CV Fraud or Employer Fraud?
Retain Staff by Telling the Truth About the Job When Interviewing
If you want to attract and retain staff in an increasingly competitive marketplace, be honest about the job you're offering and make sure the reality matches the promise.
It seems prospective employees aren't the only ones lying in job interviews.
It’s generally assumed that many job applicants add a little extra to their resumes, or even leave a little out, if they think it will help raise them above the slush pile.
More Than 20% of Job Applicants Lie in Their CV
The pre-employment screening service Australian Background claimed in 2005 that 21% of 1,000 candidates in the industrial, banking, public sector and finance industries had engaged in CV fraud. Of that 21% some 60% had reportedly omitted to mention criminal convictions such as fraud, drug possession and embezzlement.
But new studies suggest up to 90% of employers also lie about the job on offer.
When the Job Doesn't Match the Description
Imagine the disappointment of a colleague who once got a job as an administrative assistant at the local hospital. A bit of typing and reception duties she thought. Nowhere in the job description did it say that she would spend all day wearing protective clothing and wheeling a trolley containing soiled dressings, or that she would only get half an hour for lunch during which time she had to remove her gloves and coveralls.
They were surprised and disappointed when she left even though she explained she’d been offered a job that more closely matched her skills.
More Jobs, Fewer People
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), between 2025 and 2030, 12 million people a year will be exiting the global workforce. The countries that face the biggest threat are those with the oldest populations, particularly Japan, Italy and Germany. In the next few years, one million Japanese workers will be retiring, leaving management struggling to fill job vacancies.
This poses real challenges for employers in a range of industries to attract the best and the brightest to ensure that the vital infrastructure which is fundamental to their business operation can be maintained.
Attracting and Retaining Good Staff
Attracting staff is only half the problem. Keeping them once you’ve got them will be the real sticking point. If the job you’ve advertised as cutting edge, exciting, even sexy, fails to live up to the marketing, they’ll be out the door and onto the next project.
Generation Y or the “Millenniums”, those born between 1979 and 1994, live life at a fast pace and don’t wait around for things to get better. They’ve got too many choices. It’s the Google age – they’ve been brought up with powerful search engines that return zillions of results and they know that if, at first glance, the first hit doesn’t look any good, they can skip straight to the next one.
So if you’ve promised training as part of your job package, and none has been offered a few weeks in, they’ll be looking for a better deal elsewhere. Training is important to Gen Y.
If you’ve talked about career paths and opportunities, and they’re still in the back room after three months, they might just decide to go off and start their own company where they can be boss right now.
But if you ensure that the job you offer in the interview is an honest portrayal of the actual position, and you honour your promises of training, flexible hours and fast-track to responsibility, you have a good chance of retaining a loyal and enthusiastic employee, who will not only contribute to your organisation but will tell all his or her friends that you’re a great employer.
And in the current market, that’s the best advertising you can get.
