Just the other day, I came across a message in an HR forum, posted by a lady who presumably works in an IT company. She had a major cribbing point about the background checks done by different IT companies and the resultant actions taken on the rogue employees. Continuing her whining, she tried her best to justify putting false credentials & experiences in the CV - which brings us to the point of trying to understand the general perception among employees in India about the practice of "window dressing" or "sexing up" the CV.
gap
Unfortunately, in a country like India, where corruption is omnipresent, candidates, especially at the entry level, do not think much about incorporating false information about a skill, a certification or diploma or work experience if that helps them in bagging the coveted offer. They would then hope that the falsification(s) would not be detected by the prospective employer and that they will get away with it. Over a period of time, these lies can get accumulated and may create a semblance of a profile which would invariably be as different as chalk and cheese from the real competence of the person.
gap
Going back to the post of "our lady in the HR Forum", the shocking part is the brazen manner in which she has tried to justify this unethical conduct. From my personal experience and inputs received from my professional acquaintances, this brazenness is reflective of the general perception of Indian professionals!
gap
A study by Indian Council for Market Research (ICMR) during the first few years of the century had revealed that the phenomenon of fake CVs was not just restricted to the software industry. It was also prevalent in other sectors like ITeS, BFSI, Retail etc. They also pointed out that Rs. 400 crores had been spent by Indian companies for filling 200,000 jobs a year in those sectors and 10-12% of the selected candidates had submitted false information in their CVs, leading to a huge waste in recruitment costs alone. Since then, this figure has been on the rise year on year. According to The Risk Advisory Group (TRAG), 65% of CVs submitted in 2007 contained false information, a rise of 16% on the previous year’s amount. The latest research figures suggest that as many as 3 in 4 people, i.e. a whopping 75% of candidates, deviate from the truth on their CV, mostly about qualifications, job description & period of employment and salary.
gap
What's more interesting, is the perception of most of the candidates towards the crime being committed. Most of them lie in their CV because they think that everyone else does it and hence, to remain competitive, they must do it too. The general perception is that the sexing the CV or windowdressing are ‘harmless’ and the benefits of lying far outweigh the risks of being caught.
gap
According to TRAG, women in their early 30s were the biggest culprits, with 77 per cent of resumes containing some kind of untruth. Even among the statistically most honest group, men in their early 20s, half of all CVs featured misleading information.
gap
Another company, which specializes in background verification services and screens over 3,000 candidates per quarter, said that job seekers misled firms over everything from gaps in employment to fraud committed against previous employers. The most common inaccuracies were in employment history, with 55 per cent of candidates inventing a more impressive career. A further 36 per cent lied about their qualifications. While many of the discrepancies are simple errors of omission, around one in ten are more serious, viz. failure to disclose criminal convictions, fraud against previous employers or even terrorist links.
gap
Although exaggeration is widespread, outright lies can lead to a doomed career as it’s not so much a moral issue as a legal one. If a candidate is offered a job on the back of information contained in her/his CV that the employer believes to be correct, then the employer is legally entitled to withdraw the job offer or sack the employee without prior notice if they discover that the CV contains false information. So employees found guilty of lying can lose their job and worse still, receive a reference that refers to the reason why!
gap
An ex-colleague's case is a classic example of this. We used to work in the same division, although in different profiles and he had been with the company for a far longer period than myself. During the last quarter of 2010, he received a good offer from an MNC with around 40% hike in the salary. He did not even bother to serve the notice period and joined the new company within a short period of time. One month down the line, he was begging our VP to get his old job back. As I knew someone in the other organization, I came to know the reason behind this. There was a discrepancy in his Graduation degree and so the MNC had withdrawn the offer. He was out of job for the next 8-9 months before joining a much smaller and downmarket organization with a lower salary than his previous job. I would still say that he has been lucky enough to get another chance, but there have been instances when the companies, especially in the IT & ITeS sectors, have sacked employees en masse on integrity issues or candidates even ending up in prison on forgery charges.
gap
The combined effect of all these have seen the birth of a new industry vertical in itself - that of companies specializing in Background Checking services. While many bigger organizations outsource background checking to these companies, even the ones which do not, are wising up to applicants' lies and doing more checks than before. Even industry bodies like National Association Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM) have initiated efforts like National Skill Registry (NSR) in order to counter this ever growing menace.
