Dentaltown May 2017 - 108

Most of the dentists I've met are optimists by
nature, and therefore want to see the best in
everyone. They're not looking for hidden agendas.
The combination of these factors makes it easy for
people like Natasha to keep getting hired.
A few basic statistics of which readers should be aware:
* 65 million Americans-that's one out of every
four adults-have criminal records.4
* Published statistics suggest that more than half of
résumés contain at least some level of falsehood.5
These factors merit a level of skepticism in the
hiring process that's well beyond what most dentists
naturally exhibit.
Another question I ask in live presentations is
whether dentists check photo identification when
hiring, and the number who perform this very basic
step is astonishingly low.
While a full discussion of background screening
is beyond the scope of this article, one thing I want
to highlight is the vital importance of speaking with
former employers. It should be a non-negotiable rule in
your practice that you will not hire someone without
speaking to all of their employers from the past five
years. Bear in mind that if applicants have something
to hide, this is exactly what they don't want you to do;
accordingly, they'll provide false phone numbers, tamper
with dates of employment to make certain employers
vanish from their résumés, claim to have been out
of the workforce, or ask you not to contact their
current employer (who may or may not still
be their employer) because "she doesn't
know I'm leaving."
None of these techniques
will survive much scrutiny, but
what applicants count on (and

108

MAY 2017 // dentaltown.com

Natasha certainly proves) is that busy dentists with an
urgent need to hire will often skip some important steps.
And as for Natasha? I hadn't heard from her for several
months, until suddenly she emailed me the other day. She
has had some legal trouble-in addition to the arrest I
previously mentioned, she was also arrested for identity
theft, including allegedly creating 60 false identities to
access government benefits. Perhaps she's finally moved
on from dentistry. In the meantime, be wary! ■
References
1.
prosperident.com/prosperidents-hall-shame-gallery
2.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition,
American Psychiatric Association, 2013
3.
Other People's Money by Donald R. Cressey (Montclair: Patterson Smith,
1973), p. 30.
4.
"65 Million Need Not Apply." Retrieved March 15, 2017, from
nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/65_Million_Need_Not_Apply.pdf
5.
"You Won't Believe How Many People Lie on Their Résumés." Retrieved March
15, 2017, from time.com/money/3995981/how-many-people-lie-resumes/hownot-to-hire-the-wrong-people-in-your-practice

Listen and learn
how to spot potential
embezzlement
Prosperident CEO David Harris
talked about how to help predict
embezzlement in real time during a
recent podcast of Dentally Incorrect
with Howard Farran. To listen, visit
dentaltown.com/podcasts and
search for "268 David Harris."

http://www.prosperident.com/prosperidents-hall-shame-gallery http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/65_Million_Need_Not_Apply.pdf http://www.time.com/money/3995981/how-many-people-lie-resumes/how http://www.dentaltown.com/podcasts http://www.dentaltown.com

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