Reasons Leading to Fake Experience
I would like to address some scenarios where candidates feel compelled to fabricate their experience due to certain situations:
• Working for a company for several years, but not receiving experience letters upon leaving, leaving them with no choice but to resort to falsifying their experience. What options do they have in such cases?
• At a company (let's call it X Company), a disagreement with the manager, which was the manager's fault, led to an abrupt dismissal without notice. In such circumstances, pursuing legal action is not viable due to financial constraints.
• Being promised a development project but being assigned to a support role instead. When resigning from such a position, the next employer questions the short duration of the previous employment.
• Initially informed of a 6-month training program, only to be put directly into work responsibilities.
• Told to work 8 hours a day, but pressured to extend working hours to 12.
• Recruited for a technology (let's say X Technology) of interest, only to be assigned to something else within the company.
These are some of the challenges that may lead individuals to consider falsifying their work experience.
From India, Hyderabad
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I would like to address some scenarios where candidates feel compelled to fabricate their experience due to certain situations:
• Working for a company for several years, but not receiving experience letters upon leaving, leaving them with no choice but to resort to falsifying their experience. What options do they have in such cases?
• At a company (let's call it X Company), a disagreement with the manager, which was the manager's fault, led to an abrupt dismissal without notice. In such circumstances, pursuing legal action is not viable due to financial constraints.
• Being promised a development project but being assigned to a support role instead. When resigning from such a position, the next employer questions the short duration of the previous employment.
• Initially informed of a 6-month training program, only to be put directly into work responsibilities.
• Told to work 8 hours a day, but pressured to extend working hours to 12.
• Recruited for a technology (let's say X Technology) of interest, only to be assigned to something else within the company.
These are some of the challenges that may lead individuals to consider falsifying their work experience.
From India, Hyderabad
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Candidate Concerns and Company Practices
Why should I give my personal property to the company for a bank statement? Some companies fire during a recession, so how can I fill the gap? The company wants me to join in only 15 days, but my notice period is 3 months. Even in your company, it is also 3 months, but you ask to join in 15 days. What if my previous company closed due to a lack of projects? What if my previous company was involved in giving fake experience by taking huge money?
Like this, there are hundreds of problems from a candidate's perspective. Who will answer all these? The government has to follow some standards to address all these issues. If a company hires a candidate, whether fake or genuine, they need to keep the promises made. If they want to do any verification, it has to be done before the offer letter is released.
From India, Hyderabad
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Why should I give my personal property to the company for a bank statement? Some companies fire during a recession, so how can I fill the gap? The company wants me to join in only 15 days, but my notice period is 3 months. Even in your company, it is also 3 months, but you ask to join in 15 days. What if my previous company closed due to a lack of projects? What if my previous company was involved in giving fake experience by taking huge money?
Like this, there are hundreds of problems from a candidate's perspective. Who will answer all these? The government has to follow some standards to address all these issues. If a company hires a candidate, whether fake or genuine, they need to keep the promises made. If they want to do any verification, it has to be done before the offer letter is released.
From India, Hyderabad
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The Need for Strict Action Against Dishonest Recruitment Practices
The government must take strict action against companies that lie during candidate recruitment. There should be a list of blacklisted companies if they mistreat employees in NASSCOM. If companies attempt to harm candidates' futures by keeping them in the NSR for a lifetime, there will be a day when employees will retaliate against the IT companies.
The Importance of Background Checks
My suggestion to all IT companies: please conduct background checks before issuing offer letters because IT professionals are often financially vulnerable. Once they secure a job, they have high hopes. Therefore, it is essential to conduct background checks before extending an offer letter if you are interested.
I am writing this after seeing a friend cry over losing a job at X company just after relocating his family. If any recruiter, HR personnel, or anyone else has the courage to provide a perfect answer, please reply.
From India, Hyderabad
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The government must take strict action against companies that lie during candidate recruitment. There should be a list of blacklisted companies if they mistreat employees in NASSCOM. If companies attempt to harm candidates' futures by keeping them in the NSR for a lifetime, there will be a day when employees will retaliate against the IT companies.
The Importance of Background Checks
My suggestion to all IT companies: please conduct background checks before issuing offer letters because IT professionals are often financially vulnerable. Once they secure a job, they have high hopes. Therefore, it is essential to conduct background checks before extending an offer letter if you are interested.
I am writing this after seeing a friend cry over losing a job at X company just after relocating his family. If any recruiter, HR personnel, or anyone else has the courage to provide a perfect answer, please reply.
