How to Verify Your Credentials Before Hiring or Partnering

Hiring or partnering up is one of those business decisions you can’t take lightly. It’s crucial to figure out who you want to work with, and if they are a good fit. Plus, you want to protect yourself from any fake degree that some people might have. There are tons of scammers out there, so verifying against a fake diploma makes a lot of sense.

Why should you always verify credentials?

Realistically, you can’t trust everyone and that’s why it just makes a lot of sense to assess and study all credentials. That way, you can see if the person is legit or not. There are always impostors or people who fake it until they make it. Verifying credentials helps you avoid scammers, while also ensuring that your potential employee or partner actually has the credentials they are claiming to have.

• Verifying credentials is a great way to protect yourself against any type of fraud. It allows you to identify any fake degree, and it will also help you stay away from falsified documents, be it diplomas or resumes.
• Moreover, verification helps build trust and it ensures that you maintain a high standard. You check whomever you work with or who works for you, just to ensure that the credentials are genuine.
• You’re also ensuring compliance with regulations and other important things like that. That’s especially true for industries like construction, finance, healthcare and so on. All of these things can sometimes bring legal liabilities and problems, which could have a negative impact on your organization and integrity.
• If you verify credentials, you can reduce financial risks. After all, if someone lies about their skills and studies, with a fake degree, they could be hiding something else. That’s certainly something you want to figure out right away.
• Safeguarding your reputation is crucial, and if you check for fake degrees or documents, that helps a lot. It never hurts to safeguard stuff, and if you do so, it will only make things better in the long run. We all know that even a simple hiring mistake can cost a company deep into 4-5 figures. 

Are there any risks if you skip credential verification?

Absolutely, the truth is that you will end up with all kinds of issues in the long term. One of them is that a person with a fake diploma might end up claiming false qualifications. Not only that, but they might be unreliable partners or employees, because they are caught lying upon verification. Figuring out how to handle these credentials and verifying accordingly will always make a difference.

If you skip verifications for any diplomas or qualifications, you can deal with legal consequences later on. And of course, it also leads to reputational harm for your business. It might not seem like a lot, but in the long run, these people become unreliable, and anything they touch will become a legal issue. Addressing those things is never simple, but if you verify those credentials, you can avoid embarrassing and legal issues down the line.

How can you verify the credentials of a potential employee or business partner?

• First, you want to collect as much information as possible. Copies of verifications, business documents, licenses, a detailed resume, getting all of those is very important.
• After that, you want to verify your academic background. You contact universities, check for the accreditation of those institutions, confirm degrees earned and so on.
• Verifying licenses and certifications is next, you can do that via the online portals of regulatory boards, usually you will be able to do that in no time.
• Check the employment history of that person, too. In this case, you want to check the former employers. Talk with them and see if what’s claimed by the person is actually true or not.
• Validating business credentials is crucial for partnerships. In this case, you want to verify tax ID numbers, review the financial health, assess the business registration records and so on.
• Once you do that, it helps if you make some reference checks. The idea is to ask specific, behavior-based questions. Speak with references provided by the business/person. And, of course, seeking independent resources is useful here.
• Naturally, it also helps if you do a reputation and background check. The most important thing here is to use background check services. Scanning court filings and public records will also help quite a lot.
• It never hurts to study the international records as well. You want to see whether the person in question has a distinct international presence or if they scammed others internationally, etc. You can never be too careful, so having as much info as possible will help quite a lot.

Understand specifics related to the industry

Yes, every industry has its own certifications, licenses and ways to verify diplomas. So if you do encounter someone with a fake diploma, there are websites and companies that can help you identify it without a problem. 

In general, you want to know who provides certifications and licenses for your industry. See where that person got the license/certification from, and then you can assess if everything is legit or not. In addition, you want to review accreditation and, depending on the situation, national or state boards. It will take a bit of legwork, but when it comes to partnering with people or hiring them, you can never be too careful. Taking these precautions can help you save a huge amount of stress and prevent problems down the line.

Is it helpful to go through credential verification?

In business, the most important thing you can have is trust. You always want to make sure that the person working for you or alongside you as a partner is reliable and trustworthy. Someone will try to bring a fake degree just to say they have better qualifications than what they really do. 

So it definitely makes a lot of sense to enter credential verification. You want to be 100% sure that you reduce risks and you know exactly who you are working with. These verifications will help instill trust and they also provide you with a great sense of transparency, too, which is what matters the most.

Not only that, but they can bring you better decision-making, not to mention you will have increased legal compliance. And yes, these things will improve the hiring quality a lot more than expected as well.

There are downsides to this, too. Verifications will involve certain costs, they aren’t free. And on top of that, they will be time-consuming. There are privacy-related concerns as well, and sometimes you over-rely on these things.

Conclusion

As a whole, it’s clear that verifying credentials is crucial if you want to trust any future employee or partner. Realistically, there will always be people that use a fake diploma just to gain your trust. But a fake degree can have devastating results for your career. The most important thing is to focus on verifying credentials and any claims, no matter if you hire someone or want to find a business partner. Use verification services, contact certification outlets or universities, and always follow the truth. That way, you can enter a great, trust-focused business relationship, and not worry about any repercussions coming from fake degrees, certifications or diplomas!