Why 78% of Candidates Lie on Their Resume

Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a world where people were always honest? How refreshing it would be if the job candidates you interviewed for the position you so desperately needed, did what they said they could do and were who they said they were?

The reality is more job applicants misrepresent themselves than tell the truth. The percentage varies greatly depending on the source, but the average is 78% of job candidates lie on their resume.

Most lies are rooted in insecurity or desperation rather than deceitfulness. The lies are used to hide something they believe will hurt their chances, such as a criminal record, job-hopping, or being fired from a previous position. Odds are high that one of those candidates will apply for a job at your company.

From a job candidate’s perspective, job hunting can be extremely stressful, and people often fear not being good enough. When job descriptions ask for a long list of qualifications and experience that few people realistically possess, a candidate may feel pressured to stretch the truth just to get an interview and hope they can wow them in the interview process.

Competition is fierce in the job market. As well, there is often a fear of rejection, and some will lie out of fear of that rejection. Today’s reality is more people misrepresent themselves than tell the truth!

There are many reasons a job candidate may stretch the truth. Some are the fear of not measuring up, not being good enough and a strong desire to impress. They may want to appear to be more qualified. Often, they underestimate the value of transferrable skills.

As a result, they may fabricate industry-specific knowledge because they want to appear more qualified. For example, someone with years of project management experience in education might lie about working in a tech role to land a job at a tech company, thinking their true experience won’t count.

There is also a substantial cost to the company to replace an employee if you make a bad hire. Again, the numbers vary on the actual cost to hire an employee, but a recent study indicates it costs up to 214% of a person’s salary to replace them. If you have an employee earning $100,000 a year, it will cost you $213,000 to replace them.

What employers need to do to ensure they are hiring the right person the first time is to take the time to conduct a proper pre-employment screening process. I often refer to the importance of hiring slowly and firing quickly.

What this means is that you must be thoughtful and strategic about who you are bringing into your organization. You need to ensure that the candidate are who they say they are, as well as being the right fit for the company culture. A bad culture fit can disrupt a team’s dynamics, lower morale and lead to costly turnover.

Conducting a proper reference check is also a good way to determine how a candidate will perform for your organization. Take the time to conduct behaviour-based interview questions that are required for the specific position.

Have an actual conversation with the referee when conducting the reference check. Listen to what is not being said and probe for examples. If you want value from conducting a reference check, don’t send a list of questions electronically and expect an authentic answer.

Hiring the right person is critical for the success of your company. It directly impacts productivity, team morale, company culture and ultimately, the bottom line. Take the time to do it right!