Diploma Mills - The New Resume Lie?

Screening potential employees and conducting background checks is already a challenging task for many employers. Diploma mills are making that challenge even more daunting. These “mills” sell diplomas and degrees to any person who is willing to part with enough money. A bachelor’s degree in computer science may cost as little as a few hundred dollars. A PhD in criminal justice may cost $2,000. These “mill” degrees are worthless.

If you’re an employer, this should worry you. Below, I’ll explain 2 ways in which diploma mills impact employers. Then, I’ll describe how to avoid being duped.

2 Costly Impacts For Employers

Job candidates blatantly lie on resumes. And they do it more often you might think (some estimates put the number at over 40%). Add fake degrees into the hiring equation and the problem grows even larger. This has 2 major impacts on employers:

1 - Misrepresented Education

Hiring any employee can be a costly process. But, hiring a candidate who has a fake degree can be even more expensive. After all, not only has your hiring staff wasted valuable time, but candidates who are actually qualified may no longer be available.

2 - Fraudulent Reimbursement

If a current employee gets a fake degree, he may be tempted to seek reimbursement from your company. Again, the degree itself is worthless. Reimbursing an employee for the degree is akin to throwing money down the drain.

Background Checks And Employee Screening

The first step to dealing with this problem is to broadly and openly communicate your screening policy to job candidates. Mention that your hiring staff follows a strict screening process that includes verifying education. Often, this alone is enough to discourage would-be frauds from applying. Then, of course, you need to follow through with your policy.

The second step is to conduct ongoing background checks and screening on your current staff. Not only should you do so regularly; you should do so whenever there’s a need. For example, if an employee earns a degree while in your company’s employ, and seeks reimbursement, verify the authenticity of the university.

If you lack the staff or resources to do these things, partner with an experienced employee screening service that can help insulate your company from costly mistakes.

Further Reading

• Diploma Mills 101
• Degree Mills: An Old Problem And A New Threat
• Important Questions About Accreditation, Degree Mills And Accreditation Mills

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Has Your Joe The Plumber Been Checked Out?

It’s about time…

CBS 7 reports the State of Texas is now requiring background checks for people who come into your home to make repairs.

A law passed by the state legislature in the last session is aimed at making repair work safer for homeowners.

Tag: Sex Offender

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Resume Fraud May Increase As The Economy Worsens

In a story in today’s Wall Street Journal experts warn that the prevalence of resume fraud may increase as the economy worsens. As more people search for jobs — and become increasingly desperate to land them — hiring managers should be on guard.

Key Points From The Article:

• Executive candidates most frequently lie about reasons for leaving a previous post, results and accomplishments, and past job responsibilities, a 2004 survey of consultants at executive recruiter Korn/Ferry International found.
• Academic credentials were the fifth-most frequently exaggerated type of information seen by executive recruiters.
• Executives who have been caught with inflated credentials often turn out to have embellished their records early in their careers. For example, people may claim degrees from universities they attended, but from which they never graduated.
• A job seeker may say he served as chief executive of a company where he worked for four years; that doesn’t necessarily mean he was CEO for all four years.
• One mistake companies make is not ascertaining how much vetting their executive recruiters do. Most search firms attempt to verify some executive credentials, but some “take a very hands-off approach,” says Jenifer DeLoach, who oversees background checks for corporate clients at Kroll. “They find the candidate, and a background search … is the responsibility of the client.”

To learn more about resume fraud and employee screening, read my recent post 4 Common Lies Told By Job Candidates and an article Employer’s 5-Step Guide to Employee Screening.

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Is Background Screening Worth It?

Yesterday I wrote 4 Ways That Employee Screening Boosts Employers’ ROI.  Today I want to share an article I found on the HR Management website.  It’s called “The ROI of Background Screening: Making Financial Sense of “Best Practices.”

Here’s a snippet:

“At the heart of every good Human Resources or Risk Management hiring strategy is employment background screening. Employment background screening is widely recognized as a necessary process that is designed to keep out undesirable candidates, but it also represents a significant expense. The question then is this: How much actual dollar value does a background screening program deliver?”

