The Problem of Too Much

April 15, 2016

The candidate you have interviewed and are likely to recruit hands you the relieving letter from his previous employer. You scan the letter and find everything to your satisfaction. It is in the company letter head, with complete address and phone numbers. You may even call the number and hear the receptionist tell you that you have reached the very organization mentioned in the letter. Or you may send an email and be assured that the candidate has indeed worked with them and has been an asset.

Satisfied, you may recruit the candidate. Does this suffice in all cases ?

There are many organisations whose revenue model is giving relieving letters that can pass muster with future employers. They have the experience to be able to handle calls from the prospective employers, thus confirming their presence. On the face of it, such letters also seem satisfactory and genuine. They mention the role, the responsibilities the candidate handled and invariably put in a word of appreciation.

Example 1: Moreover, I would like to reflect over his conduct during his stay with us. During his service he has been found sincere, reliable, trustworthy, sociable, pleasant and open to challenges. He has a genial temperament and can efficiently work in a team. All of our staff members are pleased with him and feels comfortable in teaming and coordinating with him for the realization of organizational goals and objectives.

Example 2: Moreover, we would like to reflect over his conduct during his stay with us. During his service he has been found sincere, reliable, trustworthy, sociable, pleasant and open to challenges. He has a genial temperament and can efficiently work in a team. All of our staff member are pleased with him and feels comfortable teaming and coordinating with him for the realization of organizational goals and objectives.

Example 3: During the period of the assignment, Mr. X found to be hardworking and very productive, reliable, dedicated and eternal Upbeat. He consistently met all the Tasks with minimal supervision in an organized manner. His interpersonal and communication skills have allowed him to develop productive working relationships with both our Clients and our Associates.

Example 4: During his tenure with us, he ably handled major responsibilities and found him to be hardworking and very productive.

We have found him to be self-starter who is motivated, duty bound, and highly committed team player with strong conceptual knowledge.

No, the duplications are not a mistake. Sometimes, even the employer name will be the same!

They are from different candidates sent to different prospective employers. The employers themselves will have no way of knowing whether the letters are genuine or not. While a regular background check is done on all candidates, since the phone call and the email will be answered, that in itself is not enough to confirm the genuineness of the previous employer.

Over the years, with experience, Matrix can identify and flag such letters which are overflowing with superfluous superlatives that have a ring of falsity. In such cases, we go beyond mere calling and we get into comprehensive verification of the genuineness of that employer. More often than not, our suspicions are well founded, and the organization is revealed to be a fraud.

This can save the prospective employers from being misled not only about the experience the candidate claims to have had, but even whether they were employed at all, and recruit only those whose claims can stand the Matrix scrutiny.