5 Industries That Require Education Verification

Red Adair had it right when he said, “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur”. One HR leader reinforced this when she shared her experience before incorporating education verification into her processes:

“I work for a small, relatively young research organization and changed our practices after our lack of formal screening led to a catastrophe. We hired an employee for an advanced scientific role because her resume reflected a Master’s degree and extensive experience. About six months in, after numerous client complaints and a serious compliance issue, we learned that her highest level of education was a high school diploma and her previous experience could not be verified.”

This organization is not alone and not reserved for small companies and start-ups; resume falsification is common. In fact, 75% of HR professionals say that they’ve caught a lie on a resume according to a 2017 CareerBuilder survey. Some of the most infamous fraud happened in Fortune 500 companies like Bausch & Lomb and Yahoo.

Industries That Require Education Verification

More and more industries require organizations to go to the primary source to verify education prior to hiring. This prevents candidates from fraudulent claiming a degree or program completion and protects organizations from unqualified hires. While education verification benefits all industries, these five industries need accountability:

Healthcare – Nearly every position that requires education (physicians, nurses, radiology techs, lab scientists, and more)
Social Services – Counselors, social workers, therapists
Legal – Attorneys, judges, and paralegals
Education – Primary, secondary, and post-secondary educators; principals, counselors, etc.
Finance – Accountants, CPAs, and Financial Planners

In all of these cases, requesting a diploma does not satisfy the requirement. Instead, directly verify with the school or clearinghouse. Then, to learn more about degree verification and background screening services, get started with the experts at TruDiligence today.