December 2019

In a market where finding a job is a tough thing, people are resorting to unfair means like ‘misrepresentation of facts’ in order to appear more attractive to the recruiters. While some of these actions are fairly obvious to the recruiters, not all falsifications will be easy to find out until the background check takes place. Background check is the valuable tool for selecting right candidate and if it is used consistently and effectively, this simple step can eliminate many future hazards for the company.

Fudging education details is a common attempt among candidates in order to bag a lucrative job. There are cases when candidates hide gap in their education or at times they claim to own degrees from a fake university. A candidate’s educational qualification holds importance because it highlights the credibility and ‘fitment’ of a candidate to a particular role. If a candidate forges his educational certificates it reflects the lack of knowledge possessed. In the background screening process, education verification is one of the most important checks as employers judge the potential of employees on the basis of education and learning.

Background check, a concept becoming increasingly acceptable by companies worldwide, is the best practice to combat falsifications pertaining to education. Employers give utmost importance to the legitimacy of the candidate’s credentials earned throughout their studies.

They keep a close eye on every incumbent by running detailed education background checks as they understand the fact that educational background speaks a lot about the candidate’s credentials and motivation. An organization should always opt for employee’s educational background screening prior to and post-hiring as it helps mitigate the risk of a wrong hire to the maximum extent. Companies conduct educational verification by contacting the educational institution of the candidate who issued the degree or certificate.

There are some educational institutions that outsource the task of responding to verification requests to third-party data repositories which makes the process of education verification more efficient. In such cases, companies seeking educational information of their prospective employees can directly contact these repositories. Once the companies authenticate information about the candidate, they can take an informed hiring decision.

Background verification companies are there to help organizations win the struggle and differentiate between fake and authentic educational details.

It will save the organizations from incurring the cost in hiring a candidate presenting fudged education certificates. Thus, an organization can keep the risk arising out of a wrong hire at bay through educational background checks on their prospective employees.

“Four arrested for forging documents for a job at Bombay Engineer Group, an army establishment”, reports a recent Times of India article. A clerk with the BEG, came across the documents submitted by the suspects and realized that the documents had been forged. This is not the first. A news related to the army establishment had been reported earlier too. In the year 2014, 18 candidates were caught with fake documents at Army recruitment. It is appalling to see the youth resorting to wrong means to beat competition and land a job.

How can employers address this flaw?

The increasing number of incidents of candidates producing fake documents signal the need for a thorough scrutiny. As it is seen in the above instance, taking a candidate’s claims on the face value can prove costly to an organization.

Therefore, it is in the best interests of any organization to verify the credentials of potential candidates. With a robust background verification process in place, companies would be able to verify a candidate’s past antecedents as well as ensure full validation of documents produced.

The ever-evolving background verification has grown more sensitive to the varying needs of different organizations. From the very identity of the candidate to his educational qualifications, place of residence, experience with past employers, – a candidate needs to be scanned on various parameters.

Additional checks like credit check, reputation and integrity should also be screened in accordance with the role being offered. With technology advancement, the periphery of background verifiers has grown. These checks can now be carried out on records from across the globe. A gamut of checks can register discrepancies and raise appropriate flags about your potential hires, thereby, helping you make the right hiring decisions.