It's an unfortunate reality that candidates aren't always honest.  Too often, candidates think that by exaggerating skills and experience, they can land a great job.  And they often do.  However, over time, it becomes apparent that they were a poor hire. According to background screening company HireRight, only 58% of small businesses actually conduct background checks to verify the information present on a candidate's resume.  If your company is among those not checking up on candidates' information, you could be one step away from a bad hire. 

Adjust Your Recruiting Process to Obtain Better Results

The last thing a recruiter wants to do is to have to check up on other adults.  But the unfortunate truth is it's become a professional requirement.  CareerBuilder recently reported that 25% of their job seekers admitted to lying on their resumes.  If your recruiting process isn't set up to spot these lies, you could be in trouble. Try these tips to spot the lies and avoid bad hires:

• Background Checks. Background checks are extremely useful to recruiters and hiring managers.  They are able to reveal whether a candidate actually holds the degree they claim to have, or whether the candidate ever worked for the companies they present on their resume. Companies that use background checks are often able to spot any egregious exaggerations up front.
• Assessment Tests. If you're wondering whether the candidate actually can code in 3 languages, a skill assessment is the solution you're looking for.  Employers offering assessment tests are able to spot any potential gaps in skills immediately. This can help your organization to avoid hiring someone who lied their way into a position and doesn't possess the skills to be successful in that role.
• Video Interviews. Video interviews can be a wonderful resource for recruiters seeking to screen out candidates. One-way on demand video interviews allow recruiters and hiring managers to send a set of questions to a candidate.  Recruiters can then view and share these responses at their leisure.
• Google Docs. Ever wonder if someone has added a lot of things to their resume in order to make it appear they're a better fit for the role? Now, you can find out.  Google Docs' feature Draftback offers recruiters the ability to see the revision history of a document. Using this feature, your team may find that a candidate has eliminated positions from their resume, later fudged dates, or even faked degrees.

Recruiters today thankfully have a myriad of resources at their disposal to check up on potentially dishonest candidates.  Using these tools, they're able to make more informed decisions.  Find out how you can elevate your hiring and avoid a bad hire!