|
 I
was reading in today's [20th July] Newspaper a
front page story on how candidates are fudging
information in their CV's while applying for jobs
in the hope of getting better deals. Our experience
as a Consultancy has been that most of the time
it is not the intention of the candidates to cheat
or lie but there are factors like fear, embarrassment
or anxiety which contribute to misrepresentation
of facts on the candidate's part. As a consultancy,
we have the advantage of sharing a close relationship
with both the candidate as well as the client
and are in a position to influence our candidates
in a right and positive manner. When the candidates
ask us for advice, we always counsel them to present
and handle the facts, but occasionally we find
that candidates end up handling the situation
ineffectively while interacting with the client.
Let me present some incidents, in general, which
we as a Consultancy experience in our day-to-day
recruiting life. These are mostly instances where
the candidates could not be provided inputs from
our side at the right time and also because it
is difficult to predict human behaviour, we think
these candidates did not handle the facts well
and lost out good job opportunities.
Example A: There was our candidate Mr.
X who was working with ABC Company as Senior Manager
-Ad. Sales in a leading TV channel that was in
touch with us on a regular basis. We were to present
his candidature to one of our clients. When we
made a phone call to his current organization
and asked for Mr. X we got to know that he had
left the organization 7 months back. On checking
with the candidate as to why he mentioned to us
that he was currently employed with the firm,
he explained that he had a family property dispute
and hence had gone to his native place for past
few months to settle the dispute requesting his
organization for leave but since the matter took
some time to resolve, he lost his job. But "why
did he not tell us the truth?", we asked him.
He tried to defend himself for sometime and then
ended the call saying he will call us later as
he had to rush for a doctor's appointment. Subsequently
he never called us and neither was he contactable.
Example B: Mr. Y was a candidate who had
14 years of work experience and had been employed
with 4 different firms during his career span
having a successful and growth oriented track
record. He was hired by a firm very recently.
He started off well in the company and after about
one month of joining, his boss called him and
asked him whether he ever worked with ABC Company
which was not mentioned in his CV? Mr. Y nervously
attempted to ask his boss why he needed that information
but sensing that the boss was serious about getting
the information right away, he admitted he was
employed with them. How did his boss get to know
about it? It so happened that Mr. Y's current
boss and his ex- boss in ABC company were acquainted
and incidentally they met at a party and that
is how the information was passed on. Mr. Y had
worked with ABC Company for 5 months but had left
them due to a mismatch of job profile expectation
and had left them on a bad note too. "But why
was the tenure not mentioned in his CV?" his boss
asked. Mr. Y said he had left them on a bad note
and hence was uncomfortable mentioning it. But
now after the boss had this information, his mind
started doubting the capability and intentions
of Mr. Y [even though the candidate had started
off well in his new job] and this discomfort,
kind of estranged the relationship between the
two of them and eventually Mr. Y left the organization
within few months.
Example C: There was a candidate Mr. Z
who we presented for an interview with one of
our clients for a Marketing position. He was very
suitable with around 10 years experience and our
client made a verbal offer which was acceptable
to the candidate. When it came to the stage of
getting the offer in writing, the HR dept, as
a regular procedure, asked for supporting documents
in terms of Appointment letter and the last salary
slip. Mr. Z mentioned that the company he worked
for was relatively small and not professionally
organized; hence he was not having either of the
documents and his salary was directly being deposited
in the bank every month. OK, so in absence of
documents, as an alternative, the HR department
asked him to provide the bank statements for past
6 months as a proof of his current CTC which he
had claimed he was currently getting. Initially
he agreed with the client but to us as a consultant,
he mentioned that he is not comfortable sharing
his bank statement. We advised him that in his
interest he should share it as he has no other
document and also because of the fact that he
had committed to the client that he would do so.
That is when the resistance from the candidate
started to surface. He mentioned that he will
instead try and provide the appointment letter
by talking to his boss. Obviously the client did
not agree and insisted that, at that stage of
recruitment, the bank statement would be the only
acceptable document. It was seen as an issue of
integrity and honesty. The whole situation became
so murky that eventually the hire did not take
place.
In all three examples above, you will observe
that the issue of credibility and trust became
a question mark and hence good career opportunities
were lost out. So the question you as a candidate
should ask yourself is what is the right way to
handle situations such as the above?
Suggestions in general:
It is as simple as -"Always present the facts
and handle it effectively at the interview/application
stage itself".
What if you have been jobless for the past
6/7 months? Clearly mention the reason why
you left the previous organization. And explain
that now you are taking time to choose the right
opportunity which will offer long term career
prospects [but also a word of caution- a very
long gap like a one year or so is extremely difficult
to explain and hence should be avoided unless
there are reasons like studies or maternity leave
which can be explained]. You have already observed
in example A that nothing is achieved by not presenting
the facts as they are.
What if you had left one of your past organization
in a 5 months time period which perhaps might
reflect a wrong career move? Analyze what
was the reason for you to leave the organization
in such a short span? Present the learnings you
had with the company and the contribution you
made. If you had a problem of getting along with
your boss or you were not satisfied with the job
profile, present the facts in a matured manner
so that the prospective employer appreciates your
point of view. A sincere attempt should be made
to explain the fact that you did not enjoy the
working relationship and results were getting
affected. Professional and matured prospective
employers will understand and also appreciate
that you want to walk into a new relationship
with both you and the employer with eyes open.
In case it was a mistake you made by leaving the
company because the company is reputed to offer
excellent careers to people, admit it .We are
all allowed to make mistakes. Your point of view
will be appreciated if you are truthful. This
will help in making your next career move fruitful.
You can then avoid situations like what happened
in example B above.
What if you want a better compensation and
you mention an inflated salary figure with your
current organization? You have seen what happened
in example C .There is no point in misrepresenting
CTC figures because without any supporting document
for each and every component, you will not get
a good deal because employers always use your
current compensation as the base figure for negotiation.
Importantly you will lose out on a good opportunity.
And not presenting facts is, by way of perception,
seen as lack of honesty which might not be true
in your case. Instead learn to be a good negotiator.
In my previous article I had mentioned how to
handle your salary negotiation effectively and
come out a winner.
Hence, to sum up, always prepare well in advance
for an interview and present facts and handle
them effectively .As the good old saying goes,
HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY!
All the best!! |
