How to Track Down Fake Resumes?
28 June 2012
Read by 2689 persons
Fake diplomas, adjusted dates, inflated job titles; resume fraud takes many forms. The internet has made it easier to produce fake diplomas.
News spread quickly around the world. The head of Yahoo, one of the most important news and search sites, allegedly falsified his resume. An unfortunate deception that forced him to resign after five months as president. Worse, another senior executive from the same company suffered the same fate a few days later, for the same reason. A similar case occurred in France where a former airport boss allegedly submitted a fake resume. He claimed to hold an air navigation engineering degree, which he had never obtained. Although he performed his job remarkably well during his few months of activity, he was still dismissed for gross misconduct.
These examples are far from anecdotal. According to Chantal Aounil, consultant at Bil Consulting, 80% of resumes in the firm's database have undergone some kind of improvement. This ranges from omission to embellishment, including false statements, if the candidate is almost certain that verification will prove impossible or very difficult to do.
Many candidates succumb to these practices. However, experienced recruiters do not miss these deceptions, even if they sometimes grant extenuating circumstances for certain discrepancies. Doubt about the veracity of the information provided is forgivable if the candidate is transparent during the interview. Very often, it may involve minor adjustments to the reality. For example, the course was completed, but did not lead to a diploma. So, a mention such as "former student" of such a school can mean that the person attended the school but never passed the final exam or was dismissed prematurely. The candidate may also mention the name of a large foreign school when it is actually a decentralized training program. Sometimes, gaps are deliberately left in the professional or educational background. "Being imprecise about dates to hide a period of unemployment is not serious if you are honest about the reasons," explains Chantal Aounil.
On the other hand, mentioning a fake diploma is detrimental to the candidate. However, this subterfuge is common. With the development of the internet, no country is spared. Many websites, generally hosted in Asian countries, offer diplomas from all the major universities in the world. But the problem is such that recruiters are extremely meticulous on this subject and do not hesitate to call the schools mentioned to authenticate the documents provided. It is therefore difficult to slip through the net if it concerns prestigious schools because their reputation is at stake.
All graduates are meticulously recorded. The only problem in this case is that some companies do not bother to carry out the usual checks when they recruit directly for non-strategic positions. Younes Mouhib, CEO of Positif Conseil, even claims that 75% of local companies do not verify the information provided on a resume. But often, these are non-strategic positions.
Paradoxically, fraud intensifies as one climbs the hierarchy, emphasizes Ms. Aounil. "Improved resumes are mainly observed for management positions, sometimes even for director positions. Often, they are driven by competition, the pursuit of new challenges, and therefore they do not hesitate to inflate or embellish their resume," she explains. In doing so, it is tempting to fabricate experience. "This is the easiest part of the resume to embellish," notes Mohamed Benouarrek, HR director of Promamec. "A mission carried out between 2003 and 2005 can last two years or a few weeks. Candidates often lengthen the dates to hide periods of inactivity," he specifies.
It is difficult to hide deceptions indefinitely
The artifices are extremely numerous. Ms. Aounil also emphasizes the approximations of job titles. "Some mention all the attributions of a job description without actually performing all the consequent tasks," she specifies. For example, it is not uncommon for an HR manager to pass himself off as an HR director, just as a product manager might pass himself off as a sales director.
Languages are also an important factor to monitor. Candidates often have the habit of mentioning "English: fluent." In such a case, the question can be settled very quickly during the interview. If the recruiter understands the language mentioned, they can use it in the middle of the interview. If this language is essential for the position, it will be possible to get help from a professional. In a casual discussion, it will be impossible to evade.
To show their ability to work in a team, the candidate may suddenly become a practitioner of a team sport (football, rugby, volleyball or handball) while others highlight their endurance and tenacity by mentioning marathons or combat sports on their resume.
All this is reckless. Because if the recruiter takes the precaution of doing a minimum of investigation, the offenses are quickly uncovered. Moreover, one of the usual precautions that is becoming common is to ask for references in order to contact former employers. Phone calls to previous employers are also frequent, as are exchanges with former superiors or colleagues of the candidate. Fraudsters are therefore warned. Especially since it is difficult to hide deceptions indefinitely.
Book: A book to learn how to better structure your resume.
Whether it is for a job search, internship or training, it is impossible to avoid writing a curriculum vitae. This must, in a few lines, present your background, your strengths, your interests, in short, a whole life! A difficult exercise when one knows the recruiter's merciless eye... What presentation should be adopted? Thematic or chronological resume? How to highlight limited professional experience? Can you play the originality card? "The Great Resume Book" is a guide that provides answers to all these questions by offering an unbeatable writing method. Examples of commented resumes, classified by activity sectors (IT, banking, communication, industry, commerce, etc.), will help you avoid pitfalls, highlight your skills and assets; in other words, to build a high-performing resume!
"The Great Resume Book" (3rd edition) by Jérôme Houard, Laure Marcus; Studyrama Editions (November 2010)
Brahim Habriche.
