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former_member182098
Active Contributor
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Curriculum Vitae (CV) is the caricature of the prospective candidate. However, 90% of the caricatures in the market are wrongly projected ones. Many people would disagree on this point with me, however, I still would like to stick to my own 90%. There are many CVs includes the work undone, exaggerated or corrected with real experience once the dust is settled down. If we sum up all these things, my 90% still looks a small figure  Resources are becoming commodities in this global market, so, the candidates are also trying to sell their skills in this market by any means. So where is the wrong in the system - Candidates? HR Consultants? or Recruiting Companies? Who is at fault? Everybody is fault and equally responsible for these misdeeds. Candidates are trying hard for their salaries and salary hikes, Recruiting agents and working hard for their commission and Recruiting companies are busy for their billing activity. But, who is looser? The Client. Yes Indeed the Client for keeping the trust on the company, their recruiting process, recruiting agents and the candidates. The clients are ready to spend millions of dollars and pounds to change their business processes and improve their systems. However, put together all these three elements, knowingly or unknowingly making mess of the Client's systems or business processes.

Many people in the market are with faked CVs either by way presenting the work not done or by way of exaggerating the skills / technologies they have never seen. It would be highly difficult for the Clients to guess the real consultant at prima facie. However, if the interviewer has sound technical / business process knowledge, it would only take few minutes to find out whether it is a fake CV or the right CV. Unfortunately, many people would prepare different types of CVs and they still happily can distribute different CVs in the market without any hesitation. The most unfortunate thing is even the HR agents would encourage them to change the CV according to the clients requirement. That does mean that both the candidate and HR agent combined together cheating the Client. At any point of time, a person can work at one place physically. He / She cannot work at two different places at the same point of time, unless they are involved in remote / virtual type of work. If the HR agents are truthful they should immediately blacklist such consultants. However, in reality, this is not happening. Everybody thinks SAP job is something to mint the money. Unfortunately, they do not realize the importance of delivering the quality deliverable to the Client. Many people some how managed to get the jobs based on their fake CVs and then later they would pretend (yes indeed) they have fair amount of knowledge and experience. Some people would strongly depend on their tongue to manage the show. Few others always pinch the real consultants in their private time and get their technical problems solved by way of maintaining good relations. But, unfortunately, SAP market is messed up with total fake CVs. This disease is not just related to one country, one religion. This decease is across whole SAP and IT job market. Unless, somebody is really eradicate this and prepare some type of industry standards, it would be highly difficult to save the Clients. The recruiting companies should have proper background verification by third parties before taking a candidate into their roles. Do not take them in hurry, otherwise, it would be a time waste for you and the candidate.

Most of the companies (almost all without exceptions) have their own rogue (sorry for my language) HR practices, unfortunately, these are the truths. The HR employees in the IT companies do maintain HR agencies on their wife's name or relatives name and forward the CVs to the company. Then they would persuade the people who are taking the interviews to take those candidates. There is also back door way of taking the candidates into the Company either the technical interviewers and / or HR employees take the money from the Candidate and place the person into the company. That person will not know even A of ABC. This is one of the most culprit and unethical HR practice. There is also another way, which is by way of impersonation. People would give the technical interviews through telephone for others by impersonation, but, when the real candidate joins the Company, he / she would see all the flowers on the Computer screen and ask how to send the email etc. Some people they do not work in SAP / IT, but they claim that they have worked, even if they are working in BPO / Accounts or even doing cleaning jobs. :wink: Some people would even get fake Employee IDs, fake Salary Statements and even Bank Statements. They are simply purchasing them and the companies are failing to do a proper background checking. I might have missed of many cheeky thoughts here. If you put up all these stories into a a lovely theme :razz: , probably, you can make a Notorious Hollywood Movie. :smile:

Many people would even send me personal messages on SCN and linkedin, what would happen if they fake their CVs and experience. I would only advise them on behalf of SCN, it is highly unethical what you are planning to do, the second this is not only you cheating yourself, but also your consciousness. This would hamper your reputation and surely your career would be spoiled. It is not the question whether you would be caught or not. Even if you are not caught, you would surely be living with fear, which is equivalent to death. Even if you get succeed in your career by cheating somebody, that success is worst than rubbish. Live like a legend, work hard, even if you lost in your life or professional career with honesty, it gives you greatest feeling to your heart. You would learn some lesson out of your honesty and failure. These failures would help you to become a great personality, make you bolder and ultimately you would become a role model for many around you. But, if you fake your CV, it would mentally kill you every day and every minute. Some people are so obnoxious, even if you tell them with sweet music also, they would not realize that they have done these mistakes. We cannot help them. But, the people who are conscious enough, please do not fake your CVs. To be honest, I have seen only few (can be counted on fingers) are true, remaining all more or less the fake stories at least at one point of their career. Would this success is any good for you? Please think yourself, it is not only gives bad name for you but also for your parents and the way you brought up. Be brave enough to accept what you do not know. There is no rule that everybody should know everything. But, do not fake your CVs and spoil your careers. Your small mistake would hunt you for life.

To make the SAP job market most corrupted free, every stakeholder of this process has an ethical responsibility including and not limited to Candidates, HR Agents, HR Employees, Interviewers, Recruiting Companies, Clients and even SAP / Authorized Training Partners. Let us see how we can bring glory to the SAP recruiting market around the world.

Candidates

1. Stop faking your CVs

It is highly unethical to fake your CVs, please do not try to cheat yourself, recruiting agents, recruiting companies and your parents. It you are caught, it would crush your reputation and career. Even if you do not caught, psychologically you will die every minute with fear.

2. Do not exaggerate

It you have not worked on certain module / project / technology, then do not try to claim that you have worked on such module. If tomorrow you are placed on such module / technology in the new project, you would be under sever trouble or tension.

3. Be Honest

Be Honest in preparing your CVs. You should be honest enough to mention what you know and what you do not know. Your honesty will always be rewarded, any cheating would take your career progress to a lowest point.

4. Be bold enough to accept

Please always be bold enough to accept that if you do not know something. There is nothing wrong in it. As I said, there is no rule that everybody should know everything. Even experts sometimes fail to know even small things.

5. Stop Impersonation

Always be yourself, do not allow anybody to attend interviews on behalf of yourself. This would not only put you in trouble, but, even the other person who has taken telephonic interview for you also would be in trouble, both the careers would be spoiled.

6. Stop purchasing experience

Experience is something you should get out of your hard work, but not by way of purchasing from somebody. Always discourage if anybody approaches you to sell the experience letters, salary slips, bank statements or employee IDs. This is not the way you get the experience. Such bogus experience would in no way useful to you in life.

7. Stop preparing multiple CVs

Physically a person can live at one place only. It is the limitation of this nature. It is not possible to present a multiple places at the same time, unless you are a demon :wink: . You cannot physically work for multiple clients at the same time. If the recruiting companies realize the story about your multiple CVs with different projects in the same period, forget about the job, you would not even be shortlisted.


8. Do not misguide the Clients

If you are working on project, never try to misguide the clients. If you do not know something, you tell the Client that you do not know, will check and get back to you. You check SCN, Service Market Place or SAP Help or your friends in SAP, then clarify with the Client. Do not simply misguide the Clients.


9. Do not kill other's private life

Being SAP consultant, it is common to help each other in critical situations, but that does not mean, you always depend on expert consultants all the time and kill their private time. Remember nobody can help you through out your life. You need to learn yourself and become a master. If you are dependent on others, then the ship is going to crush soon.


10. Discourage any Cheating

It is your ethical responsibility to discourage any cheating in the whole recruitment process. Please be away yourself from any of the unscrupulous activities during the whole recruitment process. Be honest, honest and again honest in all your activities and deeds throughout this process. Do not ever offer any money or bribe to get a job / role in a company.


HR Agents

1. Candidates are not commodities

If you believe candidates are commodities, then they will in turn treat you as dust bins and nobody will encourage you in future. Therefore, please stop behaving like a Moron, otherwise, your business would be in severe trouble. You should know what their skills are, what they are capable of doing and what you are recruiting for. Otherwise, flowers, stones and mountains would be sold for the same price.