From India, Hyderabad
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All you said is right. It's by nature that any entity or individual will safeguard its/his/her interest first and think of anything else. Now we, as individuals, have to be smart enough to accommodate ourselves to such situations. Either you stick to the policy that you won't show fake experience, or else you should be prepared to face the worst of the situations arising out of that.
There is no company or individual who is 100% clean, no matter how big they are or no matter how they brag about their credentials. Believe in yourself and act as the situation demands. That is all I can infer from the experience that I have gained from at least 7-8 companies, including public sector (Govt.), Indian-based MNCs, and other MNCs as well. None of them are different from the other.
From India, Madras
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There is no company or individual who is 100% clean, no matter how big they are or no matter how they brag about their credentials. Believe in yourself and act as the situation demands. That is all I can infer from the experience that I have gained from at least 7-8 companies, including public sector (Govt.), Indian-based MNCs, and other MNCs as well. None of them are different from the other.
From India, Madras
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The Importance of Honest Work Experience
Work experience should never be fabricated. The majority of instances you mentioned in your query lack proof of work experience, which should be honestly conveyed by the candidate to HR personnel.
Usually, candidates appear to be holier-than-thou to innocently justify why they are seeking a better job in a short period of time. Nowadays, employees have become arrogant and greedy with regards to high salary prospects.
Seeking better prospects is not a sin, but there has to be some sense of stability, respect, and integrity towards the company and one's self-respect. I have come across unprofessional individuals who are ready to jump jobs the moment they join a company, just because they didn't like the infrastructure, bosses, colleagues (no pretty girls or hunky boys), or because they received a tempting offer from another company.
This "Who-cares" attitude has affected recruitment costs and the efficiency of organizations. After jumping jobs, when these candidates realize their foolishness, they resort to faking experiences to prove their credibility.
There are various ways to prove work experiences; a lack of documentation should be explained by the candidate. Bank statements providing previous salary information are not very personal documents. When a candidate has a legal source of income and taxes are duly paid, one should not be afraid of providing bank statements to substantiate the previous salary received.
If a company does not provide a relieving letter, the reason should be ascertained. The candidate can provide the reason in writing and relevant professional references to support their work experience claims.
Family relocation, medical leaves, and education gaps are acceptable reasons for HR to consider, provided they are substantiated with proof.
When an employee is hired, contracts are signed by them in complete sanity. Clauses in the contract state that the services of the employee shall be used at the management's discretion, depending on prevailing situations in the company. Employees should make an effort to read the contract and understand its implications in the long term.
When a person commits to a company, they should commit in good faith and flexibility. If they are so ambitious and rigidly fixed on the idea of working on a particular platform only, then they should start their own company and throw tantrums around. Employees must take initiative and adapt to changing situations. If they are required to work for a certain amount of time on mutual understanding with the management, then it's not a reason to leave.
I find it very absurd for those candidates who leave within one year of employment, judging that they were not provided with challenging assignments, poor work culture, lack of growth, or poor pay grade.
If a candidate is cheated entirely from day one in violation of the terms and clauses stated in the offer contract, then the candidate has a valid reason to resign with valid documented proof.
From Kuwait, Salmiya
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30Work experience should never be fabricated. The majority of instances you mentioned in your query lack proof of work experience, which should be honestly conveyed by the candidate to HR personnel.
Usually, candidates appear to be holier-than-thou to innocently justify why they are seeking a better job in a short period of time. Nowadays, employees have become arrogant and greedy with regards to high salary prospects.
Seeking better prospects is not a sin, but there has to be some sense of stability, respect, and integrity towards the company and one's self-respect. I have come across unprofessional individuals who are ready to jump jobs the moment they join a company, just because they didn't like the infrastructure, bosses, colleagues (no pretty girls or hunky boys), or because they received a tempting offer from another company.
This "Who-cares" attitude has affected recruitment costs and the efficiency of organizations. After jumping jobs, when these candidates realize their foolishness, they resort to faking experiences to prove their credibility.
There are various ways to prove work experiences; a lack of documentation should be explained by the candidate. Bank statements providing previous salary information are not very personal documents. When a candidate has a legal source of income and taxes are duly paid, one should not be afraid of providing bank statements to substantiate the previous salary received.
If a company does not provide a relieving letter, the reason should be ascertained. The candidate can provide the reason in writing and relevant professional references to support their work experience claims.
Family relocation, medical leaves, and education gaps are acceptable reasons for HR to consider, provided they are substantiated with proof.
When an employee is hired, contracts are signed by them in complete sanity. Clauses in the contract state that the services of the employee shall be used at the management's discretion, depending on prevailing situations in the company. Employees should make an effort to read the contract and understand its implications in the long term.