Lavieeco.com
Published on May 30, 2012.
Posted online on August 9, 2012.
News spread quickly around the world. The head of Yahoo, one of the most important news and search sites, allegedly falsified his resume. An unfortunate deception that forced him to resign after five months as president. Worse, another senior executive from the same company suffered the same fate a few days later, for the same reason. A similar case occurred in France where a former airport boss allegedly submitted a fake resume. He claimed to hold an air navigation engineering degree, which he had never obtained. Although he performed his job remarkably well during his few months of activity, he was still dismissed for gross misconduct.
These examples are far from anecdotal. According to Chantal Aounil, consultant at Bil Consulting, 80% of resumes in the firm's database have undergone some kind of improvement. This ranges from omission to embellishment, including false statements, if the candidate is almost certain that verification will prove impossible or very difficult to do.
Many candidates succumb to these practices. However, experienced recruiters do not miss these deceptions, even if they sometimes grant extenuating circumstances for certain discrepancies. Doubt about the veracity of the information provided is forgivable if the candidate is transparent during the interview. Very often, it may involve minor adjustments to the reality. For example, the course was completed, but did not lead to a diploma. So, a mention such as "former student" of such a school can mean that the person attended the school but never passed the final exam or was dismissed prematurely. The candidate may also mention the name of a large foreign school when it is actually a decentralized training program. Sometimes, gaps are deliberately left in the professional or educational background. "Being imprecise about dates to hide a period of unemployment is not serious if you are honest about the reasons," explains Chantal Aounil.
On the other hand, mentioning a fake diploma is detrimental to the candidate. However, this subterfuge is common. With the development of the internet, no country is spared. Many websites, generally hosted in Asian countries, offer diplomas from all the major universities in the world. But the problem is such that recruiters are extremely meticulous on this subject and do not hesitate to call the schools mentioned to authenticate the documents provided. It is therefore difficult to slip through the net if it concerns prestigious schools because their reputation is at stake.
All graduates are meticulously recorded. The only problem in this case is that some companies do not bother to carry out the usual checks when they recruit directly for non-strategic positions. Younes Mouhib, CEO of Positif Conseil, even claims that 75% of local companies do not verify the information provided on a resume. But often, these are non-strategic positions.
Paradoxically, fraud intensifies as one climbs the hierarchy, emphasizes Ms. Aounil. "Improved resumes are mainly observed for management positions, sometimes even for director positions. Often, they are driven by competition, the pursuit of new challenges, and therefore they do not hesitate to inflate or embellish their resume," she explains. In doing so, it is tempting to fabricate experience. "This is the easiest part of the resume to embellish," notes Mohamed Benouarrek, HR director of Promamec. "A mission carried out between 2003 and 2005 can last two years or a few weeks. Candidates often lengthen the dates to hide periods of inactivity," he specifies.
It is difficult to hide deceptions indefinitely
The artifices are extremely numerous. Ms. Aounil also emphasizes the approximations of job titles. "Some mention all the attributions of a job description without actually performing all the consequent tasks," she specifies. For example, it is not uncommon for an HR manager to pass himself off as an HR director, just as a product manager might pass himself off as a sales director.
Languages are also an important factor to monitor. Candidates often have the habit of mentioning "English: fluent." In such a case, the question can be settled very quickly during the interview. If the recruiter understands the language mentioned, they can use it in the middle of the interview. If this language is essential for the position, it will be possible to get help from a professional. In a casual discussion, it will be impossible to evade.
To show their ability to work in a team, the candidate may suddenly become a practitioner of a team sport (football, rugby, volleyball or handball) while others highlight their endurance and tenacity by mentioning marathons or combat sports on their resume.
All this is reckless. Because if the recruiter takes the precaution of doing a minimum of investigation, the offenses are quickly uncovered. Moreover, one of the usual precautions that is becoming common is to ask for references in order to contact former employers. Phone calls to previous employers are also frequent, as are exchanges with former superiors or colleagues of the candidate. Fraudsters are therefore warned. Especially since it is difficult to hide deceptions indefinitely.
Book: A book to learn how to better structure your resume.
Whether it is for a job search, internship or training, it is impossible to avoid writing a curriculum vitae. This must, in a few lines, present your background, your strengths, your interests, in short, a whole life! A difficult exercise when one knows the recruiter's merciless eye... What presentation should be adopted? Thematic or chronological resume? How to highlight limited professional experience? Can you play the originality card? "The Great Resume Book" is a guide that provides answers to all these questions by offering an unbeatable writing method. Examples of commented resumes, classified by activity sectors (IT, banking, communication, industry, commerce, etc.), will help you avoid pitfalls, highlight your skills and assets; in other words, to build a high-performing resume!
"The Great Resume Book" (3rd edition) by Jérôme Houard, Laure Marcus; Studyrama Editions (November 2010)
Brahim Habriche.
Lavieeco.com
Published on May 30, 2012.
Posted online on August 9, 2012.
