How Companies Combat Resume Fraud with Smart Job History & Academic Verifications

Resume fraud, or accidental mistakes in a candidate’s self-disclosed history are all too familiar in the workforce today. In fact, in the last year, we found discrepancies in nearly half of our employment verifications. With this issue being so widespread it’s no question that verifying the job and education histories of job candidates is something many organizations require before making a move to hire. So, some might ask,

“How can I improve my job history and academic verification process to combat resume fraud?”

Verifications seem simple and straightforward. The goal is to confirm the information a candidate has listed on their resume or disclosed upfront for a pre-employment background check. But let's talk about three factors you may not have thought about:

1. Verification process – how can your screening company help you find as much information as possible?

2. What you verify – is date/title or highest degree enough? Take a look at how other employers expand verification criteria.

3. Sources matter – are your verifications confirmed by an authorized source?

Persistence Pays Off to Verify Work History or Degrees

You have the company or school name, and even the phone number of the Human Resources Manager or Records Department. No problem – just a simple call. The truth is, background screening companies run into hard-to-reach organizations every day. It can be a challenge to contact someone authorized to confirm a candidate’s history.

It has become typical in the background screening industry to limit attempts for verifications to three phone calls. They stop trying to contact an organization after the first 72 hours. Makes sense, right? Not so fast.

This limited process shortens the time to complete a background check. And many background check companies make claims of fast turnaround times, but at what cost? Enter the era of the “skewed turnaround time.” Some screening companies close out an incomplete background report, often at your expense. Many HR professionals may feel like they have no choice but to accept an incomplete history of an applicant as “good enough” or pick up the phone themselves to finish the job. Not really a win for HR, is it? You may see several verifications going unfulfilled in a three-attempt window, the point that other screening companies abandon the verification process. Ask yourself, are those artificially fast turnaround times worth paying for services that are not getting completed?

There is an alternative process out there with much better results. For example, Verified Credentials does NOT have a time limit or attempt limit with our verifications. We continue to make unlimited attempts to complete every verification until we are told to stop by the requesting employer. And in the end, we see a significantly higher completion rate.

We’ve found that most employers agree that three attempts do not give them the results they want. When given a choice, nine out of ten employers keep our verification process open until they achieve results – a substantial jump from those who use a screening company with a limited timeframe.

Want to go unlimited? Compare your verification completion rates and see what’s possible. Schedule a Consultation ››

Different Variations of Information You Can Get

Some HR professionals want more detailed information. Let’s take a look at what they are choosing to verify.

We’ve found the majority of HR professionals are only verifying job titles and dates of employment. The few employers that looked beyond date and title selected a “full verification.” Those thirteen percent use an employment verification that may include many of these details: 

• Dates
• Title
• Reason for Leaving
• Eligibility for re-hire
• Job performance

When it comes to academic verifications, the large majority choose to verify the candidate’s highest degree only. Some opt to get more details confirmed for academic verifications, including: 

• Dates of attendance or graduation
• High school diploma
• GED / HSED
• Certificates
• Higher education degrees
• Majors/minors
• Honors

What information is most important to you? Think about how a candidate might give inaccurate dates to cover an employment gap. Or how they might glorify academic experience with incomplete degrees or nonexistent honors. An honest portrayal of experience and credentials may make a difference in whether or not you extend a job offer to someone.

The scope of verifications varies widely. Ask what your verifications include and determine what details you need to be confident in your hiring decisions.

Where Information Comes from Matters

Employment and academic verifications don’t have to be completed directly with the organization to be reliable. In some cases, the institution contracts with an outside organization to maintain historical data, delegating authority to respond to requests to the third party.

However, if the organization does not contract with an outside source for historical job or school data, confirmation from an organization’s HR Department or an institution’s Records Department is generally the authority for verifications. Getting verifications direct from the authorized source, whatever it is, ensures quality information to help you make sound decisions. 

Do you know how your candidates’ job histories and degrees are verified? Learn More ››

Do your employment and academic verifications delivery the peace of mind you expect? Not all verifications are the same. Call Verified Credentials at 952.985.7205 to learn more about verifications. We’re ready to help you get more work and academic histories completed with unlimited attempts.