about educational qualification: Job screening firm, HireRight observed that about 20% of candidates lie about their educational accomplishments. For example a candidate may claim in the resume that he has acquired a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Computer Science from Mendrill University. Reality is that such a university might not exist and the claim false. Even if such university does exist, the job seeker might have secured just a Diploma and not a degree.To get the truth, the recruiter should contact the school referred to for details about the prospective employer’s claim about the degree awarded, course of study and specifics about the attendance.

1. Lies about skill or ability possessed: A prospective employee could claim that he is proficient in Corel draw. The truth is that he might not be as proficient in Corel draw as claimed. At best he might just have used the work he paid for on Fivrr or Guru.To get the truth, conduct pre-interview tests for the candidates with a view to determining whether they possess the skills they claim to possess.

1. Lies about dates of previous employment or position: CareerBuilder claimed that about 12% of job hunters lie about the dates of their previous employment. The reality is that job seekers often lie about the dates to cover up the gaps. The candidate might have spent just four months instead of the three or four years of continuous employment. Further, the candidate could claim to have occupied the position of Administration Manager. Truth is he might just have occupied the position of Personal Assistant to the MD.To get the truth, contact previous employers to get details about dates of employment while with them and the positions held. Further, ensure that candidates fill application forms requesting for actual month and year of employment plus the position held.

1. Lies about salaries and accomplishments: Some job seekers lie about the salaries and allowance they earn. The idea being to help them negotiate better salaries during interview. Further, potential employees also embellish their resumes with lies about their accomplishments and achievements. The idea being to enhance their employ-ability. CareerBuilder claimed that about 38% of job seekers embellish their resumes with unrealistic achievements and accomplishments.To get the truth, contact previous employers for details about salary and allowance or you have the candidate produce the pay slips. Regarding the issue of accomplishments you either make reference to previous employer or use Performance Based Interview to discover the truth.

1. Lies about references: To enhance their employ-ability, job seekers also lie about the references they give on their resumes. At best, the reference might be a former room-mate rather than a former boss. CareerBuilder says that 29% of job hunters lie about their references.To get the truth, rather than relying exclusively on the information from references alone, make reference to LinkedIn or probably Twitter to get additional information you might need about a candidate.

   

When sourcing for talent therefore, recruiters are advised to conduct proper background checks with a view to averting mistakes in the quality of the prospective employees. If you could not do the checks yourself, try engaging the services of quality background checking firms. Conducting background checks increases the quality of your hires multiple fold and also increases the success rate when they eventually employed. Start doing so now.