Corra Group wants to wish everyone a very happy holiday season. It is no secret we have all been through a tough patch with this economy. Many businesses too k a terrible hit, and some companies had to call it a day. We see changes in many of our industries. Some industries are dramatically reduced. Others my soon be gone forever.
But common belief is that we are pulling out of the recession. While folks may still be watching the bucks and the job market may be slow to recover, we are seeing a change for the better. At any rate, the prognosis for this holiday season looking into next year is far better than the prognosis for last year when we were just beginning to experience the economic downturn.
For our perspective, both as concerned Americans, and as a background checking service, we are happy to see the signs of economic recovery. This makes the holiday season that much nicer and something to look forward to in the coming new year.
The Motor Vehicle Driving Report or MVR is a major background check for trucking and transportation firms as well as employers with sales people and delivery people. The MVR is also a good source of income for States’ Departments of Motor Vehicles, or DMV. So with all the states suffering from the economic downturn, small wonder we are seeing rates being raised for driving reports.
I have commented on the MVR fee raises on several occasions, including a recent blog. But for you truckers out there, it makes sense to remind you of the motor vehicle driving records increases.I am sure, before it is all, over, every state will have raised its rates. Quite a few already have. As of January 1st, 2010, two more states will join the list. Idaho will be raising the fees for its MVRs from $6.00 per abstract to $9.00
Alabama will be increasing its fees for motor vehicle driving records from $7.00 per abstract to $7.75.
There are any number of articles and advice columns providing employment candidates with tips. These missives can vary fromthe extremely useful to the very useless. Reading some of the articles, as a job candidate you have to ask, “tell me something I don’t already know.”
The articles about networking, though unintentional have a darkly humorous tinge to them, as many of the network functions are populated by out of work folk all hitting each other up for jobs. Nothing to me could be looking for work among fellow job seekers. With the economy on the downturn, a shortage of jobs, and intense competition, it’s like saying go out there and network for season tickets to Lambeau Field. People I have spoken to who have attended these networking sessions say most of the time they emerge from these job seeking sessions even more depressed than when they first went in. Some have alluded to the smell of desperation.
Not that you can blame people. To be laid off and out of work, living on your savings and unemployment is a horrible feeling. I know. I have been there. Advice givers tell you things like reinvent yourself, but reinvent yourself to do what in a jobless market? Become a nurse? Maybe. But not all of us are cut out for healthcare, which remains one of the few robust industries.
Advice givers in the employment sector are oftengoing on about resumes. What makes a good resume? What to put in your resume. Whether to use the chronological format or whether to prioritize with experience, especially if you a more senior employment candidate. What’s interesting, is when bloggers and article writers issues these nuggets of wisdom you seldom if ever hear any of them stress that you refrain from lying on your resume. Perhaps the take for granted that everyone applying for a job will be telling the truth.
The fact is people do lie on their resumes. With the economic downturn and the job crunch, more and more people are lying out of desperation, claiming experience, certifications, and degrees that they just don’t have. I am not talking here of judgment call stuff or discriminating embellishments. I am talking about outright lying.
It is one thing to embellish on your job duties. Make yourself look better. It is quite another to claim employment history that is totally fictional. Or, the more popular choice, claiming education degrees that are fictitious. Any employer who conducts background checks will most likely discover the fallacy. Aside from the obligatory criminal records searches, employers will conduct employment verification background searches and education verification background checks. If employment history or undergraduate or graduate degrees are consequential, then for sure most employers will be checking those out.
Standard practice for most employers is the following philosophy–if the candidate lies about employment history or a college degree, then what else won’t they lie about. These lies are usually grounds for immediate rejection.
So while employment advisers may assume that most job candidates will be telling the truth on their resumes and give them advice, accordingly, employers may not always share those assumptions. With diploma mills, specious degrees, and now employment mills, where they provide fictitious employment verification for a fee, employers are increasingly wary. So the first bit of advice to any job candidate–don’t lie on your resume.
More and more employers are requesting professional reference checks as part of the background checks they employ in their pre-employment screening programs. Reference checks can extract greater detail about an employment candidate’s performance and skill sets than can an employment verification check. the employment verification check will usually return the dates the candidate started employment, the dates of departure, and the position held. Sometimes the past employer will acknowledge salary estimates.
But that is all you get with an employment verification program. With the professional reference check the employer will get a better understand of the employment’s candidate’s behavior pattern. Things like did he get along with others, handle stress, strengths and weaknesses will usually be returned in the professional reference verification. With the economy in such a downturn and competition intense in the job pool, employers scanning the landscape for the best candidates they can possibly recruit. Sometimes the distinction between one qualified candidate and another is determined through the professional reference background check.
Of course, the job candidate should always choose references that will not just serve as cheerleaders but will offer insight into the candidate’s performance. Lisa Vaas writes about choosing the best references in her Marketing Ladders article, How to Choose Your Job References. I blogged about this initially in my blog article, Job References as Part of Background Checks. But with increased demand for professional employment verifications, the subject is well worth revisiting.
As a background search, for the few bucks you spend for the professional employment verification, you will obtain the kind of information that may save your a bundle in the long run. It may mean the difference between hiring the right candidate for your cultural environment or someone who either wouldn’t fit or cannot fill the bill I have seen it happen where the final job offer comes down to two qualified candidates and it is the distinction is made in the professional employment verifications.
I suggest you conduct at least three professional verification searches for any mid-management or senior employment candidate. It’s a smart move. And cost effective.
