Recruiters say reference checks part of the deal

By JULIE MIDDLETON careers editor

Top recruiters say there is no excuse for not checking job-hunters' qualifications and references - it is a standard part of the employment process.

Their comments followed revelations that the newly appointed CEO of the Maori Television Service, 51-year-old Canadian John Davy, made several claims about his qualifications and background that did not tally.

The recruiters said they were retained to find, interview and recommend candidates; checking CVs and references was part of the deal.

Despite the extra difficulties posed by the numbers of job-seeking migrants in New Zealand and Kiwis with overseas degrees and experience, "you can't take any shortcuts", said TMP Worldwide general manager Denis Horner.

"The checks are the most important part of the whole recruitment process - and you can normally smell a rat pretty quickly."

Many companies required candidates to sign forms either indicating their agreement to background checks or confirming the truthfulness of their claims.

Korn Ferry director Annika Streefland said insufficient checks were "just laziness and the lack of reach of most recruitment agencies".





According to George Brooks, chief executive of OCG, "There are fewer candidates than jobs in lots of areas, so perhaps some [companies] aren't doing as much as they used to."

Sheffield headhunter Robyn Redford said that universities had a vested interest in verifying degrees and would readily confirm full name, course and year of graduation.

Lawson Williams director John Williams said he was "amazed" when talking to candidates to find how rarely they were asked to produce original documents.

There was no research specific to New Zealand, but a study of 7000 resumes last September by American search company Christian and Timbers found that 23 per cent of executives misrepresented accomplishments to gain an edge.

Candidates knew that agencies did not always check details, said consultant Anna Sage, and would take shortcuts to maximise their returns.

The director of one of New Zealand's two employee fact-checking services, Katrina Birchill, said her investigators worked on the premise that "60 per cent of candidates lie, misrepresent themselves or exaggerate".

Baycorp, which had HireRight, estimated that 15 per cent of the applicants it had checked had misled or hidden information about their background.