Vetting new staff.

In this day and age of the internet, social media and professional websites like LinkedIn there really is no excuse for taking a CV or Resume at face value.Anyone can talk up their achievements and say basically anything they like but a smart employer takes independent steps to verify any claims made.

This pre-employment screening should work both ways , with the potential candidate also vetting the organisation they may be working for. For example, is it a completely new position or will you be replacing and existing or former employee ? If the latter is the case ask yourself why are they leaving and try to do some digging.

For Employers

Look at the CV or  resume and just see if the dates make sense. We all know about making sure to enquire about significant gaps but also what about overlapping dates ? It is highly unlikely an individual can hold significant positions in two large organisations at the same time or even freelance whilst working full time with one organisation. It can be possible but you should certainly explore what the arrangement was or even if it formally existed, after all if you are employing someone then you want their full attention for the money you are paying them.

Sit back and read through the resume a few times and get a feeling for it. Does it look like a logical progression or is it jumping around ? Varied experience can be a good thing but most people tend to stick in an area they know best. Do the skill sets appear to be what you need ? They may have done a tiny bit of  investigation and enforcement but if the rest of their experience is teaching husbandry it is unlikely they will cut it if what you are looking for is an RSPCA type Inspector. It takes a special individual to be able to work on their own in hostile environments with little back-up and even more so in a different country. In my experience you have to get at least 5 years under your belt working as a cruelty investigator and prosecutor before you are  competent to be able to handle almost any situation you come across.

And on that note whilst many people like the idea of working in a foreign country the reality can be very different. If the individual you are considering has never spent more than a few weeks outside the UK then how are they likely to cope with living permanently overseas ?  My first experience volunteering and working overseas was in a disaster zone with no running water, sleeping on fishing netting outside under a mosquito net and drinking bottled water. Subsequent experiences have not always been much better, for instance living in a run down allegedly haunted house on the edge of the jungle sandwiched between a Chinese and an Indian cemetery.

Use Social Media and Google to  do a basic name check. If someone is claiming to have 'worked' in dozens of countries over 20 years there should be quite a lot on the internet backing this up. For instance if you Google 'Glyn Roberts RSPCA  Animal Welfare' the first two pages you come to relate almost exclusively to my work (not surprisingly you may say) and back up the claims I make for my experience. Leaving aside the self generated publicity - website, LinkedIn profile etc - there should be independent articles confirming any claims made. Just in the first two pages of the search results you can find a Guardian Newspaper article dating back to 2005 along with BBC news links, a Malaysian Radio show I did and numerous newspaper articles from Bermuda and elsewhere.

Now all this does not necessarily confirm anything other than the dates on the resume are accurate and that the individual was in fact where he or she  said they  were , doing what he or she said they were  doing but it does add credibility to a  work record.

Check references . This may seem obvious but it is often overlooked. Recently I was recruiting a deputy and had to go through a number of resumes that were submitted. The obvious first choice got my employers quite excited as he seemed perfect . Using Google I was able to confirm his identity and some of his resume (mostly college activities) but hit a snag with his work history. On the face of it this matched up although I was unable to approach his current employer ( not a major concern as no-one wants their boss to know they are thinking of leaving). His previous jobs seemed very short on contact details with just a company name, town and work period. No matter how I tried I was unable to verify his previous employment and even the one company where he listed himself as a supervisor that actually seemed to exist had no knowledge of him. This on top of a background check showing that he had motoring offences was enough to push him down the list of candidates.

Also don't just go with the details that potential candidates supply, check for yourself the current address and HR contacts for the organisation your applicant currently works for. For all you know you could be e-mailing a friend within the company who has nothing to do with the management structure and no authority to vouch for the individual but does have a seemingly legitimate company e-mail. 

Work shadowing. Depending on how sensitive the work is spending a day or so with your shortlisted candidates might be worthwhile. It may seem overkill for an admin job but if you have a small team a day or half a day working with a potential employee could be invaluable in seeing how they fit it and cope with the work.

For Employees

Now most of the above relates to the employer but not exclusively so. Think of all the British Football (Soccer to my American readers) clubs that go through 2-3 (or more) managers a season. Would you really want to work for an employer that would throw you under the bus at the first sign of things going wrong. Similarly Google the potential employer and job position and see what comes up. A high turnover of staff or numerous reports of poor practices should make you think twice before handing in that resume .

That is not to say that the organisation is necessary at fault. Take for example a case where an organisation fired a number of staff seemingly with no grounds. By all means investigate news reports surrounding the organisation and firing but also perhaps Google the sacked employees name and see what comes up. You might find out (if it was a historic incident) that subsequently those employees had issues with more recent employers which would help put perspective on things.

The bottom line is that with all the open source information out there from charity accounts, meeting minutes, news websites and the internet both employer and employee should be able to find a suitable fit for each other.

Good luck and best wishes to everyone working in the field of animal welfare and conservation. I salute you.

Take care.