Companies hire CV cheat spotters

By JULIE MIDDLETON

The CV claims of job seekers are being scrutinised by debt collector Baycorp Advantage, which has started New Zealand's first resume-checking service.

The credit checking company has been offering its pre-employment screening service HireRight to clients for about six months, says product manager Suzanne Wood.

And "quite a lot" of lying has been uncovered. The company estimates that 15 per cent of the applicants Baycorp has checked have hidden information or misled.

And although most job applications ask outright whether an applicant has a criminal record, Wood is surprised at how many deny it - and are found out when Baycorp comes into the picture.

Contracting out CV checks is part of the corporate picture as companies hunker down over their core business. But also part of the scene is increasing exaggeration on CVs, if not outright lies.

A survey by pollsters Mori of 1042 workers and managers published in Britain last August found that almost one-third of workers admitted being untruthful or exaggerating when job chasing.

And no wonder their qualms were few - nearly 20 per cent of them did not think potential bosses bothered to check their claims.

Baycorp amasses information on people from a variety of sources and holds information such as court judgments, known aliases, payment defaults, and public notices.

Dodgy staff pose most risk, it says, in retail, finance and IT industries, any area involving heavy physical work, transport, patient or child care and teaching.

Employers must seek permission from candidates for checks, and choose them from a varied menu.

The standard package costs $70 and includes identity verification, a credit profile, company ownership and directorship checks, an alias search, and a search of criminal and Accident Compensation records.

Additional checks include driver's licence ($15), immigration status ($15), employment verification ($15 per employer), education checks ($24 per institution, more for checks overseas) and professional or trade membership ($25).

Client companies must sign a pledge to respect the Privacy Act.

Baycorp Advantage