When a person commits to a company, they should commit in good faith and flexibility. If they are so ambitious and rigidly fixed on the idea of working on a particular platform only, then they should start their own company and throw tantrums around. Employees must take initiative and adapt to changing situations. If they are required to work for a certain amount of time on mutual understanding with the management, then it's not a reason to leave.
I find it very absurd for those candidates who leave within one year of employment, judging that they were not provided with challenging assignments, poor work culture, lack of growth, or poor pay grade.
If a candidate is cheated entirely from day one in violation of the terms and clauses stated in the offer contract, then the candidate has a valid reason to resign with valid documented proof.
From Kuwait, Salmiya
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I welcome your point of view.
There is no contentment in what one deserves (monetary compensation). In our materialistic world, our desire benchmarks are rising day by day, leading to a restless hunt for better and bigger pay packages. Any candidate has two major reasons to leave a job prematurely (within 1 year):
• Better Prospects (Salary, benefits, material attraction)
• Dislike or Boredom from Current Job Profile
The tolerance standards have decreased to a few months and days compared to years in the times of our fathers. Along with global prosperity and abundant temptation available in the market to jump jobs, I am not against the progressive decision of a candidate to improve their financial standing and self-development. But what we see in today's young workforce is a disturbing restlessness to achieve before time and age.
Immature job jumping, lack of knowledge, and integrity make candidates lie or distort facts about work experience. I have come across straightforward cases of gaps in employment being twisted and distorted to win jobs, with such acts haunting them later in their careers.
What I understand is that you are suggesting one shall experiment in the first two years of their career kickstart before finalizing on one company and job profile for stable employment?
It's harmful advice, no offense, please. A person who starts with a shaky mindset and keeps yearning for bigger and better, as the grass "could be" greener on the other side, would lead to shaping a young, moldable mind into a job hopper, lowering tolerance standards at the beginning of their professional life. Your honest two-year suggestion would turn into a good 4–5 years stint of job jumping as a valid excuse for experimentation.
Specific professionals, who spend a considerable amount of time, energy, and resources to acquire niche skills, must plan their profession and employment. A job offer must be weighed and thought over. Mature professionals must discipline their minds after accepting a job offer and resuming duty. Else, this mindless race will never end.
I am not generalizing my point of view to everyone. Exceptional cases where an employee is cheated, harassed, discriminated against, or other valid circumstances that lead to job hopping are understandable. But they are rare.
My point of view is open to objection and debate. Inputs are welcome.
From Kuwait, Salmiya
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There is no contentment in what one deserves (monetary compensation). In our materialistic world, our desire benchmarks are rising day by day, leading to a restless hunt for better and bigger pay packages. Any candidate has two major reasons to leave a job prematurely (within 1 year):
• Better Prospects (Salary, benefits, material attraction)
• Dislike or Boredom from Current Job Profile
The tolerance standards have decreased to a few months and days compared to years in the times of our fathers. Along with global prosperity and abundant temptation available in the market to jump jobs, I am not against the progressive decision of a candidate to improve their financial standing and self-development. But what we see in today's young workforce is a disturbing restlessness to achieve before time and age.
Immature job jumping, lack of knowledge, and integrity make candidates lie or distort facts about work experience. I have come across straightforward cases of gaps in employment being twisted and distorted to win jobs, with such acts haunting them later in their careers.
What I understand is that you are suggesting one shall experiment in the first two years of their career kickstart before finalizing on one company and job profile for stable employment?
It's harmful advice, no offense, please. A person who starts with a shaky mindset and keeps yearning for bigger and better, as the grass "could be" greener on the other side, would lead to shaping a young, moldable mind into a job hopper, lowering tolerance standards at the beginning of their professional life. Your honest two-year suggestion would turn into a good 4–5 years stint of job jumping as a valid excuse for experimentation.
Specific professionals, who spend a considerable amount of time, energy, and resources to acquire niche skills, must plan their profession and employment. A job offer must be weighed and thought over. Mature professionals must discipline their minds after accepting a job offer and resuming duty. Else, this mindless race will never end.
I am not generalizing my point of view to everyone. Exceptional cases where an employee is cheated, harassed, discriminated against, or other valid circumstances that lead to job hopping are understandable. But they are rare.
My point of view is open to objection and debate. Inputs are welcome.
From Kuwait, Salmiya
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I understand your practical approach. Sticking to the thread topic, which is about work experience issues, due to short-tenure job-hopping, candidates create a web of instability, suspicion, and lack of confidence in HR minds about the ability of the candidate. To overcome or distort this perception of HRs, candidates presumptively fake a stable experience to present a credible profile, which is wrong.
