Some job seekers will do anything to stand out from the pack, including stretching the truth or flat-out lying on their résumés. 

The practice is unfortunately widespread—according to an August 2014 survey by CareerBuilder, 58 percent of hiring managers have caught job applicants lying on their résumés. 

Some fibs, according to the survey, may go beyond inflated experience or education to the truly outlandish, like claiming to be an Olympic medalist, celebrity baby sitter or prime minister of a foreign country without a prime minister.

Here’s how small business owners can separate the truth from fluff and con artistry.

“Unfortunately, the extent to which someone’s résumé has been padded is often not clear until the interview process,” says Tony Sorensen, CEO of Minneapolis-based executive recruitment firm Versique Search & Consulting. “If a candidate can’t articulate what their experience taught them or how they could apply it to the job at hand, it’s a big red flag.”

To ferret out the truth, drill down on key résumé items and applicant responses, says Ira Wolfe, president of Success Performance Solutions in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. 

“When an applicant reveals what he or she accomplished, the interviewer must seize that moment and ask how, in detail: who was involved, describe the process, what went wrong, what would they do differently if they had a chance to do it again,” he says.

Keep an eye out for body language, says Lauren Griffin, senior vice president for Adecco Staffing in Boston. “Trouble making eye contact, covering their mouth or taking longer to answer specific questions are telltale signs of lying,” she says.

Even if a candidate is able to fib his or her way through in-depth interview questions, a skills test is harder to deceive.

“Whether they’ve listed proficiencies working with word processing systems or other applicable aptitudes, providing interviewees with brief tests before concluding an interview can help detect if they embellished their résumé,” Griffin says. “The tests can be as simple as a writing test, conducting research or even talking you through how to use a system or a machine.”

Requesting a list of references is standard procedure, but don’t stop there. Chris Dyer, founder and CEO of human capital intelligence firm PeopleG2 in Brea, California, suggests considering these questions:

• Do businesses listed on a résumé have websites or at least a minimal Web presence?
• Can you find direct contact information for previous employers through an independent search?
• Are email addresses provided, and do they match the branded domain of the company?
• Can you find previous places of employment listed with the Better Business Bureau?
• Can an applicant produce pay stubs or W2/1099 documentation (if other employment verification attempts are unsuccessful)?
• Are educational institutions accredited?
• Can you verify degrees?
  

Also consider telling the candidate about your plans to thoroughly review the information to gauge his or her reaction.

“I always tell the candidate that I’ll be checking out the résumé myself with a fine-tooth comb,” says Barry Maher, a business consultant from Corona, California. “Then I ask in a completely neutral, non-accusatory voice, ‘Is there anything I might uncover that’s different from what’s on here that you might want to explain?’ It’s astonishing what people will tell you then.”

After that question, Maher says applicants have changed salaries, dates of employment and descriptions of roles and responsibilities as well as claimed that awards they’ve received have been discontinued, erasing any record of them.