chicky_pie
POTATO HEAD ROXON
Be honest, the poll is not set to public.
:apig:HE was deregistered as a trainee psychiatrist at a major Queensland hospital after his qualifications were found to be bogus.
Now psychologist Vitomir Zepinic is being prosecuted in New South Wales, again for allegedly pretending to be a psychiatrist.
Zepinic, from the former Yugoslavia, claimed he had done a medical degree in Sarajevo, but the University of Belgrade said he only completed a philosophy degree, was a doctor of philosophy and had a masters in science degree in psychotherapy.
Randwick Council in Sydney sacked its general manager of one week, Glen Oakley, when it realised he faked an MBA from Harvard University and a doctorate of philosophy from the University of New England.
Oakley, who had a $1.2 million contract with the council, was a former director of NIB Health and director-general of the NSW Department of State and Regional Development.
When asked why he did it Oakley said he was “sick” and labelled his lies a “sin”.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption sentenced him to 20 months periodic detention.
Then there’s the top Australian executive with InterContinental Hotels who resigned after a CV check found he’d lied about his qualifications.
Patrick Imbardelli, who ran the group's fast-growing Asia Pacific business, resigned from his $767,000 job just a fortnight before he was due to join the main board of InterContinental.
"The company understood his qualifications included three degrees: a BA in business studies from Victoria University in Australia; a BSC in hotel administration from Cornell University in the US; and a master of business administration from Cornell,” a hotel spokesperson said.
"While he had attended classes at both Victoria and Cornell, we understand he did not graduate from either."
One in four lie
Lying on CVs is incredibly common according to Peter Stackpole, managing director of background checking firm First Advantage's Asia-Pacific office.
“We find about a quarter of people have lied on their CV,” he said.
Fudging details about university qualifications was one of the most common lies, Mr Stackpole revealed.
He said people often did attend the courses they claimed to, but dropped out before completing their degree.
Mr Stackpole said more and more employers were becoming concerned about the legitimacy of job candidate’s CVs.
“Job candidates most likely to be checked are those working with money – so in the finance and banking sector,” he said.
“But identity theft and terrorism is a growing fear. Even catering staff are being checked out now as they may have access to high security areas.”
Other areas people regularly lie about are past job titles, reasons for leaving a job, their salary, and their achievements in a particular role.
The biggest lies he’s come across have “involved people changing their employment dates to cover up stints in prison”.
Ambiguity a pet hate
Sally Mills, CEO of recruitment firm La Volta, says the CVs that drive her the most crazy are those that give ambiguous information.
“Most people are a somewhat ambiguous on the CV, they gloss over things,” she said.
“They may not have the exact experience for the role, but rather than just say that they cover it up. It really drives me mad.”
Catching someone out
A good way to catch a CV liar out during an interview is to question them on the finer details of things they’ve included in their CV, Ms Mills said,
“If they claim they’ve been an advertising account manager, ask them what their targets and commissions were. If they can’t answer basic questions like this straight away they’re lying about their experience.
“If they say they enjoy playing golf, ask them questions about it. If there are long pauses or they cant answer straight away, they’re bullshitters.”
Mr Stackhope said his team contact universities to check qualifications and call former employers to ensure CV details are correct.
But both experts said lying on the CV didn’t always mean an automatic rejection.
“In sales, for instance, an employer may not look unfavourably on someone who lies in their CV or interview,” Ms Mills said.
“They may see it as a plus in sales, where the truth often has to be bent a little.
“So it depends on the case.”
http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,23211878-5012428,00.html