gap
After being in the industry for a decade, it is crystal clear to me that if someone does not want to destroy her career, she should not resort to lying in her CV. There are ways of promoting a profile and making them look attractive to the prospective companies without resorting to lies. If one is gifted with words and expressions, one can do that herself. Else, one can always hire a professional CV writer. That really works. And, without having to jeopardize one's career prospect by lying.
gap
Unfortunately, in a country like India, where corruption is omnipresent, candidates, especially at the entry level, do not think much about incorporating false information about a skill, a certification or diploma or work experience if that helps them in bagging the coveted offer. They would then hope that the falsification(s) would not be detected by the prospective employer and that they will get away with it. Over a period of time, these lies can get accumulated and may create a semblance of a profile which would invariably be as different as chalk and cheese from the real competence of the person.
gap
Going back to the post of "our lady in the HR Forum", the shocking part is the brazen manner in which she has tried to justify this unethical conduct. From my personal experience and inputs received from my professional acquaintances, this brazenness is reflective of the general perception of Indian professionals!
gap
A study by Indian Council for Market Research (ICMR) during the first few years of the century had revealed that the phenomenon of fake CVs was not just restricted to the software industry. It was also prevalent in other sectors like ITeS, BFSI, Retail etc. They also pointed out that Rs. 400 crores had been spent by Indian companies for filling 200,000 jobs a year in those sectors and 10-12% of the selected candidates had submitted false information in their CVs, leading to a huge waste in recruitment costs alone. Since then, this figure has been on the rise year on year. According to The Risk Advisory Group (TRAG), 65% of CVs submitted in 2007 contained false information, a rise of 16% on the previous year’s amount. The latest research figures suggest that as many as 3 in 4 people, i.e. a whopping 75% of candidates, deviate from the truth on their CV, mostly about qualifications, job description & period of employment and salary.
gap
What's more interesting, is the perception of most of the candidates towards the crime being committed. Most of them lie in their CV because they think that everyone else does it and hence, to remain competitive, they must do it too. The general perception is that the sexing the CV or windowdressing are ‘harmless’ and the benefits of lying far outweigh the risks of being caught.
gap
According to TRAG, women in their early 30s were the biggest culprits, with 77 per cent of resumes containing some kind of untruth. Even among the statistically most honest group, men in their early 20s, half of all CVs featured misleading information.
gap
Another company, which specializes in background verification services and screens over 3,000 candidates per quarter, said that job seekers misled firms over everything from gaps in employment to fraud committed against previous employers. The most common inaccuracies were in employment history, with 55 per cent of candidates inventing a more impressive career. A further 36 per cent lied about their qualifications. While many of the discrepancies are simple errors of omission, around one in ten are more serious, viz. failure to disclose criminal convictions, fraud against previous employers or even terrorist links.
gap
Although exaggeration is widespread, outright lies can lead to a doomed career as it’s not so much a moral issue as a legal one. If a candidate is offered a job on the back of information contained in her/his CV that the employer believes to be correct, then the employer is legally entitled to withdraw the job offer or sack the employee without prior notice if they discover that the CV contains false information. So employees found guilty of lying can lose their job and worse still, receive a reference that refers to the reason why!
gap
An ex-colleague's case is a classic example of this. We used to work in the same division, although in different profiles and he had been with the company for a far longer period than myself. During the last quarter of 2010, he received a good offer from an MNC with around 40% hike in the salary. He did not even bother to serve the notice period and joined the new company within a short period of time. One month down the line, he was begging our VP to get his old job back. As I knew someone in the other organization, I came to know the reason behind this. There was a discrepancy in his Graduation degree and so the MNC had withdrawn the offer. He was out of job for the next 8-9 months before joining a much smaller and downmarket organization with a lower salary than his previous job. I would still say that he has been lucky enough to get another chance, but there have been instances when the companies, especially in the IT & ITeS sectors, have sacked employees en masse on integrity issues or candidates even ending up in prison on forgery charges.
gap
The combined effect of all these have seen the birth of a new industry vertical in itself - that of companies specializing in Background Checking services. While many bigger organizations outsource background checking to these companies, even the ones which do not, are wising up to applicants' lies and doing more checks than before. Even industry bodies like National Association Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM) have initiated efforts like National Skill Registry (NSR) in order to counter this ever growing menace.
gap
After being in the industry for a decade, it is crystal clear to me that if someone does not want to destroy her career, she should not resort to lying in her CV. There are ways of promoting a profile and making them look attractive to the prospective companies without resorting to lies. If one is gifted with words and expressions, one can do that herself. Else, one can always hire a professional CV writer. That really works. And, without having to jeopardize one's career prospect by lying.
