Employees remain the most valuable assets in any organisation and with multinational companies expanding their footprints in Asia Pacific region, the challenges associated with hiring the right candidates have increased. To ensure that the most suitable talent comes on board, it is imperative to be aware of the candidate's background.
A new study by First Advantage revealed a 6.5% increase in candidates misrepresenting their CV, across 2 million background checks done by the company in Asia Pacific last year alone. The report is based on data drawn from employment background verifications and reference checks conducted by First Advantage in Asia Pacific.
Hong Kongers are among the worst offenders in APAC, with more than 16% discrepancy rate. The only countries that scored higher in discrepancy rates were Australia, Singapore and New Zealand. Of those Hong Kong professionals who were found to have discrepancies on their CVs, almost half weren’t entirely honest about previous employment, and 35% were found to have inaccuracies on their CV concerning education. Out of all employment discrepancies found in Asia Pacific in 2014, 54 percent was because of employment history.
Employers aren’t entirely unaware of this phenomenon, however, as employers are increasing the number of checks for their candidates—67 percent of all cases were subjected to at least five checks in 2014, compared to 42 per cent percent in 2013.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
