New research from due diligence company, HireRight, revealed that around 63 per cent of jobseekers’ applications in the first half of 2016 contained errors, with inaccuracies concerning employment history overtaking education errors as the number-one mistake.
Although many inaccuracies are simple mistakes, unqualified candidates may slip through the net if appropriate screening is not practiced routinely.
HireRight found that thirty-three per cent of jobseekers included incorrect details regarding their employment history compared to 32 per cent who stated an incorrect grade, qualification, institution or course date.
The data is based on HireRight’s own records, which includes over 500,000 checks of 70,000 applications by job hunters in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
The company provides pre-employment background screening services for 33 FTSE 100 businesses. It tracks errors found during the screening process across education, employment, credit reporting, directorship claims, ID documentation, and professional qualification and membership claims.
According to Managing Director of HireRight, Steve Girdler, job candidates are either rushing applications or deliberately including false information in order to beat their competition during this time of economic uncertainty.
“More and more businesses are carrying out thorough due diligence so, for jobseekers, accuracy and honesty is absolutely key in order to ensure your chances of being hired,” he said.
“Bringing in a new employee exposes a business to risk. While many inaccuracies are simple mistakes the worry is that without screening, unqualified or inappropriate candidates do slip through the net.”
The financial services industry showed a high percentage of errors within their applications with a high of 71 per cent in February alone.
However, Mr Girdler added that the financial services industry was “more thorough than ever when it comes to making hiring decisions”, following the introduction of new rules from the Financial Conduct Authority.
“In carrying out such in-depth checks, HR and risk departments ensure that they only consider the absolute best leaders and talent, and can focus on establishing whether individuals are a cultural fit for the future their company envisages.”
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