It happens all the time. A candidate that seemed perfect on paper turned out to be completely the opposite later. Fake CVs are one of the biggest challenges faced by recruiters and hiring managers worldwide. People lying in their CVs is a common thing as the competition is getting fierce with more candidates competing for a single job.
There have been cases where candidates have successfully fooled the hiring managers into hiring them by making false claims. Such candidates turn out to be bad hires since they are incapable of delivering anything they claim in their CVs.
On paying close attention, you will see right through all the lies that candidates make in their CVs and during the interview. Here are some ways that will help you spot lies in the CV and save you from hiring a wrong candidate:
Verify the employment history
This is especially true in the case of the IT industry where there are too many buzzwords associated with the names of the company. Most IT companies have words like: ‘Tech’ or ‘Infocom’ so it is easier for some applicants to lie in their CVs about work experience by making fictitious company names. Ask the applicants about the company they work at including:
- The office address
- History
- Product and services it offers
- Verify the information given by the applicant by checking the company’s website
Get information on the job role
A lot can be judged by the way an applicant talks during an interview. It is natural for some applicants to be a little nervous. However, when they do not give clear answers or show signs of anxiousness that could mean something is not correct on their part.
A genuine applicant would be able to explain their profile and work responsibilities without any problem because they have been doing that work every day. Anyone who is not genuine would use a fixed set of words to describe their job role or won’t be able to describe the job role in a clear manner.
Cross-question the candidate
Don’t underestimate the power of cross-questioning. If you find a candidate who is not providing you with clear answers, ask them about real life situations at the office to judge the truth about the claims made in their CV.
Check social media profiles
The best way to judge a candidate is by checking their profiles on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. A lot of recruiters and hiring managers are doing this for the purpose of background verification by comparing the information furnished by candidates in their CVs with the information given on their social media accounts. You can also check the social accounts of the references provided by the candidate to judge their credibility.
Uncover gaps in employment
A jobseeker should provide a comprehensive summary of their work experience and whatever they cannot include in their CV should be documented in their cover letter. For example, if someone had to take six months off due to a health issue or family commitment, they should provide the reason and explanation for this.
Question career moves
If a jobseeker’s CV shows that they made a jump from one industry to another, such as from an accounting-based role to a more creative role such as design, it’s important to find out why and how the career move came about.
Query reasons for leaving the job
Honesty has proven time and again to be the best policy as far as laying the foundation of a relationship is concerned. While it’s important to note that a candidate may have left a company due to conflict with managers or the organisation itself, they should be able to honestly state their reasons for leaving. Failure to do so should serve as a red light during the recruitment process.
Pay attention to unusual periods of self-employment
While self-employment isn’t necessarily uncommon, unusual time frames of self-employment randomly documented throughout the applicant’s career history may be cause for concern. Particularly because it may be difficult to verify the experience as there is no point of reference in the form of an employer.
When in doubt, applicants should be able to provide the details of companies that they have worked with on a contract or freelance basis. For example, an applicant who previously freelanced as a contractor should be able to provide documentation of companies or building managers they worked for.
Double check references
Make sure to check the credibility of the references provided by the candidates by calling them and asking them questions about the candidate and the roles and responsibilities held by the candidate.
On the surface, a flawless testimony of a candidate’s character may seem like a clear signal to hire them. However, references that are too perfect may be either biased or falsified, making them a cause for concern.
For this reason, you should aim to only consider references that show the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate, while also ensuring that the references are credible through background checks on their company and title. This can be done simply through researching company websites and social media profiles.
Watch out for a fake educational history
Some jobseekers make up fake college degrees in their CVs to impress hiring managers. To avoid any problems happening later, question them about their educational qualifications and judge their confidence levels and accuracy of answers at the time of the interview. This will help you figure out whether they are lying in their CV or not.
What to do next
Organisations invest a huge amount of money and time on the recruitment process. Thus, it is important that you hire only genuine jobseekers in order to ensure that you reap the maximum return on investment. In addition to following the above-mentioned steps, it is important that organisations hire a dedicated company to perform beneficial checks, such as qualification checks, on prospective employees.
Most industries today do require a qualification of some sort and you as the employer have the right to know confidently that the applicant at hand has genuine qualifications. We offer comprehensive matric and academic qualification checks that allow you to have peace of mind knowing that you are hiring a qualified and competent candidate. Doing so will protect your organisation from the risk of hiring a fake employee.
