The main challenge with resumes when hiring new employees is verifying that the information on the resume is accurate. It’s commonly known in the employment industry that up to 40% of all applicants are ‘cheating’ on their resume in some way. Whether it’s being false about where they’ve worked, their education, or their accolades, there is just no easy way to fact check every aspect of a resume.
Hiring new employees, and training them, is a costly process. No employer wants to invest in an applicant that’s not suited for the job. What’s an employer to do to ensure they can fill the roles in their company with qualified team members?
References
The request for references is expected from most people seeking a new position, but not all employers exercise their right to request them. When speaking to references, you know that these individuals have been hand-picked by the candidate to give them a glowing review.
To be safe, never ask a candidate or a reference about personal information that’s not relevant to the position (age, nationality, race, religion or sexuality), health-related questions, credit history (outside of running a report following the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s requirements), or family ties. Stick to questions pertinent to the role and the position.
Understanding this before going in allows you to create a situation where you can get specific information. Ask open-ended questions, relevant to the position. The more detailed you can be with your questions, the more information you’ll be able to gather on the prospective applicant.
If you are unsure which questions are best to ask, here is an article with 10 good choices.
Previous Employment
While hiring managers can’t give you a ton of information, what they can legally do is verify that an individual worked at the company on their resume – including verifying dates and positions. This will keep you from getting bamboozled by applicants who are making up companies, positions, or ‘faking’ that they worked at a particular company or prestigious institution.
Background Checks
According to the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), the average cost per hire is $4,129. In the United States, over half of all new hires end up not working out. The math on that is pretty eye-opening, yes?
Running a background check on a potential candidate tells you even more information. This process can confirm an applicant’s identity, confirm they don’t have any felonies and/or misdemeanors, and give you a picture of an individual’s public history. This not only gives you insight on the applicant but ensures that you are building a safe workplace for your team.
Check their Skill Level
Take advantage of skill-based aptitude tests to qualify each applicant. You can’t cheat when it comes to demonstrating your knowledge and skillset. For extra protection, during the interview process, ask skill-based questions to get a feel for how confident the applicant is in that area of expertise as well as gain insight on possible job behaviors you can expect from the candidate.
This may seem like a lot of fact-checking and work to fill those empty positions that are keeping you from reaching maximum efficiency and output for your company. However, as any established company knows, not doing this work can cost you in time, money, and, sometimes, legal fees. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, hiring the wrong person could cost you up to 30% of that individual’s earnings for the first year. If you want to increase your odds of getting it right the first time, these steps will help you hire the right people for the job.
AccuCheck Screening can help. Our computerized search packages are customized by industry and further refined to meet your exact specifications. Our background search process is fast, accurate, discreet, and cost-effective, and our reports are of the highest quality. We have access to billions of records through hundreds of thousands of databases in all 50 states and 200 countries. Searches can even be performed by you or your representative on our state-of-the-art web search interface, saving time when you need the facts fast. Find out more about our background check screening here.
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