Job candidates are doing this more than ever

HR departments had better be on their toes. Reason:

Fifty-eight percent of hiring managers say they’ve discovered a lie on a job candidate’s resume, says a new Harris Poll conducted for CareerBuilder.

Even worse: About one-third of those managers say they’ve seen an increase in “padded” resumes during this rough economy.

These are the telltale signs

Harris polled 2,188 hiring managers and HR pros.

The managers say the most common resume lies include:

• “embellished” skill sets (58%)
• embellished responsibilities (55%)
• dates of employment (42%)
• job titles (34%)
• college degrees (33%)
• companies worked for (26%)
• awards (18%)

Certain fields are weeding out liars more than others as well. Employers in these industries detect fraudulent resumes the most:

• Financial services (73%)
• Leisure/hospitality (71%)
• IT (63%)
• Health care (more than 50 employees) (63%)
• Retail (59%)

Does this mean the job candidates in some professions are more dishonest, chasing higher salaries or face stronger competition for jobs?

Or do some professions do a better job of checking the facts?

Maybe its’ a little of both.

As it’s always been, the old rules still apply:

1) Ask candidates for details about accomplishments that seem fishy. Don’t accept what’s on the written page as fact without verifying.

2) Always, always check references. Ask for more than one, especially if a candidate doesn’t offer them.