Have you lied in your CV, Mr Kumar?

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: Police verification, blood tests and financial background checks. It isn’t easy getting a job with the IT-ITeS industry these days. But stung by the swarm of fake CVs and wary of employee cybercrime, Indian companies in the tech sector are cracking down on bogus candidates in and effort to weed out the worst offenders.

It seems to be working. Several organisations have reported a significant drop in the number of applicants that misrepresent themselves in their CVs. Companies are getting complete background checks that include a thorough verification of educational qualifications, references and address, as well as experience certificate checks, among other checks. And that’s just for starters.

Agreeing that instances of fake CVs have come down, Kalpana Jaishankar, vice-president, human resources, operations & people development, Patni, says, “Currently, of the total number of candidates that apply for jobs, 3-5% still provide false information in some form or another. The maximum is at the entry level, where candidates have one to three years’ experience.”

According to experts, peer pressure often deludes candidates into thinking that because everyone else is faking their CVs it’s all right to do so. Some feel the need to enhance their achievements and hence present themselves in the most favourable, albeit dishonest, light. Whatever the reason, the problem of fake CVs has grown quite alarming.

According to a KPMG study last year, 15-24% of CVs in India were falsified. The offences typically include forged documents such as educational and employment certificates as well as salary slips, misrepresentation of past employment and inaccurate degree details. But now companies have found ways to catch up with those that provide fraudulent information—even after the person may have joined.

Says Aditya Narayan Mishra, general manager, Ma Foi Management Consultants Ltd: “Most companies in IT and

BPO conduct background checks only after the candidate has joined. There are instances of a few IT companies firing candidates whose details prove to be false. However, not all companies terminate such employees immediately on coming to know of their fake CVs.” If the candidate has a good understanding of a project, then he or she may be terminated only after the project is over.