Have you ever looked at a job application and wondered if an applicant’s impressive education credentials are too good to be true? Many times, they probably are. But thanks to education verification for employment, you no longer have to guess whether or not an applicant’s PhD, master’s, or bachelor’s degree is legitimate. A background check through VICTIG will not only check past employment, salary, and dates, but it will also verify your applicant’s education and degrees.
Here are some reasons to verify the education background of your candidates and the negative backlash that could occur if you don’t.
Why Education Verification Is Necessary
You may wonder why it’s necessary to verify that someone went to school and got a degree where they said they did, and question whether they would be so brazen as to lie about their education. Unfortunately the answer is yes — people lie about their education all the time. In fact, nearly one-third of applicants lie about their education background and degree (or lack thereof). This doesn’t always only mean they’re lying about having a degree when they don’t have one.
Here are some other commonly exaggerated or fabricated items people include on their resume that require you to verify their education background:
- Their GPA
- The school they attended
- Their graduation status
- The level of education completed
- GED vs. high school diploma
With such a high concentration of applicants falsifying some aspect of their education, VICTIG doesn’t leave anything to chance. We contact the registrar’s office to verify degrees obtained, the date of completion, and the area(s) of study.
What Happens When You Hire Someone With a Fake Degree
If your company ended up hiring an employee with a fake degree, it could spell serious repercussions for your organization. To name a few:
- Your company’s reputation could take a hit: If you hired someone into a high-ranking position who lied about their education, they could make uneducated mistakes that cost your company its reputation. If the media catches wind of their mistakes, it could spell a PR disaster for your organization.
- You could face expensive litigation: Your company could also face litigation if the employee was in a position of trust or safety (such as an accountant or health professional). The embarrassment and potential problems are just not worth the risk. Always verify an applicant’s education.
- You could see a decrease in revenue: When your reputation tanks and your company faces a legal battle, the general public loses trust in you as a business. As a result, you may see a decrease in revenue as consumers take their business elsewhere.
Why You Should Hire a Professional Background-Checking Company
Many companies try to save money by conducting their own background checks, but sometimes, discovering a fake degree is trickier than it seems; a fake degree is no longer just a lie on a resume, but is often backed up by false documents and proof.
Diploma mills have become rampant in the United States. Research discovered that 457 LinkedIn members had fake diplomas listed from just one diploma mill. These shady businesses provide people with fake degrees, references, transcripts, websites, and even phone numbers for the express purpose of verifying degrees to companies who call them. Thankfully, professional background checking companies are effective at spotting such mills.
Use VICTIG for Your Education Verification Process
Don’t leave your company’s reputation up to chance. Make sure that the employees you hire are qualified for their positions by always running a background check through VICTIG. Unlike other background check companies that use a database to check their information, VICTIG goes right to the source, ensuring that your information is accurate and up to date. Contact us today for more information on how to verify someone’s education background.
