“A lie doesn’t care who tells it.” That makes me laugh and think. We all have been told cute little memorable lines about lies. And the thing about a lie is that they always come to light sooner or later. Another thing about a lie, we all tell them!

Recently in the news the CEO of Yahoo had to step down because he committed resume fraud. He padded his resume, embellished…Oh hell, who are we kidding? He lied on his resume and cover letter. You can read about it here. He then said that he didn’t knowingly lie, but the recruitment firm he hired to find him a job lied and he never corrected the situation, really? I’ve heard of recruiters asking candidates to dumb down their resumes to secure a position, so it’s possible but don’t play the victim role now buddy.

They say that most of us lie a little or “bend the truth” a smidge on our resumes, and by most of us I mean over 50% one article claims.  All for a job.  What bothers me is the lack of due diligence in performing back ground checks and those poor over looked candidates that lose out on opportunities they have earned because someone fails to perform the background check.

Now when many people read this story they were shocked and disgusted, but not me. It still makes you wonder who missed it? And what effects does the lie have on Yahoo’s employee relations? I’m willing to bet some employees are pretty upset that this man was able to make all that money based on a web of resume lies.

In 2012, I launched a Resume Makeover Crusade to offer resume writing services at reseasonable prices because quite frankly what’s out there is not very good or affordable.  This may surprise many of you reading this (especially my HR brothers and sisters) but there are millions of “JOBSEEKERS” who do not have a basic resumes, let alone Linkedin profiles, QR codes and websites.

Sorry I got off topic for a second, I brought the Resume Crusade up to illustrate that I see lies all the time, and honestly I advised my clients that we (HR) can sniff out most lies right away. (Comes with the job)

So over 50% lie on their resumes but those same people are less likely to lie on their LinkedIn profile! Interesting huh? Maybe because LinkedIn is a social network and your co-workers can look you up and bust you out if you tell a whopper regarding your accomplishments.

Following your best practices may help to identify lies but really I have no advice for you other than to perform the background checks and ask questions. And the higher the position, the more checking you should perform. You don’t want the embarrassment or your workers to think, it’s okay to lie because you can’t catch them. Come on you’re better than that!