Reply to: references

[Mich the Tester]

My CV contains zero lies, as do most people's. Those stats - particularly the last one are slanted in a particular way - another way would be to say 95% of CVs had no problems at all.

There shouldn't be any outright lies in a CV, but there's no need to list the negatives. A CV, to my mind, is like any other commercial document; it tells a potential buyer the specs of a product or service, highlights the advantages of said product or service, and makes them interested in buying. Companies who advertise their wonderful services to the public but never tell the customer about the cases where things went wrong shouldn't complain if they recieve CVs that do the same.

[Mich the Tester]

Mine in the Netherlands are even worse. They (an external vetting company) wanted a reference faxed to them from all 3 clients in the past 3 years. Which they have all kindly done.

Now they are wanting them to send a hard copy in the post as well

You can't beat Dutch bureaucracy.

Nobody's gone to that extreme with me yet, but I have a standard list of referees I can give as long as clientco and not the agent will be contacting them.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

Some stats from a few years ago:

• 36% of small to medium business managers regularly fail to check candidate references
  Bank of Scotland Business Banking ‘SMEs are all fired up’
  
  
• 11% of organisations never check qualifications and 23% only sometimes check them
• One quarter of employers in the UK withdrew at least one job offer in the last year after discovering someone had lied or otherwise misrepresented their application. And nearly as many (23%) dismissed someone who was already in post for the same offence
  The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD 2005) annual Recruitment, Retention and Turnover Survey
  
  
• 56% of CVs screened in 2002 contained some form of discrepancy, rising to 70% for IT contractors (Computer Weekly 2003). In a significant number of cases (5%) unchecked discrepancies lead to serious long-term consequences for the employer
  
  
  Risk Advisory group (TRAG)

My CV contains zero lies, as do most people's. Those stats - particularly the last one are slanted in a particular way - another way would be to say 95% of CVs had no problems at all.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

Never been checked in 10 yrs , but then I have a good reputation ....... so don't have to tickle my pimps.

WHS

[KentPhilip]

Yes they do, my current agency wanted refrences for the last 3 years and they checked each one out....

Mine in the Netherlands are even worse. They (an external vetting company) wanted a reference faxed to them from all 3 clients in the past 3 years. Which they have all kindly done.

Now they are wanting them to send a hard copy in the post as well

[TimberWolf]

Some stats from a few years ago:

• 36% of small to medium business managers regularly fail to check candidate references
  Bank of Scotland Business Banking ‘SMEs are all fired up’
  
  
• 11% of organisations never check qualifications and 23% only sometimes check them
• One quarter of employers in the UK withdrew at least one job offer in the last year after discovering someone had lied or otherwise misrepresented their application. And nearly as many (23%) dismissed someone who was already in post for the same offence
  The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD 2005) annual Recruitment, Retention and Turnover Survey
  
  
• 56% of CVs screened in 2002 contained some form of discrepancy, rising to 70% for IT contractors (Computer Weekly 2003). In a significant number of cases (5%) unchecked discrepancies lead to serious long-term consequences for the employer
  Risk Advisory group (TRAG)

[TykeMerc]

same here too, never had a reference checked in 17 years (actually make that 18 years) - only time I did get asked for a reference was in my early couple of years and being green and naive I handed them over to have them promptly harrassed for sales leads

WHS apart from the bolded edits.

[bassy]

same here too, never had a reference checked in 10 years (actually make that 11 years as its my companies' 11th anniversary today) - only time I did get asked for a reference was in my early couple of years and being green and naive I handed them over to have them promptly harrassed for sales leads

[RichardCranium]

Count another BULLSHYTER here.

My referees have never been contacted by an agent or client.

[Turion]

BULLSHYTE, BULLSHYTE, BULLSHYTE, BULLSHYTE and more crap. Every contract for the last 20 yrs I've had always checked my references...And if you have never been checked then thats BULLSHYTE again.

Never been checked in 10 yrs , but then I have a good reputation ....... so don't have to tickle my pimps.

[uky kozak]

Clients never check contractor references. Pimp want's a lead that's all. Just stall him and once you're on site forget all about it.

BULLSHYTE, BULLSHYTE, BULLSHYTE, BULLSHYTE and more crap. Every contract for the last 20 yrs I've had always checked my references...And if you have never been checked then thats BULLSHYTE again.

[Mr Crosby]

Clients never check contractor references. Pimp want's a lead that's all. Just stall him and once you're on site forget all about it.

Yes they do, my current agency wanted refrences for the last 3 years and they checked each one out....

[Turion]

Clients never check contractor references. Pimp want's a lead that's all. Just stall him and once you're on site forget all about it.

[RichardCranium]

I felt Ferret wince as he approved that posting...

Looky here: winky linky

[jmo21]

ask them to wait until you give the go-ahead to check (ie. once you have handed in your notice)