Imagine this:
You’re hiring for a position that requires a certain level of knowledge and experience from your candidates. You’ve finally narrowed it down to two applicants, and one of them just sent you his diploma, which looks like it was typed this morning in Microsoft Word—and it turns out he can’t even spell “Bachelor.” 1
It’s probably safe to assume this applicant won’t be the best candidate for the position, but it’s also important to know that you’re not alone. Nearly half of workers in the U.S. know someone who has fudged their previous experience on a resume or application. 2 Worse, your applicant may not even know their diploma is a fake (although we hope this guy wasn’t that clueless). Many diploma mills present themselves as legitimate, claiming to use “legal loopholes” to get degrees from real institutions based on life experience rather than credits or exams.3
So how can you find out if your other applicant has also been truthful about their credentials? A criminal background check may not be enough to uncover a false diploma, and verifying a diploma requires time and effort. To meet this need, the McDowell Agency staffs a department especially for employment and education verifications. Our verifiers work with trusted databases such as the National Student Clearinghouse, which is used by many institutions to keep enrollment and degree records, as well as The Work Number, which does the same for employment records. If your applicant’s information isn’t available from these databases, our verifiers reach out directly to institutions and companies to verify records.
Want to leave the verification to the pros? Contact us for more info →
1 True story.
2 http://rh-us.mediaroom.com/2017-08-17-Resume-Lies-On-The-Rise
3 Such as http://www.college-degree-fast.com/
