13.5% resumes with fake salaries – Verify before you hire

Embellished information on resumes has become commonplace today. A competitive job market, high rate of unemployment, or the yearning to secure a dream job; whatever the reason, candidates are tempted to falsify information on their resumes. Research shows that 17% of all resumes have fake and misleading information, with as high as 13.5% resumes showing fake salaries! When hiring professionals, organisations rely on a resume to decide upon the candidate’s capability for the job. While common lies on resumes may not always result from malicious intent, they definitely have a huge impact on a company’s credibility, recruiting ability, and investment made for hiring and paying an employee. Background screening in India can help eliminate the risk of a bad hire.
How can Salary Lies on Resumes Impact your Organisation?
Of all the information that is embellished on a resume, the salary is one of the most highly misrepresented. In their drive to secure a good package, job seekers inflate their previous salary. As mentioned above, research shows that 13.5% resumes demonstrate a fake salary. Now, salary is not restricted to only the basic monthly pay. It also includes the house rent, travel, and medical allowances. Many organisations also provide additional benefits like insurance, gratuity and pension. Considering these factors, salary is a huge investment a company makes in return for talent. An inflated salary can force an employer to pay a higher package to the candidate, resulting in an increased cost of employment. Let’s say, you hired an employee who claimed his monthly salary was Rs. 40,000, when in reality it was Rs. 32,000. You hired this employee by giving a 20% salary hike (Rs. 48,000). By paying him on the basis of the inflated salary figure in the resume, you incur a total monthly loss of Rs. 9,600. Over the year, this number adds up to over Rs. 1 lakh! And we haven’t even counted the loss incurred due to inflated benefits given! Furthermore, if the employee turns out to be a bad hire, the already high investment is ruined and the company has to incur an additional recruitment cost.
How can Background Screening  Protect you from Fake Resumes?
Falsified information on resumes is not limited to previous employment data but extends to educational and residential details as well. This is clearly demonstrated in analytics on education, employment and residential lies on resumes. Our in-house research shows that in the last six months itself, around 2% job seekers have faked their educational qualifications and certificates, about 3% provided a fake residential address, and 14% lied about their past employment, of which salaries and tenure were falsified the highest. Considering the population of our country, these are huge figures.
Recruiters rely on resumes when hiring professionals. Background screening in India acts as a precautionary measure to save you from resume lies. While you may be conducting reference checks, it may not always suffice. Comprehensive employee background checks scan all employee details including educational, criminal, behavioral, and employment information that may pose a risk to your company. Hence, it is best to outsource background screening in India to a professional. A strong background screening process filters these common lies on resumes and allows you to attract great talent.