Verify Employment History

By Barry Snyder

There are numerous reasons why an applicant would be compelled to lie on their applications. Getting laid off by their previous employers due to theft or other immoral acts is not something that applicants want on their resumes, so if a candidate has such history, the temptation to lie on their application is great.

The Reason

An astounding number of resumes (up to 40%) contain false or deliberately incomplete information. It is the employer’s responsibility to make sure that their prospective applicants are who they claim to be. It is really up to the employer to verify if the applicant really did graduate from a particular university, or if that person really did work from a particular employer in the past.

A hotspot for false information in an applicant’s resume (or interview) is the reason for changing jobs. Safe answers include change of residence or that their previous job no longer holds any future growth for them. The employer must be able to verify if these are indeed facts. However, there are difficulties with regards to confirming these things because previous employers are usually unaccommodating with providing these kinds of information. It may be that it is against company policy to provide such information to anyone outside the company or that they are afraid to be involved in any legal actions against them. Confirming that they have previously employed your applicant may be as far as they are willing to go with regards to any information that they are willing to give.

Employment Information Verification

These are important factors to consider before hiring any of your prospective employees:

1. Information provided in the resume

Exaggerated and false information on the resume is something that must be watched out for. An applicant may claim that he/she was a project manager in charge of multiple development projects for a large software firm, but in reality, your applicant was just a freelance encoder. Another way that applicants use to exaggerate their applications is to change their experience levels. Companies may be willing to provide their previous employee’s experience level but not their exact area of expertise. Hiring a professional organization to do a thorough background check of the applicant is a good idea if you want to verify the information provided on their resumes.

2. Candidate’s attitude

Note carefully how an applicant talks and acts during an interview. Some indicators that interviewers look for must be analyzed with care. For example, an applicant may stutter during an interview because of stress, but he/she could be very talented and hardworking. And another applicant may be confident but that could just be hot air. Behavioural characteristics must be observed closely.

3. Salary Talk

There are many employers that deny an applicant’s application because of a high ‘expected salary’. However, it is only natural for applicants to want a big salary, the real question is if these applicants are really deserving of their expected salaries. The applicant may be sufficiently skilled to warrant his or her expected salary, but these matters should be verified.

About the Author: Crimcheck.com offers past employment verification services as part of their comphrensive background checks. Crimcheck.com will verify a persons past employer, salary, position, start and end dates as well as their reason for leaving.

Source: isnare.com

Permanent Link: isnare.com/?aid=386568&ca=Business+Management