What are the odds of getting away with falsified information on your resume? Research shows that up to 25% of all resumes contain false information and a further 80% have exaggerations and embellishments. 

So is there any harm in a white lie to overstate your skills or even misrepresentation of an illness?

Unfortunately for a construction company in Dubai, a previous employee had intentionally lied about being diagnosed with a chronic blood condition which limited his flying and travel. His position required him to travel and meet with customers throughout Saudi Arabia and the Gulf; this resulted in him filing for workers compensation claims on three occasions with up to 29 days of paid hospitalisation. 

However, this was not the only predicament he caused for the construction company. Following in-depth research by Verify it was established that the Chinese contractors who built the cement plant demanded to “never ever have this gentleman on [their] site ever again” after these absences and recurrent fighting. Not only did he also flagrantly meet with competitors frequently, our research also established that he had been fired from two other previous companies. Rigorous and thorough reference and medical checking should have been performed on this candidate prior to employment, which would have saved the construction company a lot of time and money. 

Luckily, Verify was contacted to expose and delve into the candidate’s shocking criminal, medical and employment history when he later applied for a Field Service Engineering role at an Australian construction company which was voted as one of the “Top employers for engineering 2008 & 2009”. While technically his illness does not deter him from the position his negligent behaviour and misdemeanour upon his past actions have deemed him unfit for the position.