Ways to avoid some common recruitment pitfalls

Citation

Pitt, M. (2009), "Ways to avoid some common recruitment pitfalls", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 17 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2009.04417aab.001

Ways to avoid some common recruitment pitfalls

Article Type: Employment law outlook From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 17, Issue 1

Job-hunters always want to present their qualifications and past experience with as positive a gloss as possible. But when getting a job becomes more difficult, candidates perhaps feel more pressure to turn to outright deception.

Statistics from the Risk Advisory Group indicate that almost two-thirds of CVs now contain lies or inaccuracies. Women in their early 30s are, apparently, the worst offenders, with 77 percent of their CVs containing some form of inaccuracy. Even among the most honest group, men in their early 20s, half of CVs are estimated to contain discrepancies.

The most common distortions include bogus or exaggerated qualifications, changing the dates of employment to hide career gaps and exaggerating the pay received in a previous job. But there are also instances of applicants covering up criminal convictions, fraud against their previous employer and even terrorist links.

While most employers are likely to satisfy themselves about an employee’s application by checking his or her most recent employment history, I advise companies to go to greater lengths.

It is relatively easy for firms to take up candidates’ references and to check on academic qualifications. If these reveal any discrepancies with the candidate’s CV claims, wider and more detailed investigations should be made.

If a job offer is made on the basis of details contained in a CV that the employer believes to be correct, he or she is legally entitled to withdraw the offer if it is later discovered that the CV contains false information.

Moreover, many organizations use the CV as a personal-history form and the basis for subsequent personnel records. Employees are required to tell the truth under the terms of their employment contract. Lies on a CV can therefore be a reason for dismissal.

Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development reveals that a quarter of UK employers withdrew at least one job offer last year after discovering that someone had lied or otherwise misrepresented his or her application. And nearly as many (23 percent) dismissed someone who was already in post, for the same offence.

One way of helping to avoid employing people who will not cause the organization problems in the future is to recruit from as wide a talent pool as possible – an approach that sits easily with the full range of diversity and equal opportunities legislation.

I advise my clients to place job advertisements where they will reach as many candidates as possible. Advertising in women’s magazines, for example, will not attract large numbers of male applicants, while recruiting over the internet may exclude some older or less affluent people who do not have easy online access.

Firms should send all applicants a full job description, details of key duties and background information about the company. This can discourage potential employees who may feel uneasy about aspects of the organization’s policies and culture from taking their application any further.

Well before the interview, companies should ask all short-listed applicants to prove their identity and entitlement to work in the UK. This should provide the firm with plenty of time to make adequate checks.

The government lists the documents that employers must check to avoid prosecution for employing illegal workers and a fine of up to £5,000. Employers need to see the original of the applicant’s UK or European passport, national identity card or UK residence permit. Alternatively, employers must ask to see two original documents from a list that includes birth certificate, Home Office letter, work permit, immigration status document or official document bearing a national insurance number.

Firms may also wish to consider asking all short-listed applicants to disclose their sickness record and the reasons for any absence in the previous 12 months. But companies that adopt this approach must obviously be careful to avoid falling foul of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

In general terms, interview questions should focus on job requirements. Questions should be asked about personal circumstances only if these could affect job performance.

Nevertheless, an employer may wish to give interviewees workplace scenarios to consider and discuss, so that the recruiter can explore whether they appear to have any aggressive tendencies or might have problems settling into a team environment.

Mike PittEmployment-law partner at UK solicitors Pearson Hinchliffe. He can be contacted by e-mail at michael.pitt@pearson-hinchlif.co.uk or by telephone on +44 (0)161 785 3500.