Resume lies must be a theme this week? This is for no other reason than coincidence, but there have been a lot of articles published on the topic over the past few days. This article points out that some companies use sites like Facebook and Google to conduct background checks, our readers know how we feel about that! See our latest blog posting on social networking sites. Nonetheless, this article is from Sweden where the FCRA and other laws baring the practice don’t exist.

Study: ‘lying common among job seekers’

Published: 13 May 08 17:04 CET

Nearly one in two human resource directors from Swedish companies report encountering job candidates who have lied or withheld relevant information during the recruiting process, a new study has found.

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The report, published on Tuesday by the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, also found that one in eight companies perform internet searches on candidates or review their profiles on social networking sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn.

“A quick internet search together with looking at a person’s profile in Facebook, for example, can give a completely different picture than what a candidate highlights in a CV,” said the Chamber in its report.

Nearly 20 percent of respondents who don’t currently check Google or Facebook said that including such searches in the recruiting process would increase their peace of mind regarding potential new hires.

About 90 percent of companies polled reported having a specific policy regarding background checks on potential employees, with 70 percent also claiming that background checks will become more important in the recruiting process over the next five years.

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