As children, most of us were constantly told that honesty is always the best policy. Even though we know that lying is wrong, as we got older, a “grey area” in the truth-telling game began to emerge.  At some point, someone probably led you to believe that in very specific, special circumstances, telling a “white lie” could be okay, especially if it prevents feelings from getting hurt, without damaging anyone.

There’s one area where even a little “white lie” should NEVER be told, regardless of how hard the job search might be at the time: Your resume. As recruiters, our job is to find  a person that is the best fit for a position, a person who can become a valued member of a growing construction, industrial, facilities, or manufacturing team.  If you’re under-qualified for a job, then it’s more than likely not going to be a good fit anyways. Lying on a resume can lead to serious consequences, including, but not limited to, termination and humiliation.

Since most people know better than to lie on a resume, I was shocked to find out about TheReferenceStore.com in this article from Staffing Talk. According to their website, The Reference Store can help people find a job by “creating” reference or an entire “created” work history, for a fee. The site reads, “We’ve helped our clients get jobs with big corporate giants, such as “Pepsi Cola” & “General Electric”; all the way down to small local family businesses.” Of course I have had no experience with this company and thus I can not attest to their practices, I however am leery about their concept and have to wonder, “are they embellishing a reference list or creating one that is essentially a white cloud”?

Upon reading this, I wondered, how could a recruiter possibly not see past this facade?

One can only hope that a majority of people searching for jobs would be smart enough not to use a service like this. Unfortunately, the fact that this company exists suggests that some hiring managers, and potentially even recruiters, don’t take the time to thoroughly research all references and background details. I’ve always stressed the importance of contacting as many references as possible and ensuring that a candidate’s employment history has been verified for up the five past years.

Recruiters and hiring managers, it is definitely worth the extra effort and time it might take to get a response from each and every reference. When speaking with a reference, make sure that you know exactly what you’re looking for, focus on being thorough and asking the right questions. You have an obligation to try to find the best possible candidate for you client’s job. You owe it to your client to do everything in your power to make sure that they won’t be deceived and will get what they’re expecting.  If at any point you don’t feel 100 percent comfortable with the information or references you’ve been provided with so far, it never hurts to ask a candidate for more. If they’re truly qualified and serious about landing the job, they shouldn’t mind giving it to you!