In recent times there have been many reports in the media about people lying about there qualifications. In most of these cases, the employers only established after appointment that the person they had employed does not have a specific educational qualification as shown in the CV or as stated in the job interview.
It is unfortunately fact that the high number of unemployment in South Africa has resulted in employees lying on their CV’s in order to get jobs. There has been an increase in the number of job applicants who present prospective employers with fake CV’s. According to a qualification verification company, 13% of qualifications they verify are fraudulent.
What does this mean for an employer? It means that employers must be on the lookout for lies that employees make up on their CV’s.
Employers must be on the lookout for the following three common lies on a potential employee’s CV
- An exaggerated education
As mentioned, there have been a number of cases in the media of people who have lied about their qualifications. The candidate’s qualification must be scrutinised by doing background checks to ensure everything is above board. - Skills that a candidate knows nothing about
Most candidates overstate their skills. This becomes a problem when, for example, the employer hires the person based on the fact that they have a particular skill, then two months down the line, the person cannot deliver. To avoid being duped, employers must take note of the skills the candidate says he has and ask him about it during the interview. In addition, it should be made compulsory for candidates to do practical tests so that the employer could verify that they have the skills stated on the CV. - Listing fake references
Nowadays, a lot of candidates list friends or family as references. To avoid being duped, the identity of the person listed on the CV must be verified to ensure that the employer is not talking to a candidate’s friend, for example.
The bottom line: Job candidates are creative with their CV’s. It is in an employer’s best interest to lookout for these lies and conduct thorough background checks when recruiting and selecting, and before offering the job to the successful candidate.
