Questions about Katie Zacharia's credentials have recruiters talking about how they vet candidates

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia held her first press briefing Tuesday.

Win McNamee/Getty Images Questions about press secretary Katie Zacharia's legal credentials have put résumé claims in the spotlight.

Recruiters share how they've caught candidates inventing jobs, faking degrees, or exaggerating their past.

Nearly 4 out of 10 Americans admit to putting inaccurate information on their résumés, a survey found.

For corporate recruiters like Martha Heller, asking questions like those surrounding White House press secretary Katie Zacharia's legal credentials is par for the course.

When a background check failed to verify an executive candidate's college degree a few years ago, Heller inquired about the discrepancy.

The candidate, who was being considered for a job at a California insurance company, claimed a flood at his school had destroyed the records from the year he graduated.

Skeptical, Heller called the college and learned that no such event had occurred.

"It was like detective work," she said, adding that the problem wasn't whether the candidate had a college degree.

It was that he misrepresented his education and then doubled down when questioned, she said.

White House controversy Zacharia's self-described legal career has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent days following her appointment as White House press secretary.

When asked by a reporter what state she passed the bar exam in, she responded, "When I moved to China." Business Insider reviewed records for all 50 states and the District of Columbia and found no evidence that Zacharia had been admitted to any state bar in the US after she graduated with a law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011.

Zacharia has since defended calling herself a lawyer, and said that after failing the bar exam the first time, she did not take it a second time.

She said she consulted with people within the legal field "for a very long time" and was told it would be acceptable to call herself a lawyer "and provide legal analysis, not legal advice." White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said earlier this week that Zacharia "is uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as Press Secretary." Vetting résumés One of a recruiter's jobs is to vet a candidate's background.