2. Know the meaning of "References"

Please stop misusing the references that you have collected from the candidates. You received the references to check whether the candidate is genuine or not. But, do not use the references to improve your business. If the candidates know your misdeed, they would simply avoid you for life.


3. Stop advertising fake jobs

Stop advertising fake jobs. If you know there is no job in the market, then, honestly do not advertise fake job. It would not only rupture the whole ecosystem, but also kill your reputation. Candidates are not that much fools, they are very wise to identify which are fake jobs.

4. Do not encourage Candidates to manipulate CVs

We all know you are working hard for commission, that is well appreciated, but, please do not encourage the candidates to manipulate and fake their CVs to anyhow fetch your commission. If the Client find the candidate is fake, then you would totally loose your business.


5. Blacklist fake CVs

If you find any of the candidates or CVs are fake, then honestly you have the ethical responsibility to blacklist such CVs and Candidates. In no way, you should forward such CVs to the Clients.


6. Do not waste candidates time

Do not simply call candidates without any reason or sending spam mails and waste their time. At one point, candidates would put your email address in blocked list. Therefore, before calling a candidates or emailing, first of all you should justify yourself whether it is a genuine purpose or not.


7. Respect the privacy

It is not your business to check where the candidates have attended interviews and do not try to get the names of those interview's business contact. We are all know the market is very competitive and you all dying for business, but this is not the way to get the unnecessary details and spoil the candidate's privacy.


8. Be Honest

You would only be respected in the market by being honest and working hard to place the genuine candidates. Therefore, please avoid from doing any unethical practices just to improve your business. Particularly, in this industry, reputation really matters, you and me very well knows that it is not built in one day. Cheer up.


9. No Conflict of Interest

You should not have any conflict of interest. If your relatives or close friends are HR Managers in a company, please do not send your candidates to those companies to your maintain your ethical standards. You should not have any conflict of interest in your business transactions or processes.


10. Be Transparent

Please be transparent in all your activities, this is the only way you can gain trust from Client and the Candidate. Stop doing business only for money. Do justice to the commission that you are taking. May be taking 10 to 20 percent commission would be justifiable. If you are trying to take 80% and give only 20% percent, to candidate, then it is not called business. it would be something else. I hate to tell, but you know what that something else is :mad: .

HR Employees

1. Avoid Conflict of Interest

Did your spouse / partner is doing HR Consultancy business for you? Please ask her / him to stop sending CVs to your Company. If you cannot ask, please resign the job and join the HR Consultancy permanently, probably, it would be helpful to your partner. Please do not try to cheat your Employer.

2. Do not persuade interviewer

Do not persuade the interviewers to take the candidates forwarded by your partner / spouse. You have no ethical authority to influence the interviewers. Your responsibility is to give the CV to interviewer and give the full freedom for him / her to select a candidate.


3. Are you competent enough to Shortlist?

Your employer has recruited you by keeping trust on you. If you are failing to open the CVs or failing to shortlist the genuine candidates, then indirectly you are doing total injustice to your employer. Please resign from your job and go home.


4. Do not take bribes to recruit candidates

This is the cheapest thing that I can expect from a HR employee. Do not sell your ethics for cheap activities and get bribes in recruiting the candidates. Be genuine, honest and always believe your conscious. Please do not cheat your employer. If caught, you are the first person to be behind bars. Rest all left to you.


5. Follow your company / industry standards

Always follow your company / industry standard in fixing the remuneration for the respective candidates. Just because to improve rating in your personal performance appraisal, do not mass recruit the candidates at a cheaper salaries. In next few months, you would not see them on your Company's payroll.


6. Be bold enough to convey

If you call a person for interview, you should be bold enough to convey the candidate about the result, whether it is successful or failure. If you treat them as tissue papers and fail to convey the result of the interview, then you are the first person to spoil your Employer's reputation in the recruitment market.


7. Do not encourage fake candidates

It is your ethical responsibility to discourage all the fake candidates and CVs. If you know any of the candidate is fake or the details mentioned in the CV is fake, then blacklist such candidates and do not call them for future interviews.


8. Check the references properly

You need to check the references properly, even in writing where you feel it is required as a policy of your company. If you fail to take the references properly and recruit the candidate, then anything goes wrong, then you should be in a position to accept the liability. Therefore, please follow strict reference checks.


