Tell the Whole Truth

Maria St. Louis-Sanchez
March 25, 2007

Almost everyone had been tempted to give their job application an extra boost. But there are always a few people who go beyond the over-the-top adjectives extolling their virtues on their cover letter.

It often starts innocently enough. They sweep under the rug that drunken driving ticket they got one stupid night in college 15 years ago. They leave off the job they were "unfairly" fired from five years ago, and the time spent there is hidden by extending the time periods of the jobs before and after. Maybe they'll bump up the year they graduated by a decade so they don't look so old.

Before long, the resume padding starts piling up. Suddenly, those two years in college have transformed into a master's degree with honors.

Tempting.

Just don't do it, says Barry J. Nadell, a co-chairman of the national association of background screening companies.

"If they are found lying on their application, that will stop them at the gate," said Nadell.

Just as credit checks are necessary for about any loan, background checks are slowly becoming the norm for employers. Many businesses are realizing just how many fibbers are out there.

Nadell said that more than 9 percent of people who authorize a business to do a background check had lied about a criminal conviction.

"It's really amazing," he said. "The more it happens (catching potential employees in a lie) employers who decide to do background checks are validated."

As technology improves, the price for business also goes down. His company charges between $10 for a basic background check to $100 for an intensive, high-security check. When compared to every other cost in hiring a new employee -- advertising, interviewing and training -- the money spent on a background check is low in comparison, he said.

At the hands of these researchers are some things that people might want to keep hidden: Credit history, educational discrepancies, past employment records and driving records.

If they find that your "padding" amounts to a bold-faced lie, chances are that you have lost the job even if your sin wasn't so bad.

"It leads to questions about how the potential employer can trust you," Nadell said. "Will you lie in some other fashion and embarrass the company?"

In one case, his company was conducting a background check on a potential employee and found that she had been convicted of prostitution 20 years before.

"They liked her and if she would have been truthful, they would have probably hired her," he said. "But when you lie employers are scared to death."

Potential employees probably shouldn't hold out hope that they can keep on faking it.

Kathy Egan, owner of Express Personnel Services in Greeley since 1976, said that background checks are becoming more common.

"If anybody in 1976 had told me that I would routinely say 'we need a urine test' and 'we will need to verify with homeland security' I would have laughed myself silly," she said.

Now, a quick urine sample will verify if someone has been taking drugs, as compared to a long drawn-out lab tests of the past. Employers and background screening companies have databases at their fingertips to make sure you really are who you say you are.

"The easier it gets, the more encouraged we are to check," she said. "It's a defensive protection."

For many, it's just good business sense. A day care or school doesn't want to get caught with a sex offender on staff. Someone with a history of theft probably shouldn't be working a cash register.

If an employee does something really bad, one of the best defenses a company can have in court is that it conducted a background check on that employee, Egan said.

They may also help out the employee, she said.

"If you have been convicted of embezzlement and I place you at a bank and you are as honest as they is long and you don't take an extra nickel, if someone else embezzles you are the first one they will investigate," she said.

Still, that doesn't mean there is no hope for employees who have black marks on their records. The best thing they can do, Egan said, is fess up and admit their mistakes. People who impress her are those who fully admit what they did but also sell their other virtues such as their good work ethic and determination to get their lives back on track.

"Anybody who comes in and spends 15 minutes telling me it wasn't their fault isn't getting far," Egan said.

Background checks and the law

* Get signed permission before doing a background check -- if you check without that permission you are breaking the law.

* Make sure it is done right. If you are unsure, hire a professional -- you could be setting yourself up for a lawsuit if you mix up the potential employee with someone else.

Source: Barry J. Nadell, author of "Sleuthing 101, Background Checks and The Law."

What if you have a black mark on your application?

* Do not lie. A surefire way to lose the job is to have your lie discovered on a background check.

* Make sure you know what the background check will reveal. Get your credit report and make sure that all past run-ins with the law have been cleared up. Call your past employers and see what they have to say about you. Don't get caught by surprise.

* Admit the mistake, but don't overplay it either. Sell your strong points and experiences.

* If all else fails, try to find a temporary job for a company that doesn't check backgrounds. Use that experience to start building your resume and proving your work habits.

Source: Barry J. Nadell and Kathy Egan