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All The More Reason To Assess Before You Invest!
"Imaginative resumes, of course, aren't a product of the modern era. Presumably, they've been around since the dawn of management. What's new is their power to wreak havoc at the executive level. " (p. EE6)
This finding was reported in the most recent U.S. News and World Report in an article by Randy Dotinga, "Time for A Checkup". Here, Dotinga discusses the disturbing fact that it is not uncommon for resume falsifications to occur at the executive level. Several high profile organizations were cited as neglecting to uncover these resume falsifications. Take, for example, the Notre Dame coach who claimed to have a master's degree or the CEO and chairman of Sunbeam Corporation who failed to disclose that he had been twice fired by other companies. Obviously, these "imaginative" resumes within the executive level have costly consequences. Consider Veritas, a software manufacturer, whose stock prices plummeted 19% immediately after it was revealed that their CFO had fabricated an M.B.A.
Could these mistakes have been prevented? Absolutely. These potential disasters could have easily been avoided if thorough background checks were conducted. In 2001, an executive search firm reported almost a quarter of 7,000 executive-level resumes were inaccurate. Most of these resumes involved exaggerated years on the job and college degrees -- easy-to-check details.
Another issue to think about -- if inaccurate information is prevalent at the executive-level, imagine the potential exaggerations by applicants for managerial, technical and professional positions!
When an accountant claims to have 10 years of financial planning experience, do you assume he's telling the truth? How do you ascertain that he didn't just manage the accounts receivables with little or no input into the corporate investment strategy? Although a supervisor states that she has 5 years of experience in a supervisory role, how do you know that she possesses the people and delegation skills to be an effective leader?
The extent of inaccurate information at all levels of an organization provides even more reason to utilize assessments in the selection and development of your candidates. This article supports Applied Assessments' philosophy that it truly pays to assess before you invest!
Related Topics
Measuring Competency Levels for:
A Screening Tool for Managerial, Professional and Supervisory Candidates
Interviewing Tips for Hiring Managers
Reference: Dotinga, Randy (2004). Time for A Checkup. In U.S. News and World Report, July 19-26, 2004; p. EE6.