9. Give your best to bring the best quality consultants

You should always work hard in this competitive market to get the quality consultant to benefit your business. Your lethargic feelings would hamper not only your employer's business but also your Client's business. Therefore, you should remember, you are the life blood of your company identifying the best and the only the best consultants in the market.


10. Be Honest

Last, but not the least, always be honest in all your activities and do not be influenced by any others. You are critical link in the whole process, your honesty will help right candidates, HR Agents, your Employer and your Clients. Your Honesty really matters.



Interviewers


1. Do not get influenced

Be free yourself from all the influences from HR team / other employees / outsiders. You should always free from all the influences and act as a best judge in identifying the talent of the prospective candidate. You are the judge of your own judgement and nobody should ever influence to take a decision in recruiting a candidate.


2. No bribes please

Keep yourself away from this nonsense business. Do not use your position for your personal position. If you are using your position for personal position, then first thing is to go out of the company immediately. Please do not mess up the things by taking part in back door activities.

3. Are you competent enough?

The first question you should ask yourself, whether are you competent enough to take the interviews? Do not care whether you are Manager or CEO of the company, if you are really not competent enough to take my interview, then surely I am not going to give my interview.


4. Set your expectations right

Always set your expectations right regarding the role and the candidates. Sometimes it is not always work, delivery etc. There are also something beyond you need to look at the candidate, their attitude, team work, enthusiasm, hard working nature, ability to learn, share the knowledge, soft skills and communication etc. Are you listening?

5. Do not think you know everything

Because you are taking interview does not mean that you know everything in the world. You only knows 0.01% of what you ought to be. So, always keep this hat on top of your head and courteous in taking all the interviews. If you show humility in your interview, even if the candidate is rejected, they would still admire you. But, if you show arrogance, then you are the first person to be ignored.

6. Avoid doing back door activities

When company has given you a huge responsibility and position, how can you involve in such heinous activities. How can you recruit an incompetent person by taking money from them?. Do not you feel ashamed of what you have done? I would still surprise why the other companies would still recruit you, when you are totally fit for nothing. When I hear stories like this, they are really heart burning.


7. Avoid Partiality

Stop recruiting a candidate based on religion, region, country and appearance. Respect the talent. If you believe that the candidate is having right talent and potential to grow, ask your consciousness, whether can I recruit that candidate for my Company? You should have the same consciousness whether you are recruiting for your Company or yourself.


8. Be prepared

You are not invited to watch football match. You are going to take the interview for the right candidate. So, do not think that interview is only for the candidates, but not for you. It is also your responsibility from your side to prepare the type of questions to be asked. If you failed to do so, you go for an Elephant, but you get a dog.


9. Select the best

It is always your responsibility to select the right and the best candidate not only for your employer also for your Clients. You should have thorough selection criteria to select the right candidates. If you fail, then you are not an asset to the company, only busy bee in adding the liabilities to the company.


10. Be Honest

Be honest in whatever you are doing to your company. If you give your honest and transparent approach to recruit a candidate, then you have done your job. Then you could easily feel proud about yourself for recruiting the best talent in the market.



Recruiting Companies

1. Revamp your HR Practices

Do not care whether you are FTSE 100 company or 10 company. Remember success is temporary, so stop egos and honestly look at your HR Policies and practices. This is the only way that you can always keep yourself best in the market. People do not really bother how big company you are.


2. Are you aware of any unethical practices?

Without any exception, every company / employees are involved in certain extent for unethical practices. Are you aware that such unethical practices are also happening in your company. Do not just look at one place, thoroughly look at all your business locations, onshore, offshore and near shore. Eradicate any such unethical practices in your HR.


3. Employees are not your billing agents

Stop thinking that you are recruiting employees just bill your Clients and count your money every day evening. They are driving force of your business, so treat them as they deserved to be. Otherwise, you will end up with highest attrition rate in your industry.


4. Take stern activities on back door activities

Many people might be still wondering what is this back door means. :wink: See if any of your employees are taking bribes to bring in incompetent people into your organisation, first remove such people, otherwise they would suck all your blood like Dracula.


