In the first three parts of this series, findings from craresources’ study of Fake CRAs and Applicant Fraudulence were shared. When identifying fraudulent candidates, the goal should be to identify fabrications early in the recruitment cycle; long before the interview happens or before you get to the stage of conducting employment verification.

Often the resume will reveal trends which point to something fishy.  For example, while every hiring manager should be on the lookout for gaps in employment because you want an explanation for those gaps, the lack of employment gaps may also be a flag and definitely should be an area that is further explored.  In this industry, projects can be shut down abruptly, therefore you should expect to see gaps between projects for consultant CRAs.

Additionally, if the resume contains a lot of self-employment or consulting with no clients listed, please ask questions.  Anyone can have an active LLC or corporation, but that doesn’t mean they have active clients or have been actively working on projects.  With that being said, we have worked with some reputable high quality CRAs who don’t list their clients on their resume but will openly discuss those clients with us as well as provide references from those recently completed project(s).  If you are qualifying a CRA who is unable or unwilling to discuss their clients or provide references from recently completed projects, I would highly recommend you steer clear.

Always be sure to look for the candidate’s digital footprint on social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, ZoomInfo, and Radaris.  You should use caution if there is no digital footprint for a candidate; alternatively, if the individual does have a digital footprint, be sure that what you find aligns with the candidate’s resume.

And finally, maintain history on every applicant. We keep every version of every resume received, as well as a snapshot of every different social media profile, comparing the older versions with newer ones.  Not having this type of history will make catching fraudulence a challenge as you will be surprised at how often candidates will falsify their resumes by removing or adding employment history to make themselves look more competitive.

By following these tips, you will significantly improve your ability to identify candidate fraudulence early in the recruitment process.

Investing in a Lifetime of Success,

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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