October 2005 Newsletter
October 2005 newsletter
In this issue:
- Pre-employment Screening, Can You Spot The Liars?
- Enter your pictures to be featured on our daily photo for the web banner
Pre-employment Screening, Can You Spot The Liars?
Imagine you're sitting at your desk one day, sifting through what seems like hundreds of resumes for a role that you're trying to fill. You come across Judy, who on paper, looks like a real gem. She has the right credentials and the right working knowledge for the vacant role, so you invite her in for an interview. After the interview you decide she would be perfect for the position, so you begin checking her references.
A week later, Judy starts her new job at your organisation. She is given the appropriate training and begins to settle into her new job. There is just one problem; Judy has completely fabricated her qualifications and does not have the professional accreditation required for the role.
How can you detect when an applicant is lying on their resume? How could this have been avoided?
A recent survey of 100 applications screened by Australian Background revealed that 21% contained lies about skills, employment history, criminal record, experiences and / or qualifications. 18% of those surveyed had discrepancies in educational and professional qualifications.
Sally Mooney, co-managing director of Australian background states: 'We have seen examples where candidates have provided false employers and false referees to enhance their prospects for getting the job or to cover up a period of negative employment, as well as lying about the level of qualifications achieved.'
For organisations looking to introduce more rigour into their recruitment process in the form of pre-employment screening, Ms Mooney recommends having an effective communication strategy. 'We have found that job applicants have an enormous amount of respect for organisations that tell them upfront that they have a rigorous screening process in place. They know they will be working alongside colleagues with the right skills, experience and qualifications and who don't have any adverse behavioral problems or a criminal history that may impact on their safety and security.'
As well as verifying qualifications and employment history, conducting reference checks and checking criminal history, an organisation can also check work rights, driving records, bankruptcy, ASIC disqualifications, directorships and significant shareholdings and can also conduct media searches for any adverse stories regarding the applicant.
Most organisations conduct reference checks but is the information they are gathering relevant and from a reliable source?
Sally Mooney has the following recommendations when conducting reference checks.
Do's:
1. Check with the candidate before contacting their current employer to avoid jeopardizing their current employment
2. Verify the referee is who they claim to be - telephone the company switch board number and verify position of the referee before being transferred.
3. Ask whether the candidate would be rehired in a similar role
4. Ask whether the candidate ever did anything dishonest or lacked integrity
5. Confirm the candidate's responsibilities
6. Ask whether the candidate was subject to any disciplinary actions or warnings
7. Ask about attendance or reliability issues
8. Ask for examples of where the candidate has demonstrated certain behaviors and competencies required for the role
Don'ts:
1. Don't just contact nominated referees, speak with all previous direct managers, clients or senior colleagues
2. Don't call referees on mobile phones as your candidate may have provided you with a bogus referee
3. Don't leave a message with anyone regarding the name of the individual you are looking to conduct a reference on, as it is important to maintain confidentiality at all times.
Whilst organisations can conduct many of these checks in-house. Many choose to outsource this function to a specialized pre-employment screening company that has the skills, experience and infrastructure to conduct these checks quickly, accurately and at an affordable price.
Hiring the wrong employee is costly! Therefore it is worthwhile conducting pre-employment screening.
If you would like help with your current pre-employment screening or require more informatio about pre-employment screening, please contact Australian Background on 02 9922 6768.
Enter your pictures to be featured on our daily photo for the web banner
Calling all budding photographers and snap happy camera toters, would you like your pictures to be displayed on our website? Our photos for the web banner change daily. We invite you to enter your pictures and accompanying captions.
The photos can be funny, scenic, or feature your families and friends, the captions could be related to recruitment activities, a catchy phrase or about the PageUp People product. To have them placed on our website please forward your pictures and or captions in JPEG format to Meray Azar, Marketing Coordinator at meraya@pageup.com.au.