5. Do you invest on employees?

Do you ever think of investing for the betterment and prosperity of your employees? It is not just giving salary. There are many other things you should encourage in your organisation take efforts to employees, encouragement, appreciation, equal opportunity, training, growth, career opportunities, health and safety,

6. Do you know your employees' conflict of Interest?

Are your ever seriously though of your employees' conflict of interest. Do you know some of your HR / other employees having HR agencies outside and they are recruiting your employees through them. They are insisting to recruit their own candidate and not really bothered about your future? Why are you still afford to keep such hopeless individuals in your Organisation?

7. Are you aware of impersonation?

I know every company looking to recruit candidates at faster rate. Do you know during this process you might be becoming a victim of impersonation?. That means somebody else is giving interview instead of the original candidate? Have you insisted on taking interview only through video conferences? Do you have such time to think on this? Please do proper background verification before issuing any appointment letter to the candidate. Once you have issued the appointment letter, it is your fault and you should accept the full responsibility.

8. Do you ever thought of your high attrition?

Why you are having high attrition in your industry? Is it because of your unethical HR practices or your incompetent managers? Have you ever properly trained your Managers to encourage talented people? You know sometimes, your Managers' arrogant behaviour is one of the reason for your high attrition. If you think so, first try to invest some time and money on Managers.


9. Do you really live up to your standards?

Do you have a proper process to be followed for recruitment? Have you ever checked that your HR employees are bold enough to convey the results to the candidates, or they simply tend to ignore the candidates if they do not select. Do not care how big you are, if you fail to satisfy these small things, they would never turn up to your company. Are you still listening?


10. Be Honest

Honesty is not just expected from your employees and candidates, but as a company you should ensure that every process in your organisation has great amount of honesty involved. I know how difficult it is in this competitive world, but you should be proactive and fill your company resources with the talented blood. Be Honest and trust in your employees.



Clients

1. Are you really blind?

Many of the clients are blindly depending on their Implementation Partners or their Sub contractors to select the resources and helplessly believing them. Unless you are aware of what type of consultants are joining your board, then it is not going to help you. The consultants would come and spoil your systems and processes. Unless you open your eyes and evaluate the resources properly, it would be a painful experience for you.


2. Do you really release the full potential of Consultants?

You have recruited the consultants with high amount of money, but you are still very reluctant to change the system or very rigid change management process, then you would never get benefited by the potential of the consultants. They would simply come and go. Unless first you set right your internal process, consultants would not really help you.


3. Reference Check

Do your reference check properly?. If you cannot do the reference check thoroughly, then latter you would cry foul game, but it is too late, but the time you must have spent lot of pounds, which are just sunk costs. Those historical costs would not help you, but it is equivalent to down the drain money without having any productivity for your organisation.



4. Freedom of Expression

When you are recruiting the candidates, you should give them the freedom of expression. If you are expecting them to report everything for you, then you are creating hurdles for your growth. People can only cherish where the mind if without fear. If you create psychological fear in the minds of your consultants, they would only physical objects, but nothing else.


5. Selection Standards

You should have your own selection standards in selecting the candidates. Do not just depend on HR Agents or your implementation partners. They can bring any consultant to you. First of you should have proper standards and do your own interview. If you fail to do so, then it is your mistake and probably, your organisation would pay a hefty price.


6. Measuring deliverable

If you fail to measure the quality deliverables of the consultants, you are just acting as head teacher to record the attendance of the students. You should have proper mechanism and the targets are to specified very clearly. On a daily / weekly basis you should see where your staff / project team is up to. This is the only way you can maintain the competency in your project.


7. Equal Opportunity

Always treat every resource on your project equally. Do not show any partiality between them. Every consultant and resource will have their own skills. So, please do not compare one with the other. Everybody is special in their own way. Your project will only be successful if all the resources give their best. By considering this, you should give equal opportunity for all the resources.


8. Security Clearances

If you are very particular about quality resources, go for Full Security Cleared Consultants. That really does not mean that you are getting the best consultants in the industry. But, yes at least it would give you a satisfaction that you are choosing the reliable consultants.


