Lying in the Hiring Process: 3 Ways to Handle the Candidate

Do you know how well your company is protected from false claims on employment applications?

During the hiring process, the ability to disqualify an applicant from consideration for a job or to fire a candidate who lied on their application hinges on what you have in writing.

And it’s important because people often lie on their resumes and in interviews.

Lying Runs Rampant on Resumes

Nearly one-third of job applicants lie on their resumes, according to data from Resume Builder. What are they lying about?

• Years of experience (46%)
• Education or credentials (44%)
• Length of position held (43%)
• Skills or abilities (40%)
• Previous employers (38%)
• Previous job responsibilities (36%)
• Professional achievements (33%), and
• References (27%)

Lying Bleeds into Interviews

Little white lies don’t stop on resumes. Researchers at Resume Templates found candidates lied during an interview about:

• Skills or abilities (45%)
• Responsibilities at previous jobs (40%)
• Years of experience (34%)
• Professional achievements (31%)
• Length of previous positions held (24%)
• Previous employers (24%)
• Professional credentials or associations (16%)
• Education (11%)

And 4% of candidates actually cheated on their assessment!

Why do Candidates Lie?

It may not be particularly surprising that most job candidates lie to improve their chances of getting hired – nearly three-quarters of liars say that’s why they lie on resumes.

Beyond that, according to the Resume Builder study, even applicants who have great potential lied because they:

• Lacked the necessary qualifications
• Got fired or parted on bad terms from their past employer, or
• Needed to add more keywords to their resume.

Getting Caught in Lies

Here’s the kicker: 80% of people who lie on resumes were hired by an employer who they lied to. But when employers uncovered the tall tales, liars paid the consequences. Four in ten had their job offer rescinded. Nearly 20% started their jobs under false pretenses and were fired when their lies were caught, the Resume Builder survey found.

“Many employers use internal or external services to verify education, job experience or other certifications,” says Stacie Haller, a career counselor at Resume Builder. “Behavioral interviewing can also detect falsehoods or exaggerations by asking candidates very specific, detailed questions to verify the information they provided. And then there is the backdoor reference, where someone may be asked about you through your own network, without you ever even knowing about it. Lies may be uncovered that way as well.”

Avoid the Liabilities

As an HR pro or hiring manager, you want to avoid the liabilities that come with application falsification.

Here are some steps employers should take:

1. Be Prepared

Implement a clear, uniform policy about the consequences of providing false information on an application.

Put a disclaimer on your standard job application near the signature line. By signing the application, the applicant acknowledges that providing false, misleading or inaccurate information on the application, on the resume or during an interview is grounds for disqualification or termination if already hired.

The disclaimer should also expressly waive any liability for the employer if the applicant isn’t hired or is terminated for providing false information.

2. Be Consistent

The best protection for your company is to follow your policy of disqualification or termination every time you find out that an applicant lied on their application or in a job interview.

Consistency during the recruiting process can protect the employer from legal liabilities and countless headaches down the road.

If a background investigation reveals an applicant or employee clearly lied, the applicant should be rejected or the employee terminated immediately.

3. Be Curious

If you only suspect falsification, HR should conduct a fair and impartial investigation and document the findings. Disciplinary action should be taken if the findings are conclusive.

Having a strict application falsification policy can save your company from potential legal action later.

Some states have laws prohibiting revoking job offers based on the discovery of a misdemeanor or other convictions with no relevance to the applicant’s suitability for the job.

However, following your company policy of revoking an offer when an employee misrepresents the existence of the conviction would still be allowed.