Is this candidate a fake, or a Chagall?

Somewhere in my reading I learned that the art world is saturated with forgeries and fakes. There are so many no one knows exactly which painting is by a master and which is an original or a reproduction. Over 50% of the great masterpieces have never met a great master, - they are forgeries. The experts will tell you they can tell a masterpiece from a fake, but the facts don't quite support their ambitions.

Many of these paintings are as good or better than the great artists of history would have painted. There are many websites and even trade letters which list, follow and categorize thefts, forgeries and fakes on the market. Fake art is a time honoured industry!

I've read a few books, among them, "The man who made Vermeers", "Provenance," and "The Caravaggio Conspiracy," (Peter Watson has more nerve than I'll ever have). Fascinating books about very clever people, all ending in the same place. A Vermeer might not be a Vermeer. A Chagall might not be a Chagall, and nobody really knows for sure. Even the art experts and historians at Christies and Southeby's in London and New York who appraise and sell them for millions, don't know. Some make it through the system, some get caught. The art world is like the wild west. Chagall, $4m today. $10,000 tomorrow if it's a good forgery.

So how do you tell the difference between an original master and a reproduction? The answer is, provenance. Provenance is the chronology of ownership and location of a historical object.

A resume is the provenance of the candidate. Forged resumes, reproductions, fake credentials and experience is also a time honoured tradition. Why not say you managed twenty people when it means your next position could pay $25k more? Why not say you completed your degree when there is a high likelihood that no one will ever check.

Resume fraud doesn't carry jail time yet can change your life! Who gets hurt? Do your job, enjoy the perks. If you get caught? Resign and claim misunderstanding.

Most managers don't really know the person they're hiring. It's a gamble. Your best bet is to establish provenance, chronology of the candidate. Verify each piece of what you are given.

The punch line? In the book, "Provenance," John Drewe's trick was to forge the paper trail behind the fake master. He forged provenance. So even provenance is not quite enough to separate the fakes from the Chagalls!

See you for breakfast,
Wolfgang

· Call us before you decide on your next hire. Ask for a full pre-employment verification report. Let us establish candidate provenance. Call Metrik Management Inc. 604-931-6813.