Another plea by many candidates is to consider their job-hopping reason to be valid and acceptable by HRs in today's times, which I find amusing. Quoting my personal experience from interviews and general talk amongst Social HR groups, I have come across the following generalized reasons to job hop:
Better Prospects
Usually, it's an average hike over the existing package. The candidate is immature or desperate to jump jobs for more money, showing no remorse or care to leave their current employment within days or months of joining, ignoring long-term growth promised against performance.
Better Profile
Seeking job change or chasing fancy job titles in an exaggerated corporate hierarchy. Usually, they want to escape a challenging target or tough working condition. Please note, this is a subjective issue, depending on the perception and tolerance levels of the candidate and benchmarking of the HRs or Hiring Managers.
Politics / Negative Work Environment
This reason displays a lack of adaptability and people management skills. Politics is a sad reality of our human civilization. We have to adapt and survive through it. Resigning from one and getting into another with hope of respite is a fancy dream.
Boredom
Candidates were bored of their jobs within days, months, or a year of employment, quoting reasons as monotonous, lack of challenge, and fresh assignments. A company is running on such monotonous tasks and generating revenue. An employee throws such mood swings because they have an option to chuck and go for fresh environments rather than take initiative to make their job richer.
We expect educated professionals to be aware of their rights and responsibilities. A credible work experience can be proved from various sources.
A company makes a candidate sign an offer letter agreeing to all stated clauses in good faith that all credentials presented are valid and legal. Due to urgent business requirements, various formalities such as authentication and background checks are done after resuming duty on the job. The onus of providing authentic information is on the candidate. It's an unfair argument on the candidate's part to make companies accept whatever is dished out by them (untrue) because they have resigned from a previous job and are now employed and performing in the current profile. However, many companies are still forgiving in exchange for performance.
Any sane HR accepts valid reasons for job change. The problem is when silly and unsubstantiated reasons are dished out, and the candidate expects them to be accepted. However, acceptance of any reason depends on the employer and their needs. What can law or government do in such cases?
We may be creating a culture of mediocrity in professional circles, where employees are resigning at the drop of a hat temptation, abscond from work, not fulfill in-hand obligations, throw tantrums, cause wastage of time and resources, and expect the next employer to buy our whimsical actions of insecurity, restlessness, and desperation as acceptable reasons.
From Kuwait, Salmiya
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Another plea by many candidates is to consider their job-hopping reason to be valid and acceptable by HRs in today's times, which I find amusing. Quoting my personal experience from interviews and general talk amongst Social HR groups, I have come across the following generalized reasons to job hop:
Better Prospects
Usually, it's an average hike over the existing package. The candidate is immature or desperate to jump jobs for more money, showing no remorse or care to leave their current employment within days or months of joining, ignoring long-term growth promised against performance.
Better Profile
Seeking job change or chasing fancy job titles in an exaggerated corporate hierarchy. Usually, they want to escape a challenging target or tough working condition. Please note, this is a subjective issue, depending on the perception and tolerance levels of the candidate and benchmarking of the HRs or Hiring Managers.
Politics / Negative Work Environment
This reason displays a lack of adaptability and people management skills. Politics is a sad reality of our human civilization. We have to adapt and survive through it. Resigning from one and getting into another with hope of respite is a fancy dream.
Boredom
Candidates were bored of their jobs within days, months, or a year of employment, quoting reasons as monotonous, lack of challenge, and fresh assignments. A company is running on such monotonous tasks and generating revenue. An employee throws such mood swings because they have an option to chuck and go for fresh environments rather than take initiative to make their job richer.
We expect educated professionals to be aware of their rights and responsibilities. A credible work experience can be proved from various sources.
A company makes a candidate sign an offer letter agreeing to all stated clauses in good faith that all credentials presented are valid and legal. Due to urgent business requirements, various formalities such as authentication and background checks are done after resuming duty on the job. The onus of providing authentic information is on the candidate. It's an unfair argument on the candidate's part to make companies accept whatever is dished out by them (untrue) because they have resigned from a previous job and are now employed and performing in the current profile. However, many companies are still forgiving in exchange for performance.
Any sane HR accepts valid reasons for job change. The problem is when silly and unsubstantiated reasons are dished out, and the candidate expects them to be accepted. However, acceptance of any reason depends on the employer and their needs. What can law or government do in such cases?
We may be creating a culture of mediocrity in professional circles, where employees are resigning at the drop of a hat temptation, abscond from work, not fulfill in-hand obligations, throw tantrums, cause wastage of time and resources, and expect the next employer to buy our whimsical actions of insecurity, restlessness, and desperation as acceptable reasons.
