As we are all aware, a great cliché of 2020 was that we were within some very “unprecedented times”; in some ways, we weren’t—the world has seen quite a few pandemics and epidemics throughout history—but in other ways, we absolutely were, and still continue to be.
While job markets have also been at extreme lows before as well, researchers are finding that the COVID-19 related job market is not quite comparable to the low we saw in 2008.
For one, the employment rate is concentrated in certain fields that continue to survive, as opposed to others; as well, the employment rate is rising back faster than it had recovering from the recession back in 2008.
Although Canada and the U.S. are seeing a slight improvement in unemployment rate, individuals are still desperate for any job opportunity, including those they are not qualified for.
In fact, a study from this past year found that 36% of job applicants admitted to lying on their resume.
Of course, this is unfortunate for the candidates who are desperate for work, but hiring a candidate based on false information can be costly and even dangerous for everyone involved.
As such, when you’re hiring for a job that requires a certain academic qualification, performing a thorough education background check is absolutely crucial.
What does a typical education background look like?
Often, when hiring agencies and employers are checking a job candidate’s academic credentials, they verify the candidate’s claims of their:
· Degree(s) earned
· Institution(s) attended
· Years attended
· Date of graduation or expected date of graduation
· Specialized training
These details can give insight to how long a candidate spent in a program, as well as if their credentials match up to what the job may require in terms of skill set and knowledge.
As well, sometimes certain jobs require updated skills, and if the candidate’s schooling is from quite a while ago, they may require some additional training to upgrade their skills.
Why are education background checks important?
Not only are education background checks important for making sure you hire the right candidate and don’t waste money and time on a mis-hire, they can be devastating for your business, clients, and professional relations.
In fact, now more than ever, doing thorough background checks to confirm a candidate’s credibility is crucial, as technology is making credentials increasingly more difficult to verify.
Not only are individuals getting more clever and convincing with their photo editing skills, there are even websites on the rise that sell completely fabricated academic credentials.
These so-called “diploma mills” sell fake degrees as well as fake transcripts from any college or university.
The consequences of mis-hires
It goes without saying, if a job requires a certain level of education or training, if an employee is found out to have falsified these credentials, this is not only a threat on the company’s reputation, but also a threat to all clients and customers.
Namely, inauthentic hires can lose or misuse data, lose clients, or even accidentally injure someone on the job. As well, if someone was injured in a workplace accident caused by an unqualified employee, the workplace would be at risk of a lawsuit.
The easier way to do academic background checks
Workwolf makes hiring efficient and reliable by verifying candidates’ credentials at the beginning of the hiring cycle and reducing the time to hire from an average of 55 days to 40.
With Workwolf, candidates can pre-verify their credentials to get to the front of the hiring line and stand out amongst other potentially fraudulent applications.
All candidates on the Workwolf network can also take the Packfinder assessment for free to show their future employer they have the right credentials and the right personality for the position at hand.
Packfinder is Workwolf’s exclusive psychometric assessment that measures each candidate’s significant personality traits, including their
· Self-management style
· Motivation type
· Independent vs. team-oriented work preference
Recruiters and employers can also use Packfinder for free to benchmark the top performers within their company and find more of their ideal type of worker. Sounds to me like a win-win situation.
Let Workwolf help you start building your pre-verified candidate pool—try it today to see for yourself.
