| position, request credit reports and
driving records. Many companies find they simply don’t find they have the time to do
all this digging themselves, so they often turn to outside investigative firms for help. If
you are lucky enough to catch a fabrication before an applicant is hired, you may end the
interviewing process right |
then and there. Even if you don’t know
of any fraud during the application process, but discover resume fraud while subsequently
defending a discrimination lawsuit from an applicant you fail to hire, such
"after-the-fact" evidence can be used to bolster your defense. Unfortunately
though, these errors are often not caught until the person is already working for |
you. In these cases, falsifying
information on a resume is considered "just cause" for immediate dismissal
depending on how grave the misrepresentation. Historically in such cases, the employee has
little room for claiming wrongful discharge. Confronting the
Individual
It is important to distinguish in the verification process the difference |
between puffery and deliberate
misrepresentation. You must decide if an exaggeration is material enough to rule out the
applicant. Give applicants a chance to defend themselves. It could be an honest mistake.
When confronted with the discovery of a deliberately fictitious entry on their resume,
many applicants will slink away in shame. But some will brazenly deny all, (Continued on page 8) |
| When questioned as
to whether the HR professional would hire an applicant based on a professional
affiliation, which claimed expertise in a particular area, the response was positive. When
we questioned them regarding certifications, which we knew to be phony, they were
impressed with the affiliation, and surprised to learn that they were bogus. The fact that
organizations exist simply to sell titles to individuals in the hopes that they will
appear more qualified, was surprising to many of the human resource professionals to whom
we spoke. Is checking references an
essential component to the hiring process? |
This question
produced an overwhelmingly positive response. Just about every respondent expressed the
necessity of verifying an individual’s background, job experience, and character
through previous employers or personal references. Most companies were very prudent in
this respect. Many found that this was the quickest way to gain insight into the
applicant. A seasoned professional recruiter could often learn more by the
tone and manner in which an individual responded to a question, than from the actual
content of their answers. Are background
checks performed either internally or through an outside service?
This question gained a mixed response. About half of those |
questioned did in
fact run a background check that included criminal record, drivers record, credit history,
and employment history. Those that did so felt it was a necessity, and felt they would be
at quite a disadvantage if unable to do so. As one respondent claimed. "At one point
when I first started at this firm the extent of our background check was to make a few
phone calls and check references given to us by the applicant. This proved a severely
insufficient way to achieve the goal for which we were aiming. Of course an applicant
applying for a job will only provide the references that he knows will provide a favorable
recommendation. By doing the background check, the choice is now out of the employees
hands and we can get an |
unbiased view of
the individual whom we are about to hire. Background searches by a reputable organization
are an essential recruiting tool." Are
background checks generally accurate?
We asked the members of our survey group if they felt that
the background searches performed for them were handled correctly and if they amassed the
results for which they were searching. This question resulted in a mixed response. There
were claims from some that they were not thorough enough and that in a few instances
individuals with criminal records had passed with flying colors. Apparently if the crimes
occurred in another state it was harder to track the criminals down. Those
(Continued
on page 6) |
