Leonardo DaVinci is said to have written the first CV in 1482 when he wrote a letter to the Duke of Milan as he wanted to be a military engineer.
In his resume, he focused on the strengths he had that were most closely aligned with the duke’s needs. So, although known for his artistic abilities, he instead focused on his aptitude to “make covered chariots, safe and unattackable, which, entering among the enemy with their artillery, there is no body of men so great but they would break them.”
At this stage, DaVinci had made some impressive contributions to the art world but he did not include these in the document, instead, he focussed on what the Duke would want to know.
Do potential employees not do the same today in desperation for employment? We know that 40% of grade 1 pupils in South Africa drop out of school before reaching matric, 6% of qualifications verified by iFacts are fraudulent and all of this despite the fact that falsifying a qualification could result in a criminal record for the applicant. Internationally the courts have ruled that people who present fraudulent CVs must pay back part of their wages earned, yet people with fraudulent documents still manage to gain employment.
Employers are guided to verify all documents and information in a CV before appointing a candidate to a position, but seldom do they consider the behavioural traits of an individual.
An integrity test is a specific type of personality test designed to assess an applicant’s tendency to be honest, trustworthy, and dependable. A lack of integrity is associated with such counterproductive behaviors as theft, violence, sabotage, disciplinary problems, and absenteeism. Integrity tests have been found to measure some of the same factors as standard behavioural assessments, particularly conscientiousness, and perhaps some aspects of emotional stability and agreeableness.
Integrity tests can also be valid measures of overall job performance. This is not surprising because integrity is strongly related to conscientiousness, itself a strong predictor of overall job performance.