9. Candidate's Suitability

When you are recruiting a consultant, you should ensure that the Consultant is really fit for the job description. If you recruit a wrong consultants for the demanding job, you are only helping to postpone your project delivery by another few months. Therefore, always choose the right and suitable candidate for the demanding job.


10. Open Culture

Even if you have above mentioned 9 qualities, but if you fail in the 10th quality, then your project would be a big disaster. First of all you should have a open culture across all your organisation. If you only believe in hierarchical monarchy type of organisation, then the whole project is worthless. Develop a culture where any person can directly contact or communicate any person in your organisation.  Do not believe in positions, but only trust the knowledge.



SAP / Authorized Training Partners


1. Quality Education

You have highest responsibility to deliver the quality education. Many employers in the market is still depending on your credibility to choose the employee. So, please do not concentrate on number of candidates, but always ensure you are sending best candidates from your institutes by properly training and giving the best fundamental knowledge.


2. Improvement in Certification

Please do not make SAP Certification Exam another theory driving test. If you make so, then everybody would pass by mugging the questions for a week or so. Always ensure that you choose innovative methods to bring out the best from the candidates. Otherwise, the sheen of your certificate will evaporate over a period time.


3. Industry Standards

Try to make put some industry standards with the help of recruiting agents, recruiting companies, implementation partners, customers and clients by making the SAP Certification a minimum qualification that every consultant should have. It does not really matter whether they like it or not. But, everybody should pass the Certification as a minimum level of acceptance.


4. External Audit

Unfortunately, many of your training centers are really messed up. You should have thorough quality audit of all your training centers by a Third Party of stature of Big 4 consulting companies. You should ensure you are evening having audit on the quality of printed material given to the papers. Avoid giving Photostat copies. If you can bring quality from that level, then only you would sustain in the education sector.


5. Confirmations

With lot of fake CVs around the market, some of the people tend to claim as Certified consultants, even though they are really not. Most of the employers are still relying to verify the genuineness of their consultants. In such cases, please help them with patience and reveal the truth the Recruitment Companies. Please ensure that you are not breaching any privacy laws in that country.


6. Act on Piracy

You may be really unaware, but the surprising fact is your SAP ECC 6.0 and above versions are selling for as cheap as $10 in the market. Forget about ECC, you name a technology of yours, which is available in the market, available for few bucks. Have you ever though why your software products are pirated in the market so cheaply. All your SAP Certification materials are freely available on the internet. Many unscrupulous people are evening selling your Certification Materials. Wake up yourself and make use of google search.


7. Maintain Reputation

It is not just adding more number of questions and more number of certifications every year. Try to build the reputation for SAP Education and your Certifications. 15 Years back there used to be lot of value for Certification, but now Certification has become a piece of paper and every Tom, Dick and Harry is completing your courses. You should bring back such reputation, probably, it is time for all your Education Team to put innovative hats.


8. Incentives

Give some incentives in the licensing fee etc. if they have certain number of Certified Consultants, may be 1% for 10, 2% for 20, 5% for 50 and 10% for 100 etc. This is the only way industry would really push their employees to go for your certification. There must be some kind of incentives you should provide to encourage the educationally motivated individuals / companies.


9. Tie up with Employers

It is not just giving licenses to new Educational Partners and opening number of centers in quantity, please ensure you have quality placement cells in all your educational centers. Please ensure / tie up with all the companies and arrange for some campus type of interviews. If you are claiming that you are going to give the so called "placement assistance", but in reality is it is "sour grape".


10. Transparency

Please maintain the complete transparency in all your activities. Note that people are investing their hard earned money and in fact their blood for SAP Education. Please do not make equal yourself to a local institute. Fulfill all your promises that you have promised before, during and after the course. Come out of the dream that SAP / Educational Partners are best in the Industry. I witnessed non-recognized training centers 10000 times better than SAP Education Centers. Honestly, you should introspect yourself and look into providing quality of tutors, facilities, server connections, additional time to consultants, responding to the grievances, quality material supply and placements etc.



The blog is little lengthy and more than expected in length. My blog may give hard feelings to many, nevertheless, my only attempt is to bring honesty and transparency into the SAP recruitment market by all stakeholders. Even if I am able to bring up 1% of honesty in the whole process, I feel I am more than successful in my attempt through this blog.

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