Verifying a job candidate’s education is an important step in the background check and employment screening process of an applicant. It also represents one of the most common areas where an applicant may falsify information on his or her resume. MBI Worldwide has a 29 percent discrepancy rate on a job applicant’s education history. That’s an astounding number. Looking at 100 applications for employment, that’s 29 job candidates that have education discrepancies that differ from what they stated on their employment application. Danger, Danger, Fraud alert!
Today’s job market is highly competitive. Job candidates in need of work know how difficult it can be to compete for the top jobs. This competitive environment has paved the way for some not-so-honest job seekers to embellish part, or all of their education to improve their chances of obtaining that position.
Verifying education from an accredited consumer reporting agency (background check company,) confirms a job applicant’s credentials by verifying their degree, certificate or diploma. These verifications can be worldwide and will help to reduce the risk of making a bad hiring decision based on false education information listed on the job applicant’s resume. An accredited consumer reporting agency will also know the difference between a diploma mill and a legitimate educational institution, and will be able to uncover a job applicants resume fraud quickly.
Most of you remember the former Yahoo CEO, Scott Thompson, who stated he had graduated from Stonehill College in Massachusetts with a degree in accounting – but also claimed he had a degree in computer science. After a peek into his past, turns out the college didn’t offer that degree until several years after Thompson claimed he earned it. Oops, my bad! Yep, you guessed it, he and Yahoo parted ways.
Don’t let that happen to you. Make sure you are hiring the right person with the right credentials by verifying those credentials and degrees. Finding out later rather than sooner that the applicant was dishonest on his or her resume raises questions about that person’s integrity as well as their capabilities about performing the jobs and tasks they are assigned. Partnering with the right consumer reporting agency will help to ensure that your job candidate is being honest and is in fact, qualified for the job.
K. Chapman, President & Founder
MBI Worldwide, Inc.