Earlier this month, George Santos was sworn into Congress after circulating a resume stocked with lies that were easier to spot than a stuttering Han Solo impersonating Stormtrooper TK421. His claims ranged from being a Jewish descendant of Holocaust survivors (which is wildly offensive but not technically illegal), to filing false reports with the House of Representatives and the Federal Elections Commission (which can and will land someone in jail), and everything in between.
Even after admitting to lying about his college and work history, Santos shrugged it off. “My sins here are embellishing my résumé,” he told The New York Post in an interview. As if it was no big deal.
Cue the spike in Google searches: is it common to embellish/misrepresent the facts on a resume?
Unfortunately, it’s fairly common. According to a survey conducted by StandOutCV, over 55% of people admit to lying on their resume at least once. The number of google searches about how to fake a resume is up 48% in 2022, and those specifically related to faking a job reference are up 52%.
If you’re hiring, these statistics can sound discouraging, to say the least. Integrity is critical for building a successful company. But most candidates aren’t adding touches of “creativity” to their resumes out of a desire to sabotage trust with potential future teammates. They want the same thing you want- to be matched with a job that’s a good fit. Stretches of the truth on a resume are often motivated by a desire to get a shot at the interview stage of the hiring process. A foot in the door.
As the leader, you can use the hiring process to create opportunities for applicants to demonstrate honesty. Here are four ways to set your candidates up to succeed.
1. Problem: Racial discrimination.
If a candidate has experienced racial discrimination in the past, they may be motivated to change personal details. According to a 2017 study from researchers at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) and the University of Toronto, names with Indian, Pakistani or Chinese origin were 28% less likely to get an interview than an anglo-sounding name, even if every qualification matched up.
Solution: Infuse every step of the hiring process with your company’s culture of diversity and inclusion.
Make it clear in your branding that your company intentionally seeks out and brings together unique people to accomplish a common goal. Each person’s perspective, skillset, and experiences equally contribute to business solutions. An inclusive culture is six times more likely to be innovative and twice as likely to meet or surpass financial goals.
During the interview process, be aware of unconscious bias- we can easily misinterpret anyone with whom we don’t share a common backstory. Ask good questions and be an active listener.
2. Problem: Unrealistic expectations about years of experience or education.
An extremely common lie is making up a college degree. According to a survey by CrimCheck, a candidate might do this because their education doesn’t match the job requirements. Or freshly minted college grads may overstate their experience simply because they don’t have enough to be considered for a role they believe they’re able to do.
Solution: Craft a job description that focuses on the skill sets necessary for the role.
Some level of expertise is unavoidable for most jobs. That’s just the way it is (sorry, newbies). There’s value in not skipping steps, starting at the ground level, and working up. But it’s also possible to acquire many technical skill sets through non-traditional training programs. A college degree may not be the only way to measure someone’s ability to do the job.
Today, 84% of HR managers say their company is open to hiring an employee whose skills can be developed through training. 62% of employees who applied for a job they were underqualified for said they still received an offer.
3. Problem: The hiring process is impersonal.
Two culprits come to mind. First, if a hiring manager uses an ATS to filter applications for keywords, then a candidate might wonder if it’s in their better interest to work those words into their resume. Second, the internet is well stocked with generic sample resumes. An applicant may think it’s necessary to tweak their information to fit an arbitrary template. If a candidate assumes that their first line of interaction with a Human Resources department isn’t, well, human, then it’s a lot easier to justify the tweaks.
Solution: Communicate openly and personally throughout the hiring process.
This starts by acknowledging receipt of all applications and initiating a conversation with the candidates you intend to pursue. Explain your interview process for their specific role, give specific time lengths, and even how long it takes on average from start to finish. We’re talking about common courtesy.
Throughout the hiring process, look for opportunities to interact. Give applicants opportunities to ask questions and offer feedback. We’re making connections with real people. The better we get to know someone, trust is more likely to be established.
4. Problem: Playground logic: Everybody does it.
In a 2020 ResumeLab study, 93% of people surveyed said they knew someone who had lied on their résumé. It leads to faulty logic: if everyone else is enhancing their resume, how are you going to compete unless you’re willing to play by their rules? Checkster surveyed 400 job seekers and 400 hiring managers and determined that 78% of job seekers thought about misrepresenting themselves on job applications and resumes. It’s a dangerous slippery slope.
Solution: Demonstrate that integrity is a high value in your company by modeling honesty throughout the hiring process.
Integrity is non-negotiable in any competitive business. In his 1998 speech at the University of Florida, Warren Buffett said, “We look for three things when we hire people. We look for intelligence, we look for initiative or energy, and we look for integrity. And if they don’t have the latter, the first two will kill you.”
Put it this way: without integrity, a company will die. Why would anybody want to work for a company who doesn’t include integrity as a value? And why would a good company hire dishonest employees? Without honesty, it’s impossible to build trust and create healthy spaces for team members to thrive. It starts with the leadership. It’s expected of each recruit.
A good place to model honesty in the hiring process is offering pay transparency. It’s a hot topic as laws are changing to obligate companies to disclose salary information. But why not beat them to the punch? Honest conversations around real numbers start everything off on the right foot.
When you’re an honest company, with an up-front hiring process, it’s easier to attract honest candidates.