From Kuwait, Salmiya
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See, that is what I told you—reference checks and all these legal HR practices must be there. I am commenting for those candidates who are not making premature decisions and, according to the caption (e.g., they are willing to get what they deserve), but for those who are over-anxious in making decisions and using fake certificates, ethics do not apply.
In short, angels and devils are different, and this can be applied to both employees and organizations.
Regards,
Sangani
From India, Mumbai
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In short, angels and devils are different, and this can be applied to both employees and organizations.
Regards,
Sangani
From India, Mumbai
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Addressing Employment Gaps and Ethical Practices
A candidate may have a one-year break after leaving a job due to personal reasons or not securing a job with better prospects after the previous one. However, companies are not considering individuals with employment gaps, leading some candidates to resort to creating fake certificates to cover the break. If companies shift their approach when screening resumes to focus on a candidate's potential rather than solely on their gaps, this issue could be alleviated.
Furthermore, candidates should realize that resorting to unethical practices, such as presenting fake certificates, will not benefit them in the long term. Instead, they should be transparent about the genuine reasons behind their employment gap. By doing so, they can receive what they rightfully deserve and work without guilt.
From India, Bangalore
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A candidate may have a one-year break after leaving a job due to personal reasons or not securing a job with better prospects after the previous one. However, companies are not considering individuals with employment gaps, leading some candidates to resort to creating fake certificates to cover the break. If companies shift their approach when screening resumes to focus on a candidate's potential rather than solely on their gaps, this issue could be alleviated.
Furthermore, candidates should realize that resorting to unethical practices, such as presenting fake certificates, will not benefit them in the long term. Instead, they should be transparent about the genuine reasons behind their employment gap. By doing so, they can receive what they rightfully deserve and work without guilt.
From India, Bangalore
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Consequences of Providing Fake Experience in HR
If a person joins another company by presenting fake experience in the HR sector, while actually having experience in the marketing sector and choosing not to disclose it, there are certain implications. In the new organization, they will definitely ask for their PF (Provident Fund) number. If they don't provide it, what will happen? Will they issue a new PF number?
From India, Visakhapatnam
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If a person joins another company by presenting fake experience in the HR sector, while actually having experience in the marketing sector and choosing not to disclose it, there are certain implications. In the new organization, they will definitely ask for their PF (Provident Fund) number. If they don't provide it, what will happen? Will they issue a new PF number?
From India, Visakhapatnam
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You presented a practical scenario and a wishful solution. According to me, any sensible HR professional who sees credible ability in a candidate through their previous work experience and qualifications will accept a sensible reason for gaps in employment. When candidates provide ambiguous reasons such as "Personal Reasons" and do not justify such gaps, they become likely candidates for rejection.
I have come across justified explanations under "Personal Reasons":
- Family relocation with details such as: spouse transferred, married into another city, or a conscious decision to migrate to another city for better prospects. HR professionals must show empathy and intelligence to understand the candidate's situation.
Gaps in employment also provide an opportunity to gauge a candidate's mindset to see how they used their time to upgrade their knowledge, seek a job, or if they were just spending their leisure time without purpose and are now seeking jobs.
Under any justification, faking experience is not an ethical suggestion. If an HR professional is not accepting one's reason for gaps or job changes, then either one is not presenting well or there are negative issues. Despite honest efforts, if HR is still not convinced, then those firms are better left off. Candidates can always demand reasons for rejection from HR professionals. It's allowed by law in the US; I don't know about India?
From Kuwait, Salmiya
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I have come across justified explanations under "Personal Reasons":
- Family relocation with details such as: spouse transferred, married into another city, or a conscious decision to migrate to another city for better prospects. HR professionals must show empathy and intelligence to understand the candidate's situation.
Gaps in employment also provide an opportunity to gauge a candidate's mindset to see how they used their time to upgrade their knowledge, seek a job, or if they were just spending their leisure time without purpose and are now seeking jobs.
Under any justification, faking experience is not an ethical suggestion. If an HR professional is not accepting one's reason for gaps or job changes, then either one is not presenting well or there are negative issues. Despite honest efforts, if HR is still not convinced, then those firms are better left off. Candidates can always demand reasons for rejection from HR professionals. It's allowed by law in the US; I don't know about India?
From Kuwait, Salmiya
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Work experience should be mentioned truthfully. Organizations generally check your previous employment and service. In such cases, if proven false, they won't consider your candidature. If they offer employment and it is later found to be false, they will terminate your employment. Therefore, always be truthful.
Regards,
D. Gurumurthy
HR/IR Consultant
From India, Hyderabad
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Regards,
D. Gurumurthy
HR/IR Consultant
From India, Hyderabad
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