The crisis brings out the liars: CV fraud on the rise

Desperate times call for desperate measures: according to new research the economic slowdown and consequent rise in unemployment are leading to a surge in CV fraud and incorrect, exaggerated or totally fictional claims from candidates about their experience and qualifications.

"The fierce competition among job applicants is bringing out the creative liar in some," says Kirsten Halcrow, managing director of Emlpyers' Mutual Protection Service (EMPS), South Africa's oldest background verifications company, which commissioned the study.

"Our research shows a definite pattern in times of recession: every time the economy takes a knock there is a definite increase in fraudulent information on applicants' CVs and written job application forms. Nearly 35% of all CVs have some type of lie during times of economic stability, but the percentage rises to over 50% during times of economic hardship, as candidates are tempted to exaggerate their credentials. Sure enough we have seen an increase over the past few months."

Overstating one's qualifications or experience, has become known as 'pimping.' The phenomenon is on the increase.

"The situation is becoming worse as many candidates are desperate to find work and resort to 'pimping' their CVs to stand a better chance to getting a job," says Jan Coetzee, managing director of Manpower SA. "This invariably does not work and clearly raises questions on the candidates' honesty and integrity. We find that as much as 30% of the CVs we receive contain exaggerated claims of experience."

There is also a typically South African twist to the tale. According to Wilson Rooy, one of the most experienced black HR executives in the country, recruiters' approach changes according to the candidate's skin colour: "When they appoint a black person there is extraordinary caution around checking out the authenticity of his or her credentials, whereas the same degree of rigour does not apply when a white person is appointed, it is assumed that their credentials are true."

Whether candidates are black or white, Halcrow says that "the amazing thing is how often they get away with lying or embellishing the truth."

EMPS research shows that 50% of companies hiring will use a specialised company to screen potential employees, 25% will do the screening internally and 25% will do no background checking at all." Companies in the financial services sector "usually do quite stringent checking", says Halcrow, but they are also liable to CV fraud, "especially involving spurious foreign qualifications or work experience, as that is both more appealing to the employer and harder to verify."