Why Employers Should NOT Rely Only On Resumes

Hiring someone based only on the information that appears on their resume can be a dangerous practice for businesses. Without performing an extensive background check, there is no way to determine if that information is true or false.
Employers need the facts, not just what an applicant selectively reports about themself in order to make safe hiring decisions.

What are some of the dangers in using a resume?

First, job applicants often feel compelled to reveal things about themselves that an employer does not need, or legally should not, know. Resumes often reveal volunteer affiliations, hobbies, interests or memberships in groups that reveal such prohibited information as race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or age. For example, a resume may reveal a person does volunteer time with a church, or belongs to a group that is clearly associated with a particular race or nationality. The problem is the Federal EEOC and states' rules prohibit an employer from obtaining or using such information. Having this information in the form of a resume in the employer's file is not a good practice in the event the employer is ever the subject of civil litigation or a government investigation into their hiring practices. By using an application form, an applicant cannot volunteer irrelevant information an employer should not possess.

Conversely, resumes may not give an employer all the information needed to make an informed hiring decision. With a proper application, an applicant cannot skip over jobs he or she would rather not mention. An application can allow an employer to spot unexplained employment gaps. Also, job applicants typically do not self-reveal their criminal records in a resume.

In addition, it is much easier for an employer to prescreen candidates using a standardized application. An employer trying to screen a large number of resumes can more easily compare applicants.
Finally, an application form can contain critical elements that an employer may want to convey to the applicant, or critical questions that an employer may want to ask, such as whether the applicant has a criminal record.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lester S. Rosen is an attorney at law and President of Employment Screening Resources , a national background checking company located in California offering employment screening services such as employee background screening, job verification, and credential verification.

He is the author of, "The Safe Hiring Manual--Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Imposters and Terrorists Out of Your Workplace." (512 pages-Facts on Demand Press), the first comprehensive book on employment screening.

He is also a consultant, writer and frequent presenter nationwide on pre-employment screening and safe hiring issues. He has qualified and testified in the California, Florida and Arkansas Superior Courts as an expert witness on issues surrounding safe hiring and due diligence. His speaking appearances have included numerous national and statewide conferences.

He is a former deputy District Attorney and criminal defense attorney and has taught criminal law and procedure at the University of California Hastings College of the Law. His jury trials have included murder, death penalty and federal cases. He graduated UCLA with Phi Beta Kappa honors, and received a J.D. degree from the University of California at Davis, serving on the Law Review. He holds the highest attorney rating of A.V. in the national Martindale-Hubbell listing of American Attorneys. Mr. Rosen was the chairperson of the steering committee that founded the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) a professional trade organization for the screening industry, which now has over 500 members. He was also elected to the first board of directors and served as the first co-chairman in 2004.