What employers need to know about education background checks

a study by Greater Lansing Business Monthly shows that 52% of job candidates identified mere attendance as a college degree, 70% overstated their educational qualifications, and 61% received their degree from a diploma mill. As an employer or hiring manager, this ought to be a big concern. Quite simply, you don’t know if a resume really reflects the knowledge and skills of a candidate. Or worse, whether the hired candidate could really perform on the job at all. Education background checks are a great way to identify the right – and honest – candidates. But before you get started, here are a few things to keep in mind: Know the laws Before performing education background checks, make sure you thoroughly understand the national and state-level laws around it. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) oversees much of the federal laws to ensure that employees are not discriminated based on color, sex, gender, religion and sexual orientation, while the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates how you use the information collected from third-party reporting agencies. There is a thin line sometimes between what’s legal and what’s not with screening, so be aware. Get the originals Verify degrees and attendance by requesting the original transcripts. Ask the candidate to sign a release form directing the college to send the transcript directly to your company, and consider mailing the release form to the college yourself to reduce the chances of a fraud. In the case of licenses, verify with the issuing authority directly. Be consistent Treat all candidates equally by asking the same set of questions. Such consistency will not only protect you from possible employment discrimination lawsuits, but can also help you to better evaluate candidates’ skills. Hire a professional Never rely solely on the Internet for your education background checks as the available information may not be complete or authentic. You may have to take a legal route to obtain transcripts and other originals to run a thorough verification. These, along with the potential legal ramifications of performing such checks incorrectly, often mean it’s best to hire professionals who can handle it all for you. If you’re interested in education background checks, but unsure how to proceed, contact us today.]]>