Applicants making wild claims to get a job |
| News created: 22. september 2007 08:52 |
How far would you go to land that dream job? Would you claim to have worked for the Pope? Or try to hide the fact that you've been in prison?
Four out of ten people would lie on their CV if they thought that they could get away with it. And some completely fabricate career experience. Steve Bailey, managing director of online employment screening service backgroundchecking.com, gives the example of a candidate for a senior management position with a voluntary organisation who faked a reference from the Vatican.
Another applicant gave the Army as a reference, hoping that they would forget that he was Awol.
'Needless to say, the Military Police told us he would be out of circulation for several months,' says Bailey.
The screening company found that 42% of workers claim to know individuals who have falsified information on CVs or application forms.
'Once we discovered a finance director had not completed his professional qualifications, yet he was signing off the company accounts,' says Bailey.
Recently a top executive at InterContinental Hotels was forced to resign after it was discovered that he had never graduated from institutions where he claimed to have gained degrees. |
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