The Answer

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4 Ways That Employee Screening Boosts Employers’ ROI

In this tough economy hiring good employees who are both efficient and well-qualified can play a significant role in boosting an employer’s ROI. On the other hand, a bad hire can have a major impact on a company’s bottom line. It’s not uncommon for one poor hiring decision to result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. Today, you’ll discover 4 ways in which employee screening and background checks can translate into a higher ROI.

#1 - Avoids Negligent Hiring Lawsuits

If one or more of your staff is injured at the hands of another employee, there may be grounds for a negligent hiring lawsuit. If an employer failed to properly screen the offending employee, that employer can be sued. Keep in mind that the average settlement for this type of lawsuit is over $1 million.

#2 - Minimizes Employee Turnover

Hiring and training a new employee is expensive. If an employer discovers that the employee has a substance abuse problem, criminal record, or history of violence, there may be a need to replace that person. By conducting pre-employment background checks, employers can avoid bad hires, reducing employee turnover costs in the process.

#3 - Increases Staff Productivity

Along with reducing staff turnover, hiring competent employees increases your staff’s overall productivity. There’s less likelihood of a disruption in the workplace caused by a bad hire. Plus, by limiting turnover, an employer can allocate fewer resources to redundant training.

#4 - Reduces Employee Theft

A bad hire is more likely to commit theft in the workplace. Even small, seemingly benign incidents (for example, stealing a box of pens) can signal the beginning of a habit. Eventually, the employee may begin pilfering valuable assets. Employers can limit employee theft by thoroughly screening applicants before hiring them.

Protecting The Bottom Line

A company’s bottom line involves more than merely revenues and the costs of doing business. Hiring a bad employee can have a devastating effect on an employer’s profitability. Negligent hiring lawsuits, employee turnover, low staff productivity, and employee theft can each have a significant impact. By performing comprehensive background checks and conducting pre-employment screening, employers can protect their staff while boosting their ROI.

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4 Common Lies Told By Job Candidates

Recent estimates suggest that over 50% of job applicants lie on their resumes. And when asked, nearly 70% of college graduates claim they would consider lying in order to get a job. For employers, this should be a major concern. At best, hiring an employee who lied on her resume wastes valuable time and resources. At worst, it can lead to workplace violence, theft, and negligent hiring lawsuits.

As applicants become increasingly comfortable with lying to potential employers, screening and background checks have never been more important. Today, I’ll expose 4 of the most common lies told by job candidates.

Lie #1: “Yes, I Earned That Degree”

Applicants lie about the degrees they’ve earned all the time. In some cases, they may have attended the school, but never finished their coursework. In other cases, they may have never attended the school in the first place. It’s a common lie because employers often fail to verify the information.

Lie #2: “I Don’t Have A Criminal Record”

Sometimes, applicants will lie outright about their criminal past. Other times, they’ll change small details such as how their name is spelled, the date they were born, or the cities in which they’ve lived. This can be a major hiring issue and employers need to carefully validate what they’re being told.

Lie #3: “I’ve Been Steadily Employed”

A lot of applicants realize that a gap in their employment history raises eyebrows. From an employer’s perspective, the gap may imply that the applicant spent in prison. So, candidates will lie about it, disguising gaps by changing dates or even creating jobs from thin air.

Lie #4: “My Salary At My Previous Job Was…”

Potential hires often inflate their salaries to give them more leverage over future salary negotiations. Offering a compensation package based upon misleading salary information can cost an employer tens of thousands of dollars.

Finding The Truth

Hiring an employee who has lied on their resume or application has become a significant problem for employers. But, the lies can be easily exposed by your hiring staff or an employee screening service. By doing extensive background checks on applicants, you can discover the truth. And that can make your business less vulnerable to a bad hire.

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Tags: Workplace Violence,  Negligent Hiring Lawsuits, Gaps in Employment, Employment Background Checks

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