Background checking candidates is a must when hiring, even though some recruiters skip this part. With the economic downturn candidates are desperate for a job and may bend the truth to find a job. Qualified candidates that are already in job positions are afraid to leave for fear of job security, and so the task of finding skilled and qualified candidates to fill your job position has become a lot harder.

This is why should know who you are hiring and always complete a background check into all candidates that you are interested in hiring. Background checking is not unethical but it is a smart step to take when hiring. You only know about the candidate from what they tell you, on their online presence and their CV. I’m not saying that all candidates lie, but in a tough market to find a job some may be tempted to exaggerate their skills.

Recent research has shown that one in five job seekers lie on their CV. Tony Wilmot, founder of Staffbay, who conducted the survey for this research, said: "Obviously, these figures are shocking, but with as many as 80 people chasing the same job it’s hardly surprising that some jobseekers are prepared to bend the rules a little to enter the world of work."

Conducting the Background Check

• Make sure your inquiries are related to the job. Only research information that you need to know and you know it is legal to research and look into.

• Consent from the candidate means that you are on the safest legal ground. This gives candidates that have lied a chance to retract their application before you find out they have lied and before you have wasted time, effort and money into the background check.

• Social media is a great way to check out your candidates, it allows you to see what type of personality they have and what kind of person they are.

• You can look into university degrees, job references, job experience history, qualifications, certificates, and any other claims they have said to have that are job related. And we would recommend you do check all of these areas.

• Make sure to look at dates to scrutinize does the timeline add up as they have said it does.

• Cross check what they have on their CV to what they have on their LinkedIn (if they have one) and cross check it with their previous employer’s information.

• Also ensure you check candidates that you have received from a third party even if they said they already conducted a back ground. They will not care about the candidates fit as much as you.

• Develop a no tolerance frame of mind if you find that a candidate has lied on their CV or cover letter, reject their application immediately. Who knows what else they have and will lie about?

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