Secrets and lies par for the course in IT recuitment

According to The IT Job Board’s latest survey[1] findings, 62% of IT workers would keep details about a job they are applying for secret from their colleagues to avoid competition for a role.  In addition, almost eight out of ten people (79%) would try to gain inside secrets about an organisation and its recruitment process to get a job.

58% of candidates would flatter or compliment their boss in order to get a pay rise or promotion over their colleagues and just over a fifth (23%) would claim colleagues’ ideas as their own. 32% of people would even create a problem so that they could fix it and “save the day”, giving them extra kudos with their boss and direct colleagues.

The respondents had mixed views on participating in underhand activities. Whilst, 38% of respondents take a dim view of using “out of the ordinary” tactics to boost their chances of getting a job, stating  such tactics are morally wrong, 23% of people said these tactics were fine, as long as they didn’t hurt anyone.

Other surprising statistics the survey showed were as follows:

• 15% of respondents said that using out of the ordinary tactics in order to secure a role were necessary as it is a tough market out there

• 35% of respondents said they would telephone a recruiter continuously in order to try and secure an interview

• 13% of respondents said they would visit a recruiter’s premises and refuse to leave until they were seen.

Commenting on the survey, Alex Farrell, managing director of The IT Job Board, said: “Getting the inside scoop on a company prior to applying for a role does show initiative, however, many candidates feel this is breaking an unwritten “rule”.  These results show clearly there is increased competition in the market and the impact it is having on candidates.  On a positive note, as a business we are continuing to meet demand. Currently we have over 18,000 live IT permanent and contract jobs on site, this is the largest pool of IT jobs on the internet in the UK”.

[1] 282  surveyed on ‘How Far Would You Go To Get A Job?’ in the UK May 2010