Screening potential employees is increasingly becoming standard practice, even when not legally required.
Working
Week talks to Kim Kerr, general manager of LexisNexis Risk and Information Analytics Group, about what is involved
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Xxx xxxscreening
Résumé xxxx
Honesty is the key to job applications
How widespread is pre-
employment screening?
About 86% of all companies do
some form of background checks,
although this may be as simple
as checking references. The larger
companies do background checks
as a matter of course – the figure
approaches 99% for bigger organi-
sations. For smaller companies it’s
more hit and miss – they normally
do it if they’re required to, such as
in industries like aviation where
there are legal requirements.
Is it a growing area?
It is a fast-growing business. It’s
becoming a part of doing good
business, because people do lie on
their applications.
How common is it for checks
to reveal discrepancies?
About 3% of the time we get a hit
in the criminal area that hasn’t
been disclosed on the application.
We have a higher variance in the
education and employment area.
If we’re working off a résumé,
between 30% and 40% of the time
we would have a variance. It can
be a degree they don’t have or a
degree from a diploma mill, or
maybe the dates are wrong. But
30-40% would have a significant
difference. With job application
forms, this falls to about 10%. The
job application form is a very good
tool for hiring because the appli-
cant has the opportunity to certify
that the information they have
provided is accurate.
What are the consequences if
deception is discovered?
If you’re a professional in a particu-
REPRINTED FROM FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 19 DECEMBER 2006 - 1 JANUARY 2007
People who lie on their CVs could be blacklisted rather than shortlisted
lar industry, your credibility is what
you’re selling and if you want to
lose your credibility, the easiest way
to do it is to falsify your résumé.
Everyone wants to put forward a
good résumé and there’s a lot of
skilled writing out there where
individuals are trying to put their
best foot forward, but you can do
that without inflating your résumé
to the point of being deceptive.
How relevant is this for the
aerospace industry?
The aviation industry is probably
one of the most active in terms of
background checking. It does a lot
of excellent work concerning the
people who are directly connected
with airlines. One area that needs
to be looked at is employees that
are related to the airline industry,
such as at airports. Background
checking is very important for
anybody that is connected to, or
SHUTTERSTOCK
has access to, the so-called “back of
house” at airports. Any of the sup-
pliers within the industry should
also ensure their employees have
adequate screening.
What problems arise if com-
panies don’t screen résumés?
Not checking can be risky, espe-
cially when you’re making a
detailed decision on talented
individuals, or someone who has
to have a specific degree or cer-
tification. Recently there was a
case in the USA where a law firm
hired an attorney without doing
a background check and it turned
out that he didn’t even have a law
degree. It can be absolutely stag-
gering in terms of their liability.
And of course if they’re not able
to do the work and you start miss-
ing projects, you’re talking about
big problems as well as the cost of
replacing that individual.
Specialist
screening
LexisNexis offers several levels
of screening, ranging in cost
from $30 to several hundred
dollars, depending on the level of
complexity. Specialist screening
companies are increasingly being
used to identify and weed out
deceptive job applicants.
Kim Kerr, general manager of
LexisNexis Risk and Information
Analytics Group says: “A person
can have all the right qualifications
on their résumé, but what you
need to know is: are they really
who they say they are? Are they
as squeaky-clean as they claim
from a criminal perspective, and
are they qualified for the job?
Have they got the qualifications
they detail on their résumé,
and have they worked for the
companies and in the positions
that they say they have?”
■ www.lexisnexis.com/risk
Common résumé lies:
■ Inflating previous job titles
■ Padding of grades
■ Falsely claiming a degree
■ Changing dates to give
employment continuity
■ Claiming technical knowledge
■ Boosting their previous salary
■ Claiming language fluency
■ Not disclosing a past conviction