When sitting down with a job candidate who seems too good to be true, you might wonder whether somewhere during the hiring process this person has been dishonest about their skills, education, or experience. A survey conducted by CareerBuilder revealed that over 50% of all job candidates admit to fabricating or embellishing details during the hiring process. The odds are then that you have been told a fib or two during the recruitment and selection process.
So if one out of every two candidates might get ‘creative’ when relating their past experience, or fabricate a portion of their resume, what things are they likely to embellish? Results from the CareerBuilder survey identify the following as the most common inaccuracies found by recruiters:
- Skillsets: 57 percent;
- Responsibilities: 55 percent;
- Dates of employment: 42 percent;
- Job titles: 34 percent;
- Academic degrees: 33 percent;
- Past employers: 26 percent; and
- Accolades or awards: 18 percent.
Job candidate misrepresentation can affect business profits and productivity, harm morale in your organization, and in some instances might even lead to legal consequences.
Being proactive during your hiring process is a crucial step to safeguarding against job candidate misrepresentation. Although the statistics on resume embellishments can be disheartening, arming yourself with a few techniques for deciphering the truth can give you the confidence to make a great hiring choice.
How can you ensure that your organization is protected from the dangers of job candidate misrepresentation, especially because minor or negligent misstatements made by employees when they were job candidates do not generally justify dismissal without notice?
Download our Recruitment Strategy Guide for five ways you can be proactive during the hiring process to prevent hiring someone who has provided you with something other than the truth.
Source: CareerBuilder
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