Adea Group Says ``Resume-Stretch'' Can Cost Companies Millions; With Fewer HR People to Screen Exponentially Higher Numbers of Resumes Fraud is On the Increase.

Business Editors

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 2001

Doug Ortega, executive vice president of The Adea Group, the fastest growing technical staffing firm in the United States, issued a warning to their clients today about the dramatic increase in "resume-stretching" occurring as a result of the high number of technical professionals competing for fewer jobs.

As the supply of IT job candidates continues to exceed the number of open positions, competition is intense. The result is an increase in embellishment, exaggeration and fraudulent information being published on resumes. Adea has seen the number of resumes received through www.adea.com increase from 300 per month to more than 3,000 during the last few months. Companies with large volume technical resource requirements may have to screen ten times as many resumes as they did a year ago, to fill their open positions. At the same time, these firms may have experienced a reduction in their human resource staff. The dilemma is, how do hiring companies find and qualify the best people for these open positions.

"Resume-stretching" can be costly to companies in terms of mis-hires, higher turnover, and may cause project delays that can result in lost sales and profits. More than a year ago, Adea launched AdeaTeched(TM), a comprehensive and rigorous skill-set and communications capability testing program. The AdeaTeched(TM) program includes intense one-on-one, in-person testing of candidates for each required skill-set as well as for communication capabilities. It was designed to ensure only the highest qualified people become Adea employees.

Adea was featured in a special segment of High-Tech Texas this week, a regional technology television show broadcast by WFAA TV in Dallas, discussing how companies are coping with this rapidly growing problem. Sabre Technologies, an Adea client, was also included in this story. Sabre has been a client of Adea for more than three years, using AdeaTeched(TM) personnel on a number of technology projects.

The Adea Group is based in Dallas, and is the exclusive provider of AdeaTeched(TM) placement-ready technical personnel for leading Fortune 500 firms. Adea also has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Washington D.C., and India. Its client list includes ACS, Alcon, Amdahl, Applied Terravision Systems, Babbages, Banderacom, Blockbuster, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Compaq, CompUSA, Computer Sciences Corporation, Coopers Energy, Datum, Emery Worldwide, Ericsson, First Horizon Home Loan Corporation, GE Engine Services, Hewlett Packard, Infraworks, Knowledge Base Marketing, KPMG, LCRA, Momentum Software, Michaels, Sabre, SBC, Southwest Airlines, SPRINT, Sprint/Sprint E-Solutions, State of Texas, Sterling Commerce, Travelocity, TSI, Unisource, UPS, Verio, and Verizon. The Adea Group may be visited on the Internet at www.adea.com.

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