A new study shows that 40 percent of candidates embellish or flat out lie about their educational background on their resume. The most common lie is the achievement of an advanced degree when the candidate attended a graduate program but failed to obtain a degree. An easy way to verify education is through the National Student Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization that provides educational verification of college as well as high school and trade school degrees (www.nslc.com). The candidate’s social security number is required for most searches.