Verified, not claimed: what a credential should mean

Hospitality hiring runs on self-reported history. A CV says Executive Chef at a property in another country, for four years, and in practice almost nobody calls to confirm it. The reference, when it is taken at all, is a phone call to a number the candidate supplied.

For a single restaurant hiring locally, the informal network mostly catches this — someone always knows someone. For an international group hiring an Executive Chef across a border, the informal network does not exist, and the cost of getting it wrong is a failed appointment at around one and a half times salary.

What verification actually has to cover

• Employer and position, confirmed with the employer rather than a supplied contact
• Dates, because overlapping employment is the most common inconsistency
• Scope — outlets, covers, brigade size, not just a job title
• Qualifications, confirmed with the institution
• References taken independently

“A badge that means 'this person filled in a form' is worse than no badge, because it launders a claim into a fact.”

The discipline is not complicated. It is just work that nobody is paid to do at the point where it matters, which is why it has to sit with the network rather than with either side of the hire.