If you’re looking for IT contract jobs or any other kind of opportunity, your resume usually needs to impress. With a strong resume, your odds of landing an interview go up dramatically.
Some candidates may decide to fudge some of the details on their resume to increase their chances of catching the hiring manager’s eye. Most believe that the odds of them getting caught are minuscule. Additionally, they assume that those discrepancies won’t matter if they excel during the meeting with the hiring manager even if they are discovered.
In reality, falsifying any part of your employment history comes with consequences. Further, since most companies run employment verification, your chances of being caught are actually incredibly high.
If you’re tempted to stretch the truth on your resume, here’s what you need to know.
What Employment Verifications Are
Employment verification is part of the hiring process. It is a form of screening designed to ensure that the work history you provided on your resume or in your application is accurate.
With a typical employment verification, a prospective employer will contact each company you listed on your resume to confirm certain details. At a minimum, this includes your job title and dates of employment. However, some do go further.
For example, they may check to ensure any information about licenses, certifications, or other credentials you claimed to earn is correct. They may also dig into whether you played an integral role in projects you list or managed tasks you discussed.
An employment verification does differ from a reference check. With reference checks, the goal isn’t just to verify that you were employed at a specific company, though that can certainly be part of it. With references, the prospective employer asks questions to learn more about what you’re like on the job, allowing them to gauge if you have the skills and traits they want to find.
Additionally, while a prospective employer may only contact three references, they typically conduct employment verifications on every company listed on your resume.
Since many professionals don’t want their current employer contacted until they have an offer, an employment verification may occur later in the hiring process. For instance, the prospective employer may give you a job offer with the contingency that your employment verification shows your resume is accurate.
The Consequences of Falsifying Information on Your Resume
In most cases, if there is a discrepancy between what’s on your resume and what the prospective employer learns during the employment verification, you’ll face some serious consequences. While some companies may give you a chance to explain yourself, others won’t. Instead, they will remove you as a candidate or withdraw the job offer.
Falsifying information on your resume is an issue of honesty and integrity. When you’re caught, it gives the employer doubts about your character. As a result, they may decide right then and there that you aren’t the right person for the job.
Ultimately, when you’re applying for a position, honesty is always the best policy. Ensure your resume is 100 percent accurate and that there are no embellishments or falsehoods anywhere in your application. That way, when it comes time for employment verification, you know you’ll pass with flying colors.
Get Into Your Next Contract Position
If you’d like to learn more about managing a successful job search, currently open IT contract jobs, and what you can do to land your dream position, the team at Alpha Consulting has additional resources on our blog. When you are looking for your next pharma or IT role, connect with our recruiters or browse our online job portal.
