International workplace survey shows honesty is the best policy

A new international workplace survey by Kelly Services, one of the UKís leading recruitment agencies, has revealed the UK is one of the most honest nations when it comes to the job seeking process. Only 8% of the UK admit to being untruthful on their CV or in an interview situation. The most common lies were revealed to be inflating previous salaries and omitting negative details from past employment.

Crossing the gender divide, the results reveal UK women are marginally more honest than men, with only 1.8% of females omitting negative details from past employment and 3% inflating their salary. Of the men surveyed, 3% omitted negative details from their past and 3.3% inflated their salary.

ìTelling a deliberate untruth on your CV or in an interview situation is illegal and counter productive,î according to Steve Girdler, Director of Marketing for Kelly Services, ìas subsequent checks by an employer will reveal the truth and result in the candidate going no further. Even worse, you could end up facing disciplinary action should an untruth on your CV be uncovered once you get the job.



ìIt is important for employers to undertake a thorough evaluation of all aspects of the candidate. Whatever the source of your recruits, whether online, press or search and selection, proper evaluation of a candidate is essential.î

Another interesting trend unearthed by the survey was that the Internet is the most popular channel for job-hunting, as 84% of UK job seekers posted their CV online. In fact, more than one third of people surveyed found their most recent job online, reinforcing the importance of the web as part of the recruitment process. The figures show that the Internet has already eclipsed more traditional methods, with 37% finding their last job online compared to 9% in the printed press. However, given the significant increase in the use of the Internet to find jobs in the UK, only 54% were satisfied with the response and 24% didnít feel it was an effective way to find a new job ñ so there is still a very good argument to visit a recruitment agency, such as Kelly Services, for some invaluable, specialist expert advice. ìWe understand exactly which candidates have the appropriate skills for our clients,î says Girdler, ìand can provide the most suitable for each.î

Alarmingly, the survey revealed that many UK job seekers are failing to sell themselves via their CV, with only 61% of respondents feeling that theirs presented them in the best way possible. This means that nearly 40% of people are posting CVs online that do not do them justice!

ìCandidates often only get a brief chance to sell themselves to a potential employer, so they need to make the most of every opportunity,î continues Girdler. ìThis means having a well crafted CV, as well as a clear idea of their own strengths as an employee. It also helps if candidates can gather some detail about the organisation before an interview to identify how their particular experience and background can add value to the prospective employer.î

Paying careful attention to CVs is a subject close to Kellyís heart, following the companyís research into the ëApostrophe Catastropheí back in 2006. This revealed 95% of CVs to contain overcapitalised, out of date employment history, past jobs written in the present test and a staggering array of spelling and syntax errors.

(The Kelly Benchmark simple guides to grammar are now live on the Kelly Services website at www.kellyservices.co.uk.)

The Kelly Services global survey sought the views of more than 115,000 people in 33 countries, including almost 7,000 in the UK, on a wide range of issues related to the recruitment process.

Other Key findings included:
Only 9% of UK respondents found their last position through a newspaper advert

76% of worldwide respondents from the 33 countries surveyed had posted their CVs online

30% of the UK have doubts about how they perform in face-to-face job interviews

Only 6% of the population think that ëlevel of educationí is the best indicator of job suitability, with 40% considering experience to be the best

Over three quarters of the UK (77%) believe that employers treat people fairly during job interviews

Worldwide trends
While none of us enjoy job hunting, the findings of the survey reveal exactly what we really donít like about it. Surprisingly, it is not the interview that we hate most: the worst part of the recruitment process is actually waiting for feedback from a potential employer.

31 of the countries surveyed revealed anticipating a response to be the most unnerving part of looking for a new job. Nearly half (49%) of the UK said this was the worst part of looking for a job, while Australia and Germany fear it the most, with 62% of respondents rating it as the worst element.

New Zealand however, is the most angelic nation, with only 4% admitting to telling white lies on their CV or in an interview situation ñ a stark contrast to the Ukraine, where a huge 41% of respondents owned up to being dishonest.

How we compare to the rest of the world:
A staggering 41 % of Ukrainians have lied on their CV, closely followed by Russia (30%), Spain (27%) and China (25%)

The top three countries with the most respondents posting CVs online were: Poland (92%), Indonesia (91%) and Italy and Malaysia (90%)

The USA had the lowest figures with only 62% posting CVs on the Internet. 25% of US respondents gained their current job via word of mouth referral, compared to 16% in the UK
54% of Australians found their last job online, compared to only 16 % of Americans

The Italians are the most trusting of interviewees, with 28% believing employers always treat them fairly in an interview. Turkey and Spain are the most sceptical, with 13% and 11% respectively believing employers never treat them fairly

70% of people in the UK feel they perform well in interviews. Mexicans are the most confident, with 89% believing they perform well, compared to only 33% of the Japanese