Former Yahoo CEO Scott Thomson left the company this week after it was revealed that a qualification listed in his official company bio had never been awarded.

It reminded me of the CE of Maori TV, John Davy, back in 2002 whose qualifications were found to be false. And former NZ Immigration Service boss Mary Anne Thompson in 2010.

CV fraud is more common than you would think. Even in New Zealand. Many employers are complacent about checking the details listed on candidate CV’s and this is exactly what some candidates are betting on. If certain experience or qualifications are essential to the position you are hiring for, then you should be verifying them as part of your recruitment process.
 

The most effective method of verifying work experience and qualifications is to contact the employers and education institutions directly. This is a standard step in our outsourced recruitment process and has uncovered a few fraudulent candidates. It is disappointing for a client to learn that a preferred candidate is not all they presented themselves to be, but better to find that out sooner rather than later!

Your application form should include a declaration from the candidate that the information they have provided is true and accurate. That way, if you discover some forgery later down the track you may have some recourse through the disciplinary process.
 

Picture from businessweek.com

The media is buzzing this week about reports of candidates being asked for their password to Facebook and other social media sites during employment interviews.

Click to read the articles

It seems that it's U.S Government agencies doing the asking as part of their extensive background checks. The concern is that this will become common practice and that neither the interviewers nor the candidates will really know the boundaries resulting in worldwide chaos!

Social media is a daily form of communication for many people. It allows them to connect with friends and family around the world in real-time. Younger generations, especially, use social media very differently from older generatuons, and some of those that are new to the workforce have not yet grasped the fine line between personal and professional use.

So, what's an interviewer hoping to gain from looking through a candidate's Facebook account? Photos of drunken nights out? Insulting wall posts? In one example reported in the media a correctional facility was looking for evidence of gang affiliations or illegal activity ... which on the face of it seems to have some validity but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the potential minefield in terms of privacy and discrimination claims.

I would caution New Zealand employers to do this at their own risk. What do you think?

There's a new resource for employers on Immigration New Zealand's website.

The Employer Hub is a useful resource where you can find out about employing migrants, the visa options available to you, and how to help your new employees settle in New Zealand.

The hub is divided into four sections:

• Employing Migrants -- to help you identify appropriate visa options for the type of position you need to fill, and the steps you need to take as an employer.
  
   
• Finding & Recruiting Migrants -- to help you connect with potential candidates through a database using the free SkillFinder service, and the DoL funded NewKiwis service, as well as practical suggestions to help you get started if you are a beginner to recruiting migrants.
  
   
• Settling & Retaining Migrants -- provides you with access to information, tools and settlement support services to assist your new employee with settling into New Zealand both at work and at home, and to help your workplace welcome and retain new migrants.
  
   
• News, Tools, and Statistics -- helps you keep up to date with migrant attraction activities, find out about events for employers and migrants, access tools to assist you, and provides access to news, research and statistics related to immigration.

Visit www.immigration.govt.nz/employers for more information.

Recruitment advertising needs to communicate what you offer and this has to match what candidates also value.

Hays have found that in New Zealand, in determining a company's reputation as an employer, employees value: 

•  work/life balance (47%)
• the company's vision, values and culture (44%)
• job security (40%)
• growth or success (35%)
• salary and benefits (32%)
• project-based learning or formal training (28%) and
• engagement with the work undertaken (22%)

Just in case you don't think this stuff is important, 66% of New Zealand employees said they would not apply for a job with a company who's vision, values and culture they didn't agree with.

Share how you get across the vision, values and culture to attract the right people to your vacancies by posting a comment below

Check out this cool recruitment infographic by Kite Consultants to see how it can be done.  

Employment agreements have been required by law since the introduction of the Employment Relations Act 2000, yet we know that this hasn’t been practice for many employers.

From 1 July 2011, employers must keep signed copies of all employment agreements or terms and conditions of employment for all employees.

A labour inspector who finds an employer is not complying with the law will give notice, and if the matter is not remedied can seek penalties of up to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for bodies corporate.