50% of small businesses hire without seeing a full CV

   

Businesses are risking costly and embarrassing tribunals by failing to ask for even the most basic documents before hiring new staff.

As was witnessed by millions of viewers of TV’s The Apprentice last week, cocky headhunter Paul Tulip proudly boasted that he had not needed a CV to be recruited for his past two jobs.

His competitor, Ansell Henry, similarly admitted to hastily putting together a CV, having not needed one for years.

A survey of small and medium sized businesses has revealed that almost half of firms do not insist on seeing a proper CV before hiring a new member of staff.

Employment Law Advisory Services (ELAS), which commissioned the poll, described the practice as “foolhardy in the extreme”.

Head of recruitment at ELAS, Pam Rogerson, said: “The CV is the absolute starting point for any new member of staff, and is the guarantee that can protect the company from a range of legal problems.”

Even where a candidate has not exaggerated their own abilities – which can result in automatic dismissal – having a CV on file is a basic piece of procedure.

“Recruiting staff can be a very tricky situation for any employer,” said Mrs Rogerson.

“Whenever you decide not to recruit a candidate – especially a minority candidate - there is the risk that they will feel prejudiced against and issue tribunal proceedings.

“To defend such a case successfully, it is absolutely essential that an employer can prove they have done everything by the book.

“Employing someone without taking their CV blows a huge hole through that defence.”

In last week’s episode of The Apprentice, Michelle Dewberry used a well-prepared CV, detailing both her professional and personal background, to propel her into this week’s final and a chance to land a £100,000 job as Sir Alan Sugar’s apprentice.

Her rival, Paul Tulip, however, was forced to admit that there were errors in his CV because he had not spent much time preparing it, boasting that he had not needed to submit one for previous jobs.

As a result, the 26-year-old was duly the first to be told by Sir Alan Sugar: “You’re Fired.”

In a snapshot survey carried out after the programme, a staggering 42 per cent of the 250 companies polled admitted to having recruited at least one member of staff without having seen their CV.

“It’s not about whether you need the CV for you to get the job as Paul seemed to think,” added Mrs Rogerson.

“Even if it tells you nothing about the person - if you are hiring a trusted friend, for example - taking a CV is a crucial part of the procedure to defend your company against any future mishap.”