This represents an eight percentage point rise in the proportion of people, either deliberately or accidentally, including incorrect details when applying for a job (from 56 per cent in 2014).
December 2015 saw the highest monthly level of application inaccuracies since May 2011, with more than two thirds (67 per cent) of jobseekers providing false information during this month. according to a study by candidate due diligence company HireRight.;
Steve Girdler, the company’s managing director for EMEA and APAC says that businesses are becoming increasingly aware of the reputation and performance risks of not carrying out thorough due diligence on candidates.
‘As a result, candidates need to pay real care and attention to their initial applications, making sure that every job title, grade and date is accurate. Otherwise, they risk holding up the recruitment process when the business comes to check the information they have provided.’
HireRight’s Candidate Health Check research is based on the analysis of more than 125,000 job applications in the EMEA region in 2015.
The research goes on to reveal that, with stringent new regulation being introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority this week, seven in ten (70 per cent) financial services job applications currently contain errors.
Girdler adds, ‘Job applicants are not realising the importance of being entirely accurate and truthful in their applications. As the Senior Managers and Certification Regime comes into effect, financial services firms have no choice but to be incredibly thorough during the recruitment process, so there is no hiding.
‘While the new regulation only affects senior positions, companies are aware that they need to have a comprehensive recruitment process in place at all levels to avoid finding skeletons in the closet, for instance when people are promoted.’
HireRight’s data shows that education continues to be the number one area where jobseekers are most likely to provide misleading information, climbing by two percentage points from 2014 to 42 per cent.
Employment follows in second, with more than a third (36 per cent) of job applications containing inconsistencies in this area.
In third, more than a quarter (28 per cent) of candidates provide incorrect information about their professional qualifications and membership.
Further reading on job applications
