The ability to attract the best talent is paramount when hiring. A top line of defense in this process for both candidate and recruiter is the resume. Unfortunately, lying or “embellishing” is all too common.
That’s why it’s integral for every employer to conduct an educational background check.
To put things into perspective, nearly 60% of hiring managers have reported catching fabrications on job applicants’ resumes. This isn’t limited to just entry-level and mid-level positions either. Over the years, more and more headlines have come out over resume scandals by C-suite executives and other professionals.
Although you may want to believe that your candidate is providing the correct educational experience, you can never assume. By verifying your applicant’s educational credentials, you can avoid any misrepresentations or false claims that can create larger issues down the line.
What is an Educational Background Check?
An educational background check is a process of confirming an applicant’s education and degree history through education and degree verification. The verification process ensures that the candidate’s educational claims are accurate. Education and degree verification is an important part of background checks and helps improve your company’s hiring process.
What Information Shows Up in an Education Verification Process?
When employers are looking to confirm an applicant’s education and degree history, the following information usually appears:
- High school diplomas
- Associates and undergraduate degrees
- Graduate degrees
- Dates of attendance
- Institutions attended
- Certifications and licenses
Employers can also check for additional information by request, such as GPA, honors earned, and professional references. This information is commonly requested if it’s relevant to the position for which the employer is hiring.
Why Should You Verify Your Candidate’s Education History?
A majority of positions in today’s labor force require some sort of educational requirement, whether it’s a high school diploma or a higher-level degree. For specialized industries such as healthcare or construction, educational verifications are vital to ensure that your candidates have the knowledge, skills, and training needed to carry out the day-to-day job duties.
Additionally, this will help you as an employer protect yourself from liability. The mistake of hiring an individual with false credentials can result in lawsuits and other costly consequences, including a tarnished brand reputation.
It has also become easier for candidates to provide false credentials and commit academic fraud. Modern technology has made it easier than ever to purchase fake degrees and certifications through businesses commonly known as “Diploma Mills”.
Diploma mills can sell degrees and diplomas for a certain fee, with little or no educational training required. According to the New York Times, 3,300 diploma mills exist. Furthermore, over 50,000 Ph.Ds. are purchased from diploma mills yearly. Academic fraud is a serious issue that employers should not take lightly. Verifying your candidate’s academic credentials will help you avoid the risk of hiring an individual who lied on their resume.
As an employer, you want to feel confident in knowing that you have hired trustworthy candidates who are qualified. Education and degree verification services can provide fast and accurate results, allow you to hire the best applicants, and easily detect academic fraud.
How Long Does an Education and Degree Verification Take?
Depending on how you choose to verify your candidate’s educational history, the time it takes to verify academic credentials can vary. If you or your HR team decides to verify academic credentials by contacting each institution on the applicant’s resume, it may take weeks or even longer. Manually verifying educational credentials can be a lengthy ordeal and tie up your hiring process.
However, if you leverage a credible background screening provider, such as Accurate Background, you can expect results within a few days. Our educational background check service complies with all local, state, and federal laws in place and can give you reliable information in no time.
Choose Accurate for Education and Degree Verifications
Our educational background check service confirms credentials earned directly with schools, including dates of attendance, major, degrees earned and graduation. Our integration with the National Student Clearinghouse for college and university education verifications improves accuracy and cuts down on the time it takes to get confirmation. With Accurate, you can count on us to make every hire the start of a success story.
Contact us to learn how the Accurate team can help you hire the right applicant for your company today.
