"The most obvious [red flag] is educational credentials not
matching what the candidate says," advises Fred Clayton, president
of the executive search firm Berkhemer Clayton and author of the
handy brochure,
A Guide to Assessing Executive Character. In
an article on résumé fraud, Judy Olain, dean of Penn State's
business school, referenced a 2001 study showing that nearly a
quarter of job applicants misrepresented their qualifications. In
recent years, a few notable examples include former Notre Dame
football coach George O'Leary, who lost his job because the
master's degree he said he had did not exist; the then-CEO of
software giant Lotus, who exaggerated his education and military
service; the past CFO of
Veritas, who left over a phony Stanford
MBA; and the CEO of Bausch & Lomb, who forfeited a bonus of
more than $1 million because he claimed a fictional MBA.
Clayton also suggests checking for timeline gaps. "Résumés are
presented as an accurate, chronological record of a career," he
says. "If they leave an employer off, it [might be that] they
worked there and that they were asked to leave."
The subtlest form of résumé fraud is simple embellishment, which is
harder to spot. "An executive says he or she had direct
responsibility for certain functional areas and that he or she
achieved certain things, but when you talk to someone inside the
company you find out that they didn't really."
Taking the time for due background diligence is the best way to
avoid problems later, says Michael Hofman, an editor at
Inc.
Magazine. "I think we all believe that most people probably
embellish," says Hofman. "In terms of flat-out lying, I have to
imagine that out of 10 or 15 candidates, some do, which is why
having someone actually call everyone and make sure that the person
worked there is a simple step every potential employer can take to
protect themselves."