August 16th, 2024 | Sterling
It’s a tough job market out there for candidates, with unemployment rates rising to 6.4% in July. In an effort to stand out from the competition, some might be tempted to embellish their resume or even to fabricate their credentials. In a recent case that made headlines, an Ontario woman fraudulently claimed to be a nurse and was hired by three separate long-term care homes. None of these employers checked her credentials properly, so they failed to notice her degree had been forged.
Fabrications like this are much more common than you might think. In a survey conducted in August 2023 on 1,900 US workers, 7 out of 10 respondents admitted to lying on their resume, and 37% of them claimed they lied frequently. Given the scale of the issue, how can you protect yourself against the potentially costly ramifications of hiring unqualified or fraudulent candidates?
This is where thorough employment, education, and credential verifications, along with reference checks, play a crucial role.
Forged diplomas are not the only risk that you should fear. Illegitimate universities, also known as “diploma mills,” are one of the ways by which candidates can claim to have education credentials they haven’t earned. Diploma mills allow candidates to purchase convincing-looking but worthless degrees for a fee, sometimes claiming to evaluate life experience and work history to determine whether candidates are eligible. To give themselves the appearance of legitimacy, some might even require a dissertation in order to issue a diploma. These documents are often official-looking and can easily fool the untrained eye.
A trustworthy background check provider, like Sterling Backcheck, will have experienced staff trained to recognize illegitimate educational institutions at a glance.
Rather than resorting to forging or obtaining an illegitimate degree, candidates sometimes manipulate their education history. This can involve misrepresenting the program they attended to make it appear more prestigious or falsely claiming completion when they actually dropped out.
This is why education verifications are the first line of defence for employers looking to verify their candidates’ qualifications. As part of a preemployment background check, the education verification confirms the details of a degree directly with the institution or with its authorized third-party verification service.
In addition to verifying education, you should also conduct thorough checks on candidates’ professional credentials, particularly for roles in high-risk environments, and make sure candidates are in good standing with their licensing organization. In some industries, like healthcare, credential verifications may be required to comply with regulations, with costly consequences for non-compliant employers.
In addition to misrepresenting their education and credentials, candidates can also lie about their work history. In a highly publicized case, an applicant was able to become Chief Financial Technology Officer at the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency by claiming to have held various prestigious executive positions, some of which would have been impossible for him to hold.
Similar to education and credential verifications, employment verifications typically involve contacting the employers listed on a candidate’s resume to confirm their work history. This typically involves verifying the dates of employment, the job title, the reason for leaving and whether the candidate is eligible for rehire. Common red flags include altered dates of employment to conceal gaps in candidates’ work history, inflated job titles and ineligibility for rehire due to performance or behavioural issues. Employment verifications are essential for employers to safeguard their assets and their reputation by ensuring that candidates are genuinely qualified for their positions.
While education, credential, and employment verifications are widely recognized as essential, reference checks are sometimes dismissed by employers as irrelevant, since they are based on opinions instead of hard data. However, the subjective nature of reference checks allows them to provide valuable insights about candidates that objective data may overlook. These insights can be crucial in making informed hiring decisions.
Reference checks involve interviewing individuals who can provide valuable insights into a candidate’s performance and character. Typically, this includes direct employment supervisors. Depending on the specific goals of the interviewing process, it can also extend to other groups, such as:
Compared to employment verifications, which provide straightforward answers to factual data points (such as dates of employment), reference checks allow those who know the candidate best to share informed opinions about their performance, reliability, behaviour, and interpersonal skills. The resulting picture is well-rounded and helps you assess not only qualifications but also cultural fit. Thorough reference checks often reveal red flags — such as poor attendance or difficulty working with others — that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Traditionally, verifications and reference checks were often completed in-house, and some HR professionals may still attempt to conduct the checks themselves out of cost-saving concerns. However, there are considerable benefits to outsourcing both verifications and reference checks to third-party background check providers.
Some background screening providers maintain pre-established relationships with educational institutions, licensing organizations, and employers. These connections can significantly expedite the verification process. For instance, Sterling Backcheck has a proprietary database that stores contact details, requirements, and response times for major employers and organizations. This streamlined approach minimizes the time spent trying to contact non-responsive referees, making it much easier to obtain the required information. Additionally, providers with an international presence can better accommodate employers and institutions operating in different time zones — an invaluable asset in today’s globalized job market.
To enhance the reference check process, consider partnering with a background check provider. Reference specialists can pick up on red flags that might escape the notice of less experienced interviewers. Contrary to recruiters, third-party interviewers do not know the candidate and have no personal investment in their hiring, leading to a more impartial point of view. Finally, screening providers are well-versed with the requirements of various industries and can provide specialized templates for some fields, such as nursing, controlled goods, or C-suite roles.
A verifications and reference screening program are an invaluable investment for employers looking to verify their candidates’ qualifications in order to protect their staff, their clients, and their reputation. Protect yourself against fraud and resume deceptions by forming a partnership with an experienced background check provider like Sterling Backcheck.
To inquire about verifications or reference checks, contact our experts.
This publication is for informational purposes only and nothing contained in it should be construed as legal advice. We expressly disclaim any warranty or responsibility for damages arising out this information. We encourage you to consult with legal counsel regarding your specific needs. We do not undertake any duty to update previously posted materials.
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