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29 March 2024

Top three lies UAE jobseekers tell

Published
By Shuchita Kapur

Desperate jobseekers often lie about their work credentials to land a job. Even the not-so-desperate ones tend to exaggerate their job profile and salary to get a better pay-package than the one they already have.

Whatever the scenario may be, many jobseekers are tempted to falsify what they portray to the potential employer. Sometimes, employers may believe the candidates but when it backfires, jobseekers stand no chance of landing the job they aspire for.

According to recruitment experts in the UAE, most employers believe remuneration, the scope of work, and reasons of leaving a job are things that jobseekers are most likely to lie about.

“Salary,” is one of the two areas that can raise red flags, says Ash Athawale, Recruitment Manager at Reed Specialist Recruitment.

“Salary is the biggest area that candidates inadvertently lie about. Sometime, they combine their bonuses and other benefits into their take-home salary. Since benefits vary from employer to employer, it is always up for debate. This also includes bonuses since not all companies pay a bonus yet some candidates include that in their total compensation,” he told Emirates 24|7.

Hasnain Qazi, Middle East Business Manager at Huxley Associates agrees that “exact remuneration,” is one area where employers are less likely to believe job applicants.

But lies are short-lived and candidates are often caught, leaving them with no hope to ever get a job in the company they lied to.

“Money,” says Graham Whitworth, Senior Banking Consultant at Charterhouse Partnership, is what jobseekers mostly lie about, “and most of the times, candidates get caught out. Sometimes, candidates can go as far as producing fake salary certificates,” he adds.

Since this is a topic that can cover all shades of gray, employers will not shy away from asking for documented proof to validate the claims made by jobseekers. “These days, it has become more of a trust-but-verify case; so employers ask candidates to provide an evidence of total compensation in the form of a salary statement or latest pay stub,” says Athawale.

“In the end, honesty is the best policy,” stresses Whitworth, “as employers will take into account a range of things including your current salary when making a job offer.”

Second on the list is scope of work that candidates lie about or “previous job responsibilities,” Qazi maintains.

“Work content (the second on the list of lies) is another area when potential employees tend to embellish what they did in their role. If they were part of a team that produced a certain piece of work, they pretend that they were the only ones to have developed it. Statements like ‘responsible for’ instead of ‘part of a team that was responsible for’ are white lies. These become very clear when a reference is done,” elaborates the Reed expert.

“Unfortunately, some candidates embellish their skills and experience on their CV and within the interview process, with the most common including exaggerations of salary (discussed above), job title, responsibilities, achievements and technical experience,” sums up Gareth El Mettouri, Associate Director at Robert Half International.

Last but not the least, is the reason of leaving their previous jobs that can make employers wary.

“Reasons for leaving their current role is also popular, especially when an individual has left under unfavourable conditions, so we ensure we conduct a thorough reference check for every candidate we assist in finding a new role,” adds Mettouri. 

(Home page image courtesy Shutterstock)

 

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