May 11, 2007

US company offers solution to prevent frauds, scams in recruitment of workers
First Advantage Asia, an American company, is offering solutions to help firms eliminate fraud and scam losses associated with recruitment of employees.

A subsidiary of First Advantage Corporation of Florida, is reputedly the largest provider of pre-employment background screening services in the Asia Pacific with over 1000 staff conducting check out of Philippines, India, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Australia.

Wayne Tollemache, First Advantage Asia-Pacific executive vice president and regional managing director, estimated that 18 to 20 percent of job applicants across the AsiaPacific region have “discrepancies” in their resumes.

First Advantage provides background information valuable for employers, landlords, lenders, and other business establishments. “Companies find that spending R10,000 to R15,000 to check out employees are worth their money because repercussions can cost your company a lot more,” added Tollemache.

Ankesh Surinder, chief operating officer of First Advantage in the Philippines said that, “Illegal reproductions of diploma, certificates and NBI certificates are very rampant here in the Philippines. You can get them easily in Manila. Applicants can just purchase these documents and use them when applying for a job.”

In years of operation in the region, First Advantage has uncovered many fabricated resumes with exaggerated salaries, fake degrees and overstated job titles. Applicants resort to this hoping that their “impressive” CVs (curriculum vitae) would translate into better employment. But once that FADV's screening has proven that it's fake, the only way for the applicants are out of the door. Yet, far worse consequences such as blacklisting and court action await individuals with false claims on their resumes.

With FADV, detailed analysis will be given instead of getting the report alone. Companies can then better decide whether or not they should hire a particular applicant. “The need for background screening is really important for companies to assure them that they are getting the right person for their company. And to make sure that job applicants are honest, we at First Advantage are dedicated to providing you with screening and verification to make sure that your company maintains its high standards,” Surinder added.