Lying on a job application is nothing new.  But, with the economy in turmoil and jobs more difficult to secure, the amount of people who take chances and exaggerate on a resume or application has grown exponentially.

It is estimated that 40% of people applying for a job have exaggerated some portion of their resume.  Once you post a job, and a flood of resumes come in, how do you weed through all of the potential candidates to decide which resumes are a true reflection of the candidate?

What are some of the most common lies hiring managers hear when interviewing candidates for an open job position?

The most common lies include:

• Age
• Past salary information
• Drug use or an arrest record
• Termination for cause
• Education / degrees
• Skills and experience

What makes a potential employee decide to risk it all and submit false information? Chances are that at some point, the person will be caught.  Even so, some people will do or say anything to get their dream job.  Others feel that the only way to get to the top is to fudge some facts along the way.

The best known reasons why people hide the truth in today's job market are:

• Fear of ageism.  It can propel a candidate to put incorrect dates down for school years or they might adjust the dates of when they were employed at other jobs.  It's no secret that many employers look for young, fresh talent.  Older individuals are often thought of as being past their prime, not up to date on new technology or just passing time until they can retire.
• Some candidates lie about a past salary in hopes of making a higher income.
• A potential employee might reconfigure employment dates to hide jail time, being fired, or having long periods of unemployment.  Also be aware of the person who shows a period of time where they state they were self-employed.  There might be validity to the self-employment or it could be another way to hide a stretch of time that they don't want to explain.
• Looking to gain a more prominent job, many candidates will falsify having a college degree or might exaggerate the amount of training and experience they have.  Watch out for generalizations regarding projects that they lead or sales quotas they met.

How do you protect yourself from hiring a person who has falsified information?  To verify any inconsistencies on a resume, application or during an interview, employers need to find proactive ways to insure they are getting the right employee.

Here are a few tactics you can use to make sure you are hiring the right candidate for the job:

• Always perform a background check.  A background check will inform you of a criminal record, great lengths of time unemployed and the accuracy of having worked at the jobs listed on a resume or application. Be sure to get a release form first.
• Check dates of employment and make sure to get references you can call for verification.  A good way to find out if their job titles are accurate, how people feel about the candidate and why they left the job.
• Use a behavioral assessment tool. All candidates can have their 15 minutes of fame in the interview, but what will they be like in three months? Find out who is behind the resume!
• Administer a pre-employment job screening test.  This is a great way to check the skills a potential hire mentioned on their resume.
• Perform drug testing on all potential employees.  A drug test is a quick and easy way to make sure the person you would like to hire can pass a drug test.  Passing a drug test should be discussed potential employees.  They should be aware that being hired is contingent on passing a drug screening.
• Have the person come back for a second interview.  Make notes during the first interview and go over those same points during the second interview.  Check the previous answers to look for any inconsistencies between the first and second interview.
• Verify a degree with the college the person attended.  The potential hire might not have graduated, graduated with a different degree than what was stated or might not have gone to the school at all. This can sometimes be handled by the background check.

Being aware of the ways potential employees might mislead you and taking action can save your company from making a time-consuming and costly hiring mistake.