Facts & Statistics

There are numerous case studies proving the effectiveness of background screening. See below for some of the eye-opening facts that show just how important it is for a company to learn all they can about a potential hire.

Most Common Resume Lies

There are certain fabrications job seekers may try to slip past employers more frequently than others. According to employers, the most common lies they catch on resumes relate to:

  • Embellished skill set – 57 percent
  • Embellished responsibilities – 55 percent
  • Dates of employment – 42 percent
  • Job title – 34 percent
  • Academic degree – 33 percent
  • Companies worked for – 26 percent
  • Accolades/awards – 18 percent

Most Memorable Resume Lies

When asked about the most unusual lie they’ve ever caught on a resume, employers recalled:

  • Applicant included job experience that was actually his father’s. Both father and son had the same name (one was Sr., one was Jr.).
  • Applicant claimed to be the assistant to the prime minister of a foreign country that doesn’t have a prime minister.
  • Applicant claimed to have been a high school basketball free throw champion. He admitted it was a lie in the interview.
  • Applicant claimed to have been an Olympic medalist.
  • Applicant claimed to have been a construction supervisor. The interviewer learned the bulk of his experience was in the completion of a doghouse some years prior.
  • Applicant claimed to have 25 years of experience at age 32.
  • Applicant claimed to have worked for 20 years as the babysitter of known celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Madonna, etc.
  • Applicant listed three jobs over the past several years. Upon contacting the employers, the interviewer learned that the applicant had worked at one for two days, another for one day, and not at all for the third.
  • Applicant applied to a position with a company who had just terminated him. He listed the company under previous employment and indicated on his resume that he had quit.
  • Applicant applied twice for the same position and provided different work history on each application.

Industry Resume Lies

While employers have caught lies on resumes submitted for jobs of all types, levels and industries, some report a higher rate of fabricating than others. The survey found that employers in the following industries catch resume lies more frequently than average:

  • Financial Services – 73 percent
  • Leisure and Hospitality – 71 percent
  • Information Technology – 63 percent
  • Health Care (More than 50 employees) – 63 percent
  • Retail – 59 percent


Losses in the Retail Industry


The National Retail Security Survey estimates that the U.S. retail industry lost about $14.4 billion in 2009 due to employee theft alone. This data shows why an employer needs to utilize background screening to reduce this number of losses.

http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/meetings/10-20-10/walter.cfm

Workplace Homicide

2003 to 2012 over half of the workplace homicides occured within three occupation classifications: sales and related occupations (28%), protective service occupation (17%), and transportation and material moving occupations (13%).


http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/violence/


Effects of Bad Hires

According to a the survey of more than 6,000 hiring managers and human resource professionals worldwide, more than half of employers in each of the 10 largest world economies have felt the affects of a bad hire.

27 percent of employers in the U.S. who reported a bad hire said that a single bad hire cost more than $50,000. In Germany, 29 percent of employers report losses of 50,000 euros ($65,231) or more. In the U.K., 27 percent of companies say bad hire costs more than 50,000 British pounds.  Three in ten Indian employers (29 percent) reported the average bad hire cost more than 2 million Indian rupees ($37,150), and nearly half of surveyed employers in China (48 percent) reported costs exceeding 300,000 CNY ($48,734).

http://thehiringsite.careerbuilder.com/2013/05/08/whats-the-cost-of-a-bad-hire-a-global-perspective/