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The database in Cheri Alvarez's office searches more than 260 million criminal records in 50 states, going back 25 years. It has turned up drug charges, rape charges, attempted-kidnapping charges--and even a cow-tipping misdemeanor.
The reasons people call her office, The Agency Private Detective Inc. in Fredericksburg, are as sundry as the secrets her investigations uncover.
But increasingly, companies in Fredericksburg and the Washington area are calling to verify the backgrounds of job applicants.
Glossing over employment gaps, fudging on resumes and falsely checking "No" to "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" may be as ubiquitous to the job-application process as mass-mailed cover letters.
Many companies are becoming more sophisticated in rooting out applicants with criminal records and invented college degrees. But some experts say that the majority of people still lie on their resumes or job applications--and not enough employers thoroughly check them.
"The number of people that lie on resumes is absurd," said Bruce Rollins of Unistaff LLC, an employment agency with a branch in Fredericksburg.
Misleading information usually falls into one of two categories: hidden criminal backgrounds or resumes with inflated job titles, education and skills.
People picking up trash in a parking lot call themselves "environmental technicians." Self-proclaimed typing whizzes who boast a rate of 50 words per minute sit down at a computer in Rollins' office and, well, you can guess the rest.
Rollins estimated that only about six out of 10 employers check applicants' background thoroughly, though vigilance has risen since Sept. 11.
Inaccuracies or falsehoods happen "unfortunately pretty frequently, or more than we would like," said Candace Stennett, employment coordinator at Taskforce Inc., a Fredericksburg employment agency. "We get a lot of people that tend to lie about their criminal background or
Job applicants generally must sign a waiver in order to allow a company to examine certain records as part of a background investigation. Why, then, do people with multiple felonies, invented jobs or references who say they are ineligible for rehire still apply?
"To be honest, I'm not quite sure," Stennett said. "It's something that we often wonder ourselves."
Education has been one of
A checkered past is easier to pass off at private employers, particularly small ones. Officials at state-affiliated institutions, however, describe an application process that makes unqualified workers--or dangerous ones--far less likely to slip through.
In the Spotsylvania County school system, for example, teacher applicants must submit college transcripts and a form filled out by previous employers to verify their experience, according to recruitment and retention specialist Michelle Gordon. Applicants must either be licensed with the state or in the process of obtaining a license. Teachers also are fingerprinted.
"On the licensed side of it, we don't run into a lot of problems because there are a lot of checks and balances. They can't lie to the state," Gordon said.
"So far it hasn't been a problem," said Dee Lycett, recruitment manager at the University of Mary Washington. Lycett said applicants must submit college transcripts; the supervisors they would work for contact their references.
Institutions responsible for the safety of others can be particularly rigorous in their background checks.
Mary Washington Hospital conducts its investigations through a company in Houston, which checks criminal records in every location where the applicant has lived for the past seven years, according to Human Resources Director Bob Jensen. College degrees are confirmed. References are called. Licenses are verified. The company also looks for previous fraudulence with Medicare or Medicaid.
"I think we do a very good job of checking background," Jensen said.
Those who wish to drive a taxi in Fredericksburg must go to the police department to be fingerprinted and checked for a criminal record before they can obtain a license, even if they want to apply for a job with a private taxi service.
"We certainly don't want anyone driving a taxi in the city who has a questionable background," said Jim Shelhorse, public information officer for the Fredericksburg Police Department.
Yet even without a felony, there are many opportunities for lying in the job application process.
Michelle Mills-Jones, president of Excel Staffing Specialists Inc. in Fredericksburg, looks more to personal interviews and references when screening applicants.
"I don't pay a lot of attention anymore to resumes," Mills-Jones said. "Resumes are a good job synopsis but you have to remember that these are being created by the individual seeking employment."
To reach MAYA RAO:
Email: mrao@freelancestar.com
