First it was Crocodile Dundee then it was the Croc Hunter and now lying on their CV...Will these people [Australians] never stop? If Australians can lie on their CV...I wonder if it takes place elsewhere in the world. What's next? People obtaining degrees using fake credentials.
An interesting article, but it is using some very extreme examples and promoting Australian Background who are trying to make a Dollar out of potential employees giving them the OK to check them out and then 'accredit' them to future employers. One of our recruiting firms, Morgan and Banks, previously suggested a far higher figure of 60+% and that what they had found included: 1. Degrees listed at a higher level than was the case. 2. Degrees from a 'better' university than was the case. 3. Employment at a igher level than was the case. 4. Gaps covered by manipulating dates. We have very strong legislation in the privacy and anti-discrimiation areas here, so it is not simply a matter of referencing a few databases. For example criminal records are not public, and in this State a check takes around 24 weeks and must be requested/authorised by the employee, not the employer. As far as academic records are concerned, I always insist of the original transcript, not the degree parchment, and get permission to contact the University Registrar. I have 'discovered' enough 'inaccuracies' to insist on this procedure always. It is not just Aussies, as the last 2 who missed out on employment/promotion were Americans ... and who had held very senior positions in the US and here, in Banking.
Re: Re: Thousands of Australians lie... I think every employer should scrutinize potential employee credentials the way you do. Insisting on original transcripts is a good idea. My comments on Australians were in good fun. The problem, however, is not and is much more widespread than the article reports. This kind of stuff happens everywhere (yes, even here in the United States).
You also need to include the thousands of Americans and Canadians who lie in their resumes. Only a small percentage get caught. I once worked with an individual who claimed he held two graduate degrees but couldn't compose two sentences (but he was a government worker ~ very few public servants are competent . )
On the other hand, the company I work for is extremely strict about background checks for all full-time employees. It's not high security or anything, but everyone got one. One employee here had a BA degree from a very small college that had folded up or merged with another one, and although she was eventually given the green light, it took a long time to verify her degree.
