IF you do not know where a person has been, then just know you are hiring a stranger who may not only literally and figuratively hold the keys to your very existence but also to the future of your business success.

The application process is the best opportunity an employer has to get information about a candidate past performance and behaviour. Unfortunately, some employers still hire based primary upon a resume or a curriculum vitae (CV).

This is a major mistake. For an applicant, a resume is a marketing device whereby, an applicant is at liberty to tell the hiring organization what the applicant chooses to reveal. Resumes and CVs may amplify facts and experience.

At same time, resumes may not have the information an employer needs to make an informed hiring decision.

Statistics show that 51% of all resumes and CVs provided by applicants contain material fraud. In other words, 2 out of every 4 resumes and CVs an employer receives, there are material frauds in form of claiming to have worked at a job for longer period than is accurate, overstating of title or inaccurate claims of promotion, e.g. claiming to be a supervisor when the position is really a file clerk.

In more extreme instances, some applicants go so far as to make up jobs, degrees, credentials entirely or even  claiming to have been on study leave, while in truth, the applicant was in custody for a significant criminal offence. For example, a person just released from prison for defilement or child sacrifice would not be a good candidate for a job required to go into people’s homes, but may perform very well on a supervised work crew.  

Every applicant has the right to put the best foot forward in a resume, but when the applicant is untruthful, there is a problem. If an applicant lies in order to get into a job, there is no way of knowing what lies or acts of dishonesty will occur when they are working for an employer.

On the other hand, professionally reviewed employment job application form allows the employer to legally obtain the necessary information about a candidate at the same time spot unexplained employment gaps.

For example, the following red flags on an application may indicate that the applicant is not being truthful;

*  Applicant does not sign application
* Applicant does not sign consent to background screening
* Applicant leaves criminal questions blank
*  Applicant self-reports a criminal violation

* Applicant fails to explain why he or she left past jobs
*  Applicant fails to explain gaps in employment history
* Applicant gives an explanation for employment gap or for the reason leaving a previous job that does not make sense
*  Applicant uses excess cross-outs and changes, as though making it up as they go along

* Applicant fails to give complete information, i.e. insufficient information to identify a past employer, leaves out salary, etc.
* Applicant fails to indicate or cannot recall the name of a supervisor. 

The issue is not whether a person has gaps in his or her employment, but whether any gaps are unexplained. Not everyone has an uninterrupted employment history;
Employment gaps can have very reasonable explanations, such as time off to go to school or for a sabbatical, or for personal and family reasons.

Sometimes it can take a person time to find a new job. Gaps can indicate negative things too, such as applicant spent time in custody for a significant criminal offence.
 
dkirunga@toiff.com

Derick Kirunga is a fraud prevention expert