Even MBAs lie to get a job

But your past can come back to haunt you, caution techies

If you believe that only techies fudge their resumes to get jobs, you may want to think again. Many employees who hold a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree appear to be doing the same, too.

Around 37 per cent of B-school respondents, according to a new survey by a job portal, say they maninpulated their resumes at some stage in their careers. While 26 per cent of the respondents confessed to lying about their employment history and projects in their previous organisations, six per cent said they lied about their academic credentials. The survey adds that 63 per cent of the respondents said they search for new job listings at the workplace using their employer’s resources.

Over 1,700 MBAs participated in the survey, which was conducted over 15 days (September 21-October 5). Moreover, 39 per cent comprised graduates from the premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), and the rest came from other premier B-schools like ISB, MDI, Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), and Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI).

The median age of the respondents was around 28 years, while the work experience was up to 20 years. The survey was administered by iimjobs.com, an exclusive job portal for MBAs, to understand the conduct of job seekers in context of moral and ethical challenges in the existing business environment.

“On our portal, we have observed a lot of people mention projects they were never part of. People also show fake work experience to hide gaps in their employment history. This practice is so common that most employers assume that there is some level of exaggeration in every resume,” notes Tarun Matta, founder of iimjobs.com.

An IIM Indore 2003 graduate, Matta started iimjobs.com as a blogpost to create job opportunities for MBA graduates. It went on to become a full-fledged job portal.

“The organisation’s past record is important but the problem is that it is very difficult to find such information unless you know someone who is working there for a while,” says Ramesh Patil, an IIM Ahmedabad graduate working with a large telecom operator.

“Undoubtedly, job seekers lie on their resume. It can go from lying about roles, responsibilities and accomplishments to marks and academic qualifications. Not every organisation can afford background checks and it becomes very difficult to catch these lies. I have never seen a job seeker get the job if he is caught lying on resume, however trivial the lie may be,” says a recruitment manager with a popular media company.

A QUESTION OF ANSWERS
Questions	Yes	No
Have you ever lied on your resume?	37%	63%
Did you lie about academic credentials?	6%	94%
Did you lie about employment history?	26%	74%
Did you lie about other personal details?	3%	97%
Did you ever lie in an interview?	12%	88%
Do you think people generally lie during the recruitment process?	47%	53%
Do you search for new job listings at the workplace using employer’s resources?	63%	37%
Did you ever quit your job because you thought the employer followed unethical business practices?	5%	95%
Would you ever quit your job if your employer followed unethical business practices?	32%	68%
Do you think its possible to stay ethical in current business environment?	71%	29%
Start Date	Sept 21	End Date	Oct 5
Sample Size	1,713	Median Age	28 yrs
Median Work Experience	4 yrs	Source:	Business Ethics Survey

The practise of fudging resumes is well documented in the IT sector. Wipro, for instance, has blacklisted close to 300 companies that issue false experience certificates (employees pay to get such endorsements). All IT majors like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys Technologies, Wipro and Cognizant have been implementing background screening measures for five to six years, which has become only more stringent after the terror attacks.

It’s being done with good reason. Pre-screening players allege that “fake degrees” can be obtained and verified in India with ease. Incorrect tenure, inflated designations, false employment information, inflated compensation, suppression of negative supervisor/HR feedback, and criminal discrepancies comprise the ailments that plague companies, according to background screening companies like First Advantage.

The IT sector, however, is way ahead when it comes to background verification. If all sectors are taken into consideration, the revelation is scary. Over 98 per cent of all registered Indian firms (across all sectors) do not conduct any background screening. Inquiries related to fraud get restricted to internal audits in most cases. And even for the 2 per cent that do, say background screening companies, nearly 80 per cent of the information that is verified by third-party investigators is not reliable.