One of our frequent tasks at Caveat is validating, for a client, the credentials of a pending executive hire, possible board member or possible business associate. In the context of a through background review - in additional to verifing past employment and confirming degrees - interview past associates we will often interview past associates regarding their experience with the individual under review. These interview provide a great deal of insight into the personality of working style of a personal of interest - things not readily apparent from even the most accurate and extensive CV. But I digress...the disturbing numbers, via The Risk Advisory Group:

Via BBC News:

Details incorrect 'on 25% of CVs'

August 8, 2005
BBC News

Many applications are effectively bogus, TRAG says Candidates applying for jobs at finance firms are increasingly likely to lie on their applications, research suggests. A quarter of CVs contain incorrect or false information, The Risk Advisory Group (TRAG) said in a report.

Based on a study of 3,000 CVs, the group found the biggest lies involved academic qualifications, previous jobs, gaps in employment and directorships. It found incorrect CVs now had an average of three pieces of misleading information on them.

"These results are a warning to employers of taking too much at face value when hiring people," TRAG deputy director Richard Prior said. "Clearly any candidate could make a mistake when preparing a CV, but three mistakes are unlikely and effectively mean that these CVs are bogus."

The findings back up another recent study which found half of UK firms rarely or never checked the academic qualifications of prospective employees. The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) warned UK firms were a "soft touch" for CV fraudsters.

But its study did have a warning for people thinking of embroidering the truth on their application. One in four bosses have withdrawn job offers after finding lies on a CV, while 23% have fired a member of staff they later found had lied to get the job.

The original article appears here.

-- MDT