Posted By Homer
Simple question.

How do I check if the designatory letters being claimed by an individual are actually correct. I have an individual who I believe has applied some journalistic licence to his CV qualifications and I would like to check it out.

Posted By MT
Personally I'd request copies of the certificates, then investigate further by telephoning the individual institutions and checking that the certificates are authentic.

Posted By Graham Bullough
If qualifications are being claimed in support of a job application or tender, any competent prospective employer or client should be asking to see original certificates. This should be made clear at the outset and apply to all applicants or tenderers so as to avoid any hassles over alleged discrimination and suspicion.

A good example of why this is good practice was provided some years ago by the case of a new chief executive of a local authority: It transpired later that he had falsely claimed when completing the application form to hold a postgraduate management qualification. This led to him being dismissed. These circumstances would have been both embarrassing and costly for the authority involved. If it had told applicants at the beginning that anyone called for interview would need to bring original certificates with them, the man might not have been tempted to claim a bogus qualification and perhaps gain an unfair advantage over otherwise equally suitable candidates.

Even if applicants had not been told at the beginning, the authority at least could have told persons selected for interview that they must bring certificates to confirm the qualifications they claimed to have. This should have enabled the authority to identify the bogus qualification and then eliminate the man from all further consideration as a candidate.