Thorough Checking Needed to Spot Resume Lies, Firm Says

One man said his degree could not be verified because he had been in a witness protection program under an assumed name since his youth. Others fibbed about their graduation date to cover a gap in their resumes, or lied about their college majors in order to seem more qualified for a specific job.

During the latter half of 1999, 16.7% of the resumes checked by the executive search firm of Jude M. Werra & Associates reflected discrepancies between what a job candidate claimed and what school records showed.

The firm, which compiles a nationwide Liar’s Index, said the percentage of job candidates caught lying peaked in the second half of 1998 with 21.5%.

Werra, president of the Wisconsin-based executive search firm, said some job candidates misrepresent themselves because “there’s no employment police, and a lot of steps are often overlooked in hiring someone.”

“A lot of people don’t do reference calls,” Werra added. “It’s so hard to find good people, and they figure when someone looks like a duck and acts like a duck, they must be a duck.”