10 Red Flags for Checking References and Deception when Hiring an Employee

So you want to hire a new employee? Make sure to check the references that he or she provided you with on the application. Some people use fake references such as friends and relatives that may own a business. In some cases a person will often use their own company as a reference, but put the contact person as someone else. You may be wondering why someone would do something like that. There may be a variety of reasons such as poor work history or not very much work history and anything else.

Here are the top ten red flags for checking references and deception when hiring an employee:

1. Does the reference seem too good? If so, then it is probably fake. Here a test if the person answers questions about the person that he or she isn’t allowed to answer due to legal reasons then be concerned. It shows that they aren’t very well educated like a normal employer would be so therefore it may be just a friend that is covering for them.

2. Did the new hire previous job reference is really just a old friend or perhaps that they themselves owns the company? Check out who owns the business. When you are checking references then make sure to find out from the city records who it is that owns the company that your new hire previously worked at.

3. Does the persons age match the job title? This is where it looks a little fishy. Does the person claim to be an assistant manager at a place, but yet the experience to become an assistant manager doesn’t add up due to the persons age? Think about it. Be concerned if the person is extremely young and claims to be an assistant manager. The person may be related to the boss somehow or something odd is going on.

4. Does the job history doesn’t add up? If there is large gaps in employment then be concerned. They may be trying to cover something up. When you check the references then make sure to compare the previous hiring dates and leaving dates to the dates that are listed on the resume. You will then be able to tell if the person was running the dates together so it looks that they always had a job right away after another one, even though they didn’t really.

5. Does the person claim to have no job history whatsoever? This is a major red flag. If the person is in their 30’s or 20’s, but never had a job before according to the application then be concerned. The person is most likely lying due to having poor work history. Perhaps they got fired from their last job, but don’t want to tell you about it due to the chance that they might not getting hired for a new job.

One thing to remember though that some people have worked for family companies over the years, but just don’t list it on a job application or resume since we know that most employers don’t consider it a real job.

6. Does the new hire seem more educated than what they are telling you? This is one of the big red flags. Most people usually don’t know certain information regarding on the job training and other information about things unless they have worked in the field themselves or know someone personally that has. If the person has worked in their family companies over the years with professionals then it is understandable if they know more than what someone else normally wouldn’t without the experience.

7. Does the clothes and car not add up? Yes, it may seem weird at first, but think about it. If the person walks into the interview in a business suit and has a nice car, but yet claims to have no job history or has little job history. If they have a car in their own name and if they have a loan then they of shown that they had a source of income somehow to get approved for the loan. This is one thing that some new hires don’t think about if they lie on their job application.

8. The new hire credit report. Does the credit report information not add up with the resume or job application information? This is another one to be concerned about. Sure, credit reports may be inaccurate from time to time, but the truth is in there somewhere. You can also discover lies in the applications from the other background check information too.

9. Did the new hire lie about their criminal background? If they have a criminal record, but yet lied about it then be concerned. If they lied about one thing then they are probably lying about a few other things too. Dig deeper to uncover other lies if you suspect that he or she is lying about other things.

10. Did the new hire lie about his or her education? Does he or she really have a GED or finished high school? You can find out this information with a few phone calls to the state and schools. You also want to verify college degrees too. Some people think that employers won’t actually verify education degrees.