How can you tell if a candidate is lying on their CV? When you get to the phase where you are looking to take on new staff, there are a few common areas where people tend to get creative, according to Ash Athawale, recruitment manager at REED:
Discrepancies in dates: A lot of the time, candidates have over three versions of their resume and forget which one they sent out.
Educational qualifications: You and I might think that the school we went to is the 'best in the world' but these claims need to be validated.
Inconsistencies: With networks like LinkedIn, it's much easier to verify facts.
Other warning signs, adds Athawale, include bad spelling and poor grammar. Also, if a candidate doesn't communicate quite as 'eloquently' over the phone as they did in their CV/cover letter, it's a sign that someone else wrote it for them.
However, Ibrahim Al Yafi, management consultant at Meirc Training & Consulting, says he once came across a candidate with a poorly written CV who persisted for an interview and turned out to be a great fit for the job. "He just didn't know how to write a CV," he said.
He recommends employers use application forms, specify questions and since the candidate has to sign an authenticity form, "he/she will have to think twice about lying".
References: Useful or not?
References can add value to a candidate's profile but while it should be one of the evaluation criteria, it should not be the only one, says Al Yafi. He notes the culture in the Middle East places a lot of importance on references, but the problem is that people will almost always give you a good reference and the reliability of people giving those opinions is highly subjective.
When asking for a reference, it's useful to send out questions like "What was the performance rating in the past three years. Did the candidate handle difficult situations?" Al Yafi adds that despite this, references are only about 10% reliable and this is around how much weight should be assigned to them the evaluation process.
Are they qualified?
People often manage to get jobs they might not necessarily be qualified for. While it's essential to check their previous job history, it's also important to make sure they have the skills needed.
The reasons why unqualified candidates bag a high-profile job are not always linked to who they know. James Pugh, director at Headway Recruitment, says that in a boom economy sometimes people climb the career ladder so rapidly that they would go from being a "marketing executive to brand manager to marketing manager and marketing director in two to three years and that was almost a promotion by default."
A good candidate is one that knows what they're talking about and can show their experience. Citing the example of sales people, he says: "they should be quick with the numbers. If they are a little vague on it, then that triggers the alarm bells".
The good news for SME owners is that now, people are looking more at their career and career development than just salary, he adds. "SMEs can entice the right people with growth opportunities".
Outlandish claims
Athawale has over two decades of experience in the recruitment industry and says he's seen all sorts of claims from candidates. Here are some of the most outrageous:
1. A candidate gave the impression that he was responsible for stock trade. Since one of the applicant's references on LinkedIn was someone Athawale knew, he contacted the person and found out that the candidate was crediting himself with someone else's work and claiming it to be their own.
2. Candidates that claim that they have managed a project or a team while really they were an individual contributor. These lies can be picked up easily either through their references or by checking job profiles.
3. There have been several senior managers who claim that they 'run' a business unit while, in reality, they were only reporting to someone who ran it.
4. Candidates that say they are 'a family man' and then have pictures on Facebook that reveal that they are really a 'party animal'.
Al Yafi adds that the wildest case he came across was when someone in the real estate development sector claimed to have a PhD from a university in the US and because "it sounded fishy," he checked on it and it turned out to be an easy online degree that was more like a diploma. © Zawya BusinessPulse QATAR 2014
Discrepancies in dates: A lot of the time, candidates have over three versions of their resume and forget which one they sent out.
Educational qualifications: You and I might think that the school we went to is the 'best in the world' but these claims need to be validated.
Inconsistencies: With networks like LinkedIn, it's much easier to verify facts.
Other warning signs, adds Athawale, include bad spelling and poor grammar. Also, if a candidate doesn't communicate quite as 'eloquently' over the phone as they did in their CV/cover letter, it's a sign that someone else wrote it for them.
However, Ibrahim Al Yafi, management consultant at Meirc Training & Consulting, says he once came across a candidate with a poorly written CV who persisted for an interview and turned out to be a great fit for the job. "He just didn't know how to write a CV," he said.
He recommends employers use application forms, specify questions and since the candidate has to sign an authenticity form, "he/she will have to think twice about lying".
References: Useful or not?
References can add value to a candidate's profile but while it should be one of the evaluation criteria, it should not be the only one, says Al Yafi. He notes the culture in the Middle East places a lot of importance on references, but the problem is that people will almost always give you a good reference and the reliability of people giving those opinions is highly subjective.
When asking for a reference, it's useful to send out questions like "What was the performance rating in the past three years. Did the candidate handle difficult situations?" Al Yafi adds that despite this, references are only about 10% reliable and this is around how much weight should be assigned to them the evaluation process.
Are they qualified?
People often manage to get jobs they might not necessarily be qualified for. While it's essential to check their previous job history, it's also important to make sure they have the skills needed.
The reasons why unqualified candidates bag a high-profile job are not always linked to who they know. James Pugh, director at Headway Recruitment, says that in a boom economy sometimes people climb the career ladder so rapidly that they would go from being a "marketing executive to brand manager to marketing manager and marketing director in two to three years and that was almost a promotion by default."
A good candidate is one that knows what they're talking about and can show their experience. Citing the example of sales people, he says: "they should be quick with the numbers. If they are a little vague on it, then that triggers the alarm bells".
The good news for SME owners is that now, people are looking more at their career and career development than just salary, he adds. "SMEs can entice the right people with growth opportunities".
Outlandish claims
Athawale has over two decades of experience in the recruitment industry and says he's seen all sorts of claims from candidates. Here are some of the most outrageous:
1. A candidate gave the impression that he was responsible for stock trade. Since one of the applicant's references on LinkedIn was someone Athawale knew, he contacted the person and found out that the candidate was crediting himself with someone else's work and claiming it to be their own.
2. Candidates that claim that they have managed a project or a team while really they were an individual contributor. These lies can be picked up easily either through their references or by checking job profiles.
3. There have been several senior managers who claim that they 'run' a business unit while, in reality, they were only reporting to someone who ran it.
4. Candidates that say they are 'a family man' and then have pictures on Facebook that reveal that they are really a 'party animal'.
Al Yafi adds that the wildest case he came across was when someone in the real estate development sector claimed to have a PhD from a university in the US and because "it sounded fishy," he checked on it and it turned out to be an easy online degree that was more like a diploma. © Zawya BusinessPulse QATAR 2014
