Resume 'padding'

May 31 2002 - A survey by the The New York Times Job Market research team indicates that 89% of job seekers and 49% of hiring managers in the New York metropolitan area believe that a significant number of candidates pad their resumes.

The researchers define resume padding as falsifying information on a resume to make a candidate look stronger. The hiring managers who believe that a significant number of resumes are padded consider that (on average) 52% of the resumes they receive are padded. But just 13% of job seekers surveyed admitted to ever having padded their resumes.

82% of responding job seekers say they think companies are aware of resume padding and believe that companies perform background checks on the following:

Some items on the resume All items on the resume None of the items on the resume

70% 17% 13%

The survey identified the following techniques used by hiring managers to verify job candidates' claims made on their resumes:

Checking of references 47% Evaluating candidates during the interview process Checking of past employers/schools listed on resumes Asking questions of candidates to see how specific their answers are Evaluating new employees once they are on the job Requiring samples of candidates' work Requiring candidates to complete tests during the hiring process

47% 30% 17%    6%  4%  2%  2%

What happens if someone is hired and then found to have padded his/her resume? It seems that 68% of larger firms (100 or more employees) and 50% of smaller firms (less than 100 employees) have policies to address the situation. Most often the policy is to terminate the employment (79%). Disciplining the employee (7%) and an undetermined action depending upon what was padded (5%) are distant second and third choice actions.

29% of hiring managers and 21% of job seekers consider that any resume padding is a serious matter. Both groups believe the following to be the items most frequently padded on job seekers' resumes:

Job responsibilities Length of employment Education level College attended/previous employment

Hiring Managers 53% 18% 13% 11%

Job Seekers 51% 14% 10% 14%