Hyderabad - city of fake resumes

Job agencies in the country report that resume padding is extensive among the resumes from Hyderabad to the level that it turned into a stereotype.

In fact, 'padding or sprucing' up one's resume is becoming commonplace in India Inc. Search firms say only 20% of all resumes are authentic. This is due to the boom in the job market and the fact that companies are in a tearing hurry to hire candidates, says Ronesh Puri, MD, Executive Access, a search firm. “Background verification is taking a backseat now," he laments. Adds Asim Handa, country leader, Future step, a middle management search firm says, "Many candidates pad up their CVs by overstating their educational qualifications. At the middle level, many executives overstate their CTC (cost to the company). Senior-level executives normally refrain from doing so as they know a lot is at stake,"

The sprucing up is done in various ways. From overstating their educational qualifications to work accomplishments to covering up unemployment gaps, Indians are doing everything possible and getting away with it. According to industry sources, a majority of resumes either withhold or show false and incomplete information. This results in disqualifications of up to 8% for every batch of recruitment.

And, by the time such disqualifications come to notice, training initiatives that account for 15% of the corporate budget and 25% of the management time are lost. Moreover, recruitment has to be done. Take IT for instance. Achutam Nair, VP, strategic re sourcing, Wipro, says, “We find the 'padding up' menace more prevalent in mainframe and SAP arenas." Wipro, on its part, has shown the door to such fraudulent candidates and is constantly strengthening its recruitment process.