Hiring for an open role is a stressful procedure that businesses often face – and an influx of seemingly perfect candidates via their resume often doesn’t help. The purpose of the resume is to promote someone as being the best possible fit for the position, and they’re often tailored to suit the role.

But what happens when the tailoring means that the resume is padded with a few too many untruths, and what might that mean for a business?

When it comes to offences that can be committed in a resume, it isn’t typically referring to a few typos or a mild exaggeration of competence in skills (these are minor at best, as a resume is not a legal document. However, faking documents (such as letters of reference or recommendation or qualifications) would be considered a forgery, which can incur massive penalties.

These penalties can be a maximum of 10 years imprisonment under Commonwealth law for the individual, or financial consequences in the form of reparations to your business for fraud.

Hiring someone with fake qualifications can be damning for your business, as a role that requires qualifications and certification from a board to perform duties may be compromised if the person hired does not actually have those.

Employers should always be mindful of the process they take when they’re looking at terminating someone for providing a dodgy CV, and ensure that any such process is fair and gives regard to the circumstances.

Here are some ways to avoid prospective dodgy resumes and candidates applying for your business’s roles:

• Having a clear description of the role and expectations in the job advertisement, distinguishing between essential and desirable skills and qualifications which will assist prospective candidates with their resumes while applying for the job.
• Businesses can opt for additional information tools like reference checks, aptitude tests, and questionnaires to obtain more information about the candidate.
• Background check tools like Checkr, Intelius, TruthFinder, and Certn are helpful in searching public records to confirm information mentioned in the CV.
• Similarly, reference checking software like Xref, SkillSurvey, Referroo, and Checkster assist in streamlining the verification process.