The Sherlock Holmes In Every Recruiter.
Lying is not an integral part of the recruitment process, but you will be surprised the amount of times that I have felt like Sherlock Holmes, unlocking a web of deceit. “The game has been afoot” more often than you would think.
Sometimes the indiscretions are so minor that they could be passed off as oversights, but sometimes they are so coldly calculated that Machiavelli would have been proud. In the extreme you may have unearthed a Fraudster.
Degrees of exaggeration are the order of the day.
Someone might get creative with their job titles in their older roles where it is unlikely that references will be requested. Some might massage the dates of their employment on LinkedIn, and the more astute will even ensure that they match with their CVs. Others might overstate their involvement in projects – a leader rather than one of the minions. There are too many examples, but you get the idea.
The experienced recruitment professional knows to investigate a candidate’s experience from various angles, and if there seems to be a disconnect between their “experience” and their knowledge, it is often possible to pick up. However, the nature of a recruiter’s role is that they tend to have 60 to 90 minutes to form as detailed a picture as possible of a particular candidate, so they can’t afford to be too doubtful. The recruiter has to give them the benefit of the doubt in certain circumstances, and if a candidate is clever enough, it is possible to slip through the net.
This is where you might be thinking “well, if a recruiter can’t guarantee a truthful story from a candidate, then what is the point of involving them in the first place?”
Well, our detective powers are supplemented by an often overlooked part of the recruitment process – referencing candidates. However, often a company has “fallen in love” with a certain candidate to such an extent that the referencing procedure at the end is a formality. This, in my opinion, is a dangerous approach as it gives the candidate a false sense of security and actually allows them to embellish their story. Even if references are requested, often a referee is provided who is inevitably well-disposed towards the candidate. An x workmate who’s a “mate” is a common occurrence. The process doesn’t necessarily work that well.
Thinking out of the box and maybe controversially, it would be great if there were some independent place for companies to write real-time references about their employees, to be kept for all time, to be viewed by any future employer. This would make people accountable for their actions and also ensure that future employers get a true picture of what a potential new employee has previously accomplished. This could simply be an extension of any formal periodic appraisal of an employee for example. Controversial I know, but food for thought.
Many would agree there is always something slightly disingenuous about a candidate writing their own CV. How would their CV read if their previous managers were to write the content? Slightly different I would imagine.
It is human nature to want to give yourself the best possible chance of securing that dream job. However, for some, the temptation to paint a rosier picture is just too great.
Recruiters shouldn’t have to be detectives, but that is the reality. If the referencing system were a little more detailed and accurate, maybe we could be something akin to reporters or messengers. Just one little lie can ruin a candidate’s credibility. Don’t do it! Eventually you will get found out!