Weeding out bad apples

Finding the right candidate is never easy, especially if there is a slew of applicants lining up for a position. Subsequently, those searching for jobs realise the importance of marketing their skills on paper and in person. However, some applicants are taking the ‘marketing’ part too far, with research showing that more than a handful are padding their resumes – and some are downright lying.

In a recent study of 198 graduates conducted by the NUS Business School, it was revealed that a majority (82.3%) embellished their resumes in various areas, for example their language proficiency. Another survey conducted by the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors in the UK concluded that more than 30% of job applicants lied on their CVs in an attempt to increase their chance of landing a job.

So, how do organisations separate the facts from the fibs? Organisations have moved away from the simple ‘what and why’ questions to grilling applicants through various behavioural-competency interview questions, even to conducting psychometric tests (Myers-Briggs) in order to find the right fit for a position. Besides interviews, companies are taking steps by utilising external screening companies to conduct thorough background screening of the candidate or new hire.

Common fibs found on resumes

Experts say that before applicants put a half-baked lie in their resumes, they should think twice – even white lies have the tendency to follow a person throughout their careers. Employers agree, but also understand the reasons behind the lie: candidates market themselves well on paper to catch the eye of a recruiter.

Anuradha Naik, Head of Organisational Development and Learning of Coca-Cola Singapore Beverages, notes that applicants nowadays are careful to create CVs that catch the eye of the recruiter. “In many cases the CV describes keywords that match the job description or profile. It is difficult to really understand how much of it is true and how much of it is false,” she states.

Employers highlight that there are various areas of the resume in which a candidate may lie, such as padding job titles in order to look as if they have much more expertise than they actually possess, saying that they have language or technical skills that they are not proficient in, or saying that they possess a degree when they do not. In fact, one recruiter told Forbes in an interview that an applicant had given a woman’s name but turned out to be a six-foot male, claiming that he was waiting to go through a gender-changing operation.

Mavis Ang, Talent Acquisition Manager at Symantec (Singapore), notes that another common misrepresentation she has seen is gaps in employment history. “Candidates probably omit details of organisations that they have worked for, especially for a very short duration, because it isn’t relevant to the job they are applying for or it’s a freelance job.”

The first bulwark: Interviews and tests

Whichever the discrepancy, employers note that the interview process is definitely the first step to weeding out unsuitable candidates. Moreover, many organisations are using behavioural-type interview techniques – these focus on experiences, behaviours, knowledge, skills and abilities that are job-related – that are in-depth, to ascertain candidates’ abilities.

Naik of Coca-Cola Singapore quotes some example questions that she has asked interviewees, saying that questions are formulated to enquire about their core competencies. For example: “Tell us about what you’ve done to develop new and creative solutions to business problems. What were the factors you considered in coming up with the solution?”

She adds that the organisation uses “competency-based behavioural questioning techniques” such as STAR framework. This framework helps recruiters find the four major areas (Situation, Task, Achievement and Results) to question applicants’ behaviour and what skills they used to achieve a result.

Ang says that Symantec “uses a blended approach of competency-based behavioural interviewing and performance-based interviewing”. She gives an example, saying that if the organisation wanted to test the candidate on ‘adaptability to change’, they would ask the candidate “to describe a situation which demonstrated these skills”.

Tan Kwang Cheak, Senior Director for Operations, Brand Extensions, Business Planning and Human Resources at McDonald’s Restaurants Singapore, states that the questions he asks are formulated to learn various qualities the candidates possess, such as the value and integrity of the individual, the drive and motivation of the person and their thinking skills.

Subsequently, Tan notes that McDonald’s conducts screening tests in the form of Harrison Suitability Assessment which “integrates a personality test, interest inventory, work values inventory and work preference inventory”.

However, employers also add that in order to test job skills of interviewees, they conduct other relevant tests such as written tests. McDonald’s and Symantec conduct written tests for applicants who are planning to work in the communications department to check their linguistic ability.

Also, Tan says that in McDonald’s, if the candidate was meant to work in the operations area, he or she is put through one to three days of on-the-job training to ascertain his or her skills.

Sorting facts from fibs

Organisations realise that face-to-face interviews and screening tests are just the first part to finding the right person for the job. They also realise the importance of conducting reference checks and background screening to verify the information given by the applicant.

“My assessment is normally through background checks on their current salaries, qualifications and referees as well as through their answers in the interview process,” says Tan. He says that so far, the common false information that he has encountered in resumes is regarding educational qualifications and current salaries.

Symantec’s internal HR conducts reference checks on its applicants and new hires. However, it is one of the organisations that is utilising screening specialists to conduct more in-depth background screening on all its new employees. This is not a covert affair though, as new employees are informed of the screening in their contracts.

Ang says this type of screening takes time and it varies with each case as it depends on the amount of information that the screening organisation is able to obtain. Interestingly enough, she says that though there has been a “fair share of discrepancies”, usually involving the dates of employment, the organisation allows some leeway for minor discrepancies. She believes that some candidates might have gotten the dates or months wrong or they might not want to mention that they spent less than a few months in a previous job.

Experts say that background screening can prevent organisations from making the mistake of hiring a fraud. Wayne Tollemache, Executive Managing Director International of First Advantage – a global employment background screening company – states that though this “does not guarantee that something untoward will not happen”, it is a “strong and effective risk mitigation strategy for companies” since applicants falsifying information or with criminal records tend to avoid organisations that do regular screening.

Tollemache says that compared to small companies, the demand for “background screening comes from industries that have high recruiting and compliance requirements” such as IT, banking and financial services.

Also, he explains that depending on the degree of verification, background screening can take from five to 30 days.

Ultimately, whichever combination of recruitment tools (from interviews to background checks) that an organisation uses, the full spectrum of the person’s capabilities can only be revealed while he or she is at work.