A new study by HireRight, an international background check firm, has found that employee resumes more often than not contain false information, whether concerning education credentials or previous employment history.
The study pulled from 3,500 professionals in departments such as Human Resources, Recruiting, Management, and Security.
88 percent of employers surveyed found misrepresentations within resumes, while 84 percent of employers found issues that wouldn’t have normally been uncovered while verifying previous employment and educational history.
Additional findings from HireRight’s 2016 Employment Screening Benchmark Report show an increase in the use of certain types of background checks. 89 percent of employers conduct criminal checks, along with other public record searches. 77 percent of employers verify identity, 64 percent verify previous employment, and 55 percent verify driving records.
Surprisingly, only 50 percent of employers apparently verify educational credentials.
Two big other takeaways: the use of temporary or contingent workers has skyrocketed, along with the consideration of international employees.
According to the study, 81 percent of employers have screened non-permanent workers for their open positions. This compares to only 48 percent in 2011.
In addition, 19 percent of workplaces have screened candidates with a non-U.S. background. This is a four percent increase from just last year. 70 percent of employers already do or plan to have policies in place for interviewing and hiring candidates from abroad.
A final observation is the general dearth of a policy for medical marijuana use. Only five percent of respondents had a policy for medical marijuana use, which is an issue considering over half of the states allow marijuana use in some capacity.
