A recent survey from CareerBuilder found that 75% of US employers have spotted lies in the resumes they receive for job openings. This surprising statistic shows that the trend has increased in recent years; in 2015 just 58% of respondents claimed to have come across lies in applicants’ CVs. These numbers are quite conservative as another similar study by the HireRight Candidate Review Service suggests that 85% of employers find embellishments in resumes.

The demographic most likely to stretch the truth when applying for a job are millennials, according to a survey by the GoBankingRates portal which showed that candidates aged 25 to 34 lie to potential employers twice as often as other job seekers. Meanwhile, Generation Zers openly say that they don’t see anything wrong with sugarcoating the facts, even if they haven’t done so themselves.

What is the most common lie told on CVs?

Recruiters say that the part of applicant resumes that is most commonly exaggerated is the list of skills, where candidates regularly fib so that their profile is closer to job requirements.

Another popular trick that job seekers play is omitting details of their previous places of work in order to cover up a dismissal or conflict with past employers. This information is something that can be missed during the HR verification process, even when HR software is used.

Next on the list of common lies come work experience, candidate age, and education or qualifications. Others include:

• Knowledge of foreign languages
• Computer skills
• Reasons for dismissal from previous positions
• The presence of bad habits

Are you surprised to learn that candidates are lying about foreign languages? It seems quite difficult to pretend to be multilingual, but remote translation agencies are being bombarded by scammers who are very far from professional translators.

How to identify a translation scammer

It is not so difficult for a trained eye to spot common features of fake translation resumes. Do not waste your time with an application if you come across the following things:

• You are not a single recipient

Check who else the email was sent to. In most instances, you will discover there are dozens of other addresses. If this is the case, delete the email without regrets.

• Mistakes in the CV

It is not rare for a resume to be written in very poor English, and while the odd mistake may be forgiven in certain circumstances, if an applicant claims to be able to translate from/to English it’s unacceptable. Language mistakes of any kind are a no-no for linguists.

• Numerous languages

Some high-class specialists are fluent in more than two foreign languages, but if you are offered services in several languages that are very different from each other, alarm bells should start ringing. Odd language combinations can be a sign of a scammer.

• Very low rates

You should be suspicious if a translator is willing to work for very low translation rates. A professional in the field knows the challenges that come along with translation and will not accept a job below a reasonable fee.

• Huge volumes

There are many industrious translators out there, but there is a limit to the number of words that can be translated in a day. If a translator offers to take on very large volumes of text within 24 hours, the quality will undoubtedly be poor. Steer clear.

It is strongly recommended not to risk working with anyone whose application includes the features listed above. If you choose to work with them you will be likely to receive a poor quality machine translation and your agency will be negatively impacted by a loss of time, reputation, and money.

How to avoid a fraudster

If you have reason to believe that you are going to be scammed, take the following steps:

• Look for the person online

Luckily, modern technologies enable us to do thorough background checks on potential job candidates and it’s important to check if the so-called translator has a website or other online platform and read the reviews posted there. Then check that the name is not listed on scammer directories. If you have a phone number, take a few minutes to call them to check its validity.

• Check the resume for plagiarism

There are a number of free services available to check if a CV you have received has duplicates on the net. If you find the same text used under different names, do not hesitate to throw it in the trash.

• Ask for references

A decent professional will be happy to submit reviews from their customers and/or previous employers. Thus you will be able to check the authenticity of the translator and verify his professionalism. A fake job seeker will simply vanish forever.

• Conduct a video interview

This approach allows you to kill two birds with one stone; you will have a chance to match the picture in the resume with a real person and be able to quickly discern if you are talking to a translator or an amateur.

• Ask for a test translation

Test translations are a great way to check a linguist’s abilities, but be aware that some scammers are very inventive and may ask a native speaker for help. Ask a few follow up questions to help verify that the person you are dealing with is the one who did the work.

What to do if you come across a fake translator

Be sure to report a suspicious person to the Translator Scammers Intelligence Group. In doing so, you will save potential fraud victims a lot of time and money. In addition to this, make sure you spread the names among your colleagues and platforms you are working with. Together we can minimize the damage that can be caused by translation scammers.

At BeTranslated our linguists are highly-qualified and have years of experience in their field. Whether you have an English to Italian business document or a Spanish to French website that needs to be translated, we have the right professional for you. For more information, or to get a free, no-obligation quote, get in touch today.