I had an interesting conversation with a client the other day. He said lying on a resume is outdated since we have social media. Basically, he implied this practice is over and done with. While I wish I could agree, there are still those who try to stretch the truth when applying for a job. So, how do you tell when a potential candidate isn’t being 100% honest?

First, ask for transcripts. One of the worst and most common lies on resumes are college GPAs. Not many people are lying these days about where they graduated. However, they are stretching the truth about how they graduated. Some people, who barely squeaked by, are putting 3.8 GPAs on resumes. Avoid hiring the bottom of the class by requesting a transcript.

You also want to verify past job titles. People assume you will verify the company, time of employment and behavior when checking references. Not many employers actually match titles on the resume vs. the company reference. Do this! If someone has bloated their title on a resume, don’t hire the person. Sure, it seems like a harmless lie but it is an indicator of a character flaw. There is a big difference between Assistant Manager and Shift Supervisor- and so on.

Finally, fluency in a foreign language is a common resume lie. Spanish is easy to catch. You can have another employee (or maybe even yourself) run a simple conversation test to double check fluency. But what about Slovak languages? Not too many people speak Hungarian or Ukrainian daily. So, how do you verify if the candidate is telling the truth? My advice is to prearrange for someone who does speak the language to sit in on the interview. College students are a great resource and an affordable hire.

Social media hasn’t completely eliminated a person’s ability to stretch the truth on a resume. Using our company is a great way to vet a potential candidate. Call us, we will be happy to arrange qualified potential employees (already screened) for an interview with your business.

Britanie Olvera, CEO of Building Team Solutions