Trends in pre-employment screening
Encyclopedia
A number of companies publish annual research into pre-employment screening, applicant fraud and its effect on business.
Financial services firms outsource the service the most, with over a quarter (26%) doing so, compared to an overall average of 16% who outsource vetting to a third party provider.
However, recent research by Powerchex
shows a reverse in the trend. They found that in the 2006/7 period CV discrepancies had fallen by 31% to 13%.
s are two strategies that are involved in pre-employment screening. Pre-screening background verification is deployed when the even the interview will contain data or information which are vital for the organization to disclose. Such a strategy is used mostly in the Military, strategic industries and higher levels of employees. While post-hiring background verification occurs once the resumes are shortlisted for pre-employment screening.
Third party background verification firms allow candidates to screen their own backgrounds on basis of identity, address, references, criminal background checks, drug test, financial records, court record checks and driving license verification and to verify the authenticity of their resume. Such a strategy allows candidates to gain a preferential advantage as it reduces background check expenses from the point of view of the recruiter.
, Google
insist the candidates not to disclose about their gender during pre-employment screening. This reduces gender bias during stages of pre-employment screening. Women are marginally more likely to have a discrepancy on their CV: 13% of applicants submitted by women have a discrepancy compared to only 10% of those for men
or Equality of Opportunity is considered important and ethical in the job market, seniority of age is left to question in the preliminary stages of pre-employment screening. However the age of the candidate can be verified from various documents that are mandatory to be submitted. However the recent trend is to follow the equality of opportunity to all the candidates at the preliminary stages of screening. Someone in a junior administrative position is 23% more likely to have a discrepancy on their CV than in a managerial role. An applicant aged under 20 is 26% more likely to have a discrepancy than a 51-60 year old.
The market
Larger companies are more likely to outsource than their smaller counterparts – the average staff size of the companies who outsource is 3,313 compared to 2,162 for those who carry out in-house checks. Primary step will be to screen the resume from a list of prospective applicants. A preliminary telephonic or web based interview is held to identify the range of discrepancy within the resume and the interviewee. Such a move also helps to identify whether the resume is professionally written, elaborated or involve resume fraud. Further a series of resumes are shortlisted.Financial services firms outsource the service the most, with over a quarter (26%) doing so, compared to an overall average of 16% who outsource vetting to a third party provider.
However, recent research by Powerchex
Powerchex
Powerchex is a UK based pre-employment screening company specialising in the financial services sector in the City of London.Powerchex is a full member of the UK chapter of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners or NAPBS, and was started by Alexandra Kelly in 2005 who is the...
shows a reverse in the trend. They found that in the 2006/7 period CV discrepancies had fallen by 31% to 13%.
Background Verification
Pre-screening background verification and post-interview background checkBackground check
A background check or background investigation is the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records and financial records of an individual....
s are two strategies that are involved in pre-employment screening. Pre-screening background verification is deployed when the even the interview will contain data or information which are vital for the organization to disclose. Such a strategy is used mostly in the Military, strategic industries and higher levels of employees. While post-hiring background verification occurs once the resumes are shortlisted for pre-employment screening.
Third party background verification firms allow candidates to screen their own backgrounds on basis of identity, address, references, criminal background checks, drug test, financial records, court record checks and driving license verification and to verify the authenticity of their resume. Such a strategy allows candidates to gain a preferential advantage as it reduces background check expenses from the point of view of the recruiter.
Male/female
It is alleged that men stand a higher chance of clearing the pre-employment screening than women. However equality of opportunity gives women an equal platform for employment as some firms like FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
insist the candidates not to disclose about their gender during pre-employment screening. This reduces gender bias during stages of pre-employment screening. Women are marginally more likely to have a discrepancy on their CV: 13% of applicants submitted by women have a discrepancy compared to only 10% of those for men
Impact of qualifications
Graduates have marginally less discrepancies: 13% of their CVs contain a discrepancy compared to 17% of non-graduates.Impact of seniority and age
Since Equal OpportunityEqual opportunity
Equal opportunity, or equality of opportunity, is a controversial political concept; and an important informal decision-making standard without a precise definition involving fair choices within the public sphere...
or Equality of Opportunity is considered important and ethical in the job market, seniority of age is left to question in the preliminary stages of pre-employment screening. However the age of the candidate can be verified from various documents that are mandatory to be submitted. However the recent trend is to follow the equality of opportunity to all the candidates at the preliminary stages of screening. Someone in a junior administrative position is 23% more likely to have a discrepancy on their CV than in a managerial role. An applicant aged under 20 is 26% more likely to have a discrepancy than a 51-60 year old.