What is a Ghost Company?

A "ghost company" is a made up company or employer by a job applicant. It is added to a resume or job application so the applicant appears more experienced or to cover gaps in employment history. According to accuscreen.com applicants are making up:

18% of past employers

16% of academic degrees and institutions

15% of technical skills and certifications

8% of accomplishments

There are times when the economy forces people to become competitive and to resort to these resume tricks. Hiring staff members need to be aware of this and be on alert to suspicious resumes.

Another concern for employers who come across "ghost companies" is the reason for the gap in employment. Some applicants will use "ghost companies" to cover up gaps of employment due to incarceration, therefore, if a "ghost company" is discovered, it is a good idea to conduct a criminal background screening as well.

How a Pre-Employment Screening Company can Identify a Ghost Company?

An employment background-screening firm such as Accu-Screen, Inc. has the experience and resources to help identify signs of a ghost company such as:

Untraceable companies

Lack of verifiable business licenses

Untraceable companies are those that can't be found through public records. In most states new businesses must file a for a fictitious business name. This is sometimes referred to as "DBA". DBA is an acronym for "doing business as".

A possible sign of a falsification on the resume is the lack of a verifiable business license. In addition to a business name, all businesses require some form of a business license. This includes freelance and contractors, regardless of whether they work from home or on site.

A pre-employment screening firm can provide conclusive information of a business name and license, its owners, dates of existence and type of business through various resources.

What are the Issues with a Ghost Company?

Many people do not think it is a big deal to add little white lies" to their resume. On average, 43% of applicants lie on their resume in some form or another. A competent employee should not have to present a fictitious resume. Some of the issues with adding "ghost companies" to a resume are:

Dishonesty

Lack of ethics

Lack of experience

Dishonesty

It's not a good idea to start a business relationship with a person who behaves dishonestly. An employee is in some ways your business partner. An employee can either help your business prosper or cause injury to a company.

Lack of Ethics

When a job candidate makes up previous employment and experience on their resume it can be an indicator of poor work ethics and much more.

Lack of Experience

When a potential employee pretends to be more experienced, he is doing the company and himself or herself a disfavor. The lack of experience will eventually be apparent to management and other employees. In the end the employee will be fired and the company will have to incur the expense of a turnover and recruiting of another employee.

Here Are A Few Cases:

Case #1: The applicant says they owned a carpentry and construction business for several years. In actuality they only spent a few weeks putting a roof on their mother's home. This applicant was then was arrested for theft and spent two years in prison. The applicant believed that this self employment would mask the time spent unemployed and in prison.

Case #2: The applicant gives all the contact information for a company they were employed by, however, the company has gone out of business and the applicant believes that any falsified or exaggerated information is unverifiable.

Case #3: The applicant has been unemployed for several years and has been convicted of worker's compensation or unemployment fraud. In an attempt to conceal this unemployment or disability claim, the applicant intentionally lists a business he or she knows went out of business at a certain time and believes that any falsified information is unverifiable.

Pro-Active Attitude

Employers need to take a pro-active attitude in hiring new employees. There are ways to reveal this type of resume fraud. So often business owners are so wrapped in their business that they forget their employees are part of their business as well. Verification of the information on an application and resume is key to recruiting good employees.

Please visit www.accuscreen.com or call Accu-Screen, Inc. today at (800) 689-2228 to learn more on how we can help you save time and money in recruiting honest and skilled employees.