How Do You Spot Fake Resumes? Seeking Advice on Identifying CV Embellishments

Hi all,

I'm working as a Senior HR (Resourcing) Executive with an Executive Search Firm in South Delhi. We source and place candidates for Global Consulting Firms, especially Chartered/ICWAs/CS.

Can anybody tell me some ways to identify fake resumes or ways to discover resume embellishments? I have gone through some posts here in Citehr and other resources and understood that the absence of personal details, illogical email IDs, curtailed identity, and disguised qualification details are some of the important factors to check the authenticity of a resume. Can anybody shed some more light on other ways to identify CV fabrications?

Awaiting a speedy response... Thank you :)

Arnab
New Delhi

Hi,

There are no methods to check the authenticity of details given by a candidate in his/her resume. Organizations go for background checks by established consultancies like KPMG or Pinkerton.

Regards,

Hi Arnab,

There are no mechanisms to identify fake or fraudulent CVs other than personally following up with referees and managers where the applicant was employed and their educational institutions. Employers must ensure their contracts of employment allow them to dismiss employees who lie about their qualifications, etc.

Blessings,
Ron

Hi,

My suggestions on this matter are to check the fake CV:

1. Make the technical aptitude test related to the experience shown.
2. We can outsource to any agency that conducts the verification process.
3. Reference and cross-checking from the previous employer.

Thank you.

Arnab,

My most effective way is to talk to the candidate and ask open-ended questions, which I then note down and use to identify gray areas for further probing. Initially, I review the resume and mark areas:

1. Where I need more details
2. Areas that seem ambiguous or suspicious

I hope this information is helpful.

S

Hi,

I work with a Background Screening Company called Kroll, which is well known worldwide for its background screening solutions.

What we do is adopt a very formal way of ensuring the details provided by the candidate at the time of hiring are authentic or not. We do not use the contact details provided by the candidates; instead, we generate our own contacts with the HR department of the previous employers of the candidate. We verify their professional certifications/educational qualifications (by getting in touch with the university/college) and titles claimed to be achieved. We check the background of the candidate to ensure they do not have any past police records, credit defaults, etc., through the medium of Address Checks, Credit Checks, ID Checks, Terrorist checks, etc.

All our employees are also background checked to ensure 100% service to the clients.

I recommend getting in touch with a Background Screening company to ensure the candidates you hire bring minimal risk to the organization and are A players.

Hope this information helps.

Kind Regards, Sonia

Hi Arnab,

There is no method to check fake CVs, but you can verify them through cross-references only.

Regards,
Digpal

Hi,

1. Make the technical aptitude test related to experience shown.
2. We can outsource to any agency that conducts the verification process.
3. Obtain references and cross-check with previous employers.

I have corrected the spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors in the text. Additionally, I have formatted the paragraphs correctly with single line breaks between them.

Hi Arnab,

It is really very difficult to find out the fake CV just by looking at it. The only way to determine its authenticity is to call the candidate for an interview and ask relevant questions. If the candidate has exaggerated in the CV, they will likely be exposed through the answers they provide. Trust me, I have personally identified several candidates who misrepresented themselves in their CVs.

Hope this information is helpful for you.

Kuheli

Fake resumes can be found through following screening:
- Multiple repeated sentences for most of the projects.
- Some may copy the same projects two times with different company names and durations.
- Check the company websites or get the references.
- When you ask for references, request the company number and work email id as sometimes personal details are fake.
- After your basic screening and interviewing the candidate, proceed through the agency for the background check if necessary.
- Networking sites like LinkedIn, Xing, Spoke, and others might be useful when you check via references.

Thanks,
Jambu Sreenivasan

Hi Arnab,

It is indeed a very difficult task to identify fake CVs. Many people send fake CVs because resumes are one of the important criteria to get a job. Some people have an inborn talent for bluffing.

My suggestions to identify fake CVs are:

1. Ask the candidates to attach, along with the CVs, scanned copies of attested certificates regarding the qualifications and experiences they have mentioned. It will save time and effort for recruiters.
2. Conduct a telephonic or personal interview to test the knowledge and authenticity of the information provided in the CVs.
3. Establish a particular format for the CV (unique for a company/firm).

Best of luck! :)

Regards,
Vidhya. S. Shenoy

Ensuring that candidate commitment (verbal/written) is taken seriously and counter-checked both by competency-based interviews and a discreet check on their credentials within and outside the organization.

Do not spend too much time on candidates with less than 3 years of experience as they are primarily focused on execution tasks. Therefore, an attitude-based detailed interview is sufficient. This approach will provide you with an understanding and insight into the individual.

Keep it simple and practical. As an HR professional, consider every candidate a suspect - do your job thoroughly. After all, they will be sharing workspace with you and your employees.

Dear Sir,

I am working in one of the best education institutions in the training and placements department as a training and placement coordinator. I have two years of experience. I completed my MBA in HR. I would like to know what my future prospects are. Please guide me.

Regards,
Anumeha

Hi friends,

To identify a fake resume, we need to think differently. The resume itself may contain company details. We should extract these details and search for them on Google or another search engine. By doing so, we can reach out to the HR department to verify the information. Alternatively, we can ask the candidate to write down the resume on a blank piece of paper and then cross-check it with the original resume.

HR professionals can certainly discern between a fake resume and an authentic one.

Warmest Regards,
Mohan.M.S

Hi,

The most effective solution must follow the following steps:

a. Get in contact with the candidate using the given personal details. Gain an idea of their credentials during the phone call and determine their genuineness.

b. Conduct a reference check using the references provided by the candidate.

c. For Higher and Top Management Candidates, engage background check agencies.

d. If shortlisted for an interview, a detailed interview can resolve several lingering concerns.

e. Gather information from industry/sector sources about the candidate's current company and then contact the company without disclosing the purpose of your call.

Regards,

Kumar Kant Head of HR

Only background checking from HR Department of the previous company and cross-questioning of the facts provided by the candidate can work. It is simple, isn't it?

I have been using this method for the last approximately 16 years, and I have never failed in my assessment.

Regards,

let's see some of the possible scenarios where people like to fake them on CV

Arrears in College degree and pro-longed duration to complete them.

This can identified by the pass out year in the school, under graduation and post graduation. Each degree has certain specified time period to complete and if you find something different, probably you need to check with them.

Irrelevant work experience which is being combined as relevant

For example Overall 6 years of experience out of which 2 years as a lab assistant and 2 years as a faculty in some training institute and 2 years of programmer experience. Now the lab assistant and faculty experience is also faked as programming experience so that they try to apply for a Lead level programmer when they actually have level 2 programmers.

Distance education degrees but projected as regular ones.

This happens most of the time in the post graduation; you will see an overlapping work experience with the academia experience.

any other views are welcome

Identifying Fake Resumes Through Employment Verification

A perfect way to identify fake resumes is by performing past employment verification. It is a process where the work history of a candidate is validated, allowing an employer to determine whether the past employment details provided by a potential employee are true or not. This verification process can lead to making the right hiring decisions.

When it comes to performing past employment verification, you can count on Verified Resources. It offers an online platform that automates the process and delivers quick and accurate validation results. Verified Resources requests factual information related to a candidate, such as work experience, last withdrawn salary, exit formality status, and whether the notice period was served or not. Former employers of your candidate verify all these details, and access to validated reports helps in making the right hiring decisions.

As an HR professional, I am using Verified Resources to carry out verifications, identify fake resumes, and bring the right candidates on board. Verified Resources has greatly assisted me, and I am confident it will simplify things for you as well.

Here is the link: www.verifiedresources.com

Thanks,

Meesha