Financial Cryptography

The HR Malaise in Britain - 25% of CVs are fiction

As discussed here a while back in depth, there is an increasing Human Resources problem in some countries. Here's actual testing of the scope of the issue whereby job employers ask for people to lie to them in the interview, and jobseekers happily oblige:

One CV in four is a work of fiction

By Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent (Filed: 19/08/2005)

One in four people lies on their CV, says a study that partly blames the "laxity" of employers.

The average jobseeker tells three lies but some employees admitted making up more than half their career history.

A report this month from The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development highlights the problem. It says nearly a quarter of companies admitted not always taking up candidates' references and a similar percentage routinely failed to check absenteeism records or qualifications.

Example snipped...

The institute said that the fact that a rising number of public sector staff lie about
qualifications or give false references was a problem not just for health services and charities, where staff could be working with vulnerable adults or children, but many public services.

The institute said a quarter of employers surveyed ''had to withdraw at least one job offer. Others discover too late that they have employed a liar who is not competent to do the job."

Research by Mori in 2001 showed that 7.5 million of Britain's 25.3 million workers had misled potential employers. The figure covered all ages and management levels.

The institute puts the cost to employers at £1 billion.

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2005.

If it found 25% of the workers admitted to making material misrepresentations, that shows it is not an abnormality, rather lying to get a job is normal. Certainly I'd expect similar results in computing and banking (private) sectors, and before you get too smug over the pond, I'd say if anything the problem is worse in the US of A.

There is no point in commenting further than to point to this earlier essay: Lies, Uncertainty and Job Interviews. I wonder if it had any effect?