[Infographic] 27 Percent of Job Applications Contain Inaccurate Information

More than a third of applications to jobs in professional services, technology and legal sectors contain inaccuracies, according to a report.

A new survey from pre-employment screening company First Advantage covers checks carried out for organisations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) between January 2011 and June 2014. The regional average discrepancy rate was shown to be 27.2 percent.

Some 37.1 percent of checks on candidates applying to technology companies exposed inaccuracies or ‘discrepancies’, as did 37.0 percent in the legal sector, 35.7 percent in the staffing and recruitment sector and 23.0 percent in financial services. 

Professional Services cause for concern

More than a quarter of the inaccuracies found in the professional services (39.2 percent overall discrepancy rate) sector were considered ‘major’ discrepancies, meaning they raise significant cause for concern.

Remarkably, more than half (53.8 percent) of education checks uncovered discrepancies, as did more than a third (35.2 percent) of professional qualification, license and membership checks and just under a third (30.0 percent) of employment checks. However, the overall discrepancy rate for the sector has been falling since 2011.

Traci Canning, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of First Advantage in EMEA, said: “The high proportion of checks uncovering discrepancies in the professional services sector is obviously concerning.

“Based on our findings, there appears to be a link between prevalence of screening and lower discrepancy rates, as illustrated by the comparatively low discrepancy rates in the financial services sector where screening is routine.”

On the findings in the legal sector, Canning added: “The reputations of legal services companies are founded on integrity and proficiency. So, to find such high rates of discrepancy in candidates’ education and a rising rate of major discrepancies overall is naturally cause for concern – not so much for the companies that know about them but for those that don’t.”

See the infographic below for more information: