Recession sparks lies on CV
Filed under: Work & Careers
Last year, I accidentally fibbed on my CV. I typed in the wrong date and made myself look much more experienced in a role than I actually was.
I'm pretty sure it was this experience that helped get me the job, but it was an honest mistake. (It wasn't this job, I hasten to add).
I never told the company the truth, and all was fine. But essentially, I'd lied on my CV. And more and more of us are doing it each year (not least those tricksy candidates on The Apprentice).
A survey out today by SkillsActive, found over a third of job seekers admit to lying in their attempts to find a job, often driven by the rising level of unemployment.
But just because everyone is doing it, does that make it OK?
The rule is that anything you put on a job application form is meant to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If a company finds out that you've told porkies, they can fire you for gross misconduct. It can also be a legal matter if you're forging any documents. Don't do that, you'll get into all sorts of trouble.
But there are still some grey areas
Experience. Everyone is... 'creative' on their CV, especially when they're first starting out. Working in a bar when you're trying to get into the construction industry doesn't really look great on a CV, but, managing shifts does - even if you only did it once. You're not lying. You're just highlighting the good parts.The rule of thumb? Ask yourself if your previous manager would feel annoyed if they read your CV.
Skills. Downright lying about theskills you have is a definite no-no. If you get the job and can't do the work, you'll be asked to leave anyway. However, if you have experience of a particular computer package or type of work, then you can be vague about exactly how much experience you have and what level of skill you have achieved. BUT only if it's something you can learn to do safely. If your skills (or lack of them) would put someone in danger, don't fib.
Interests. This is a classic. It's unprovable and an easy way to beef up your application. If you want a job in a bookshop, say you're an avid reader. Just make sure you do enough preparation to carry it off, or you'll look silly.
Everyone draws the line somewhere different when it comes to the grey areas. It's partly a question of how ruthless you are.
So, what do you think? Where does the fibbing stop? Should you always stay as honest as possible or is a little white lie OK? Tell us in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-04-2009 @ 1:00PM
Andrew Brown said...
Those are some good tips and as we mentioned on the SkillsActive blog (http://blog.skillsactive.com/2009/06/have-you-ever-lied-on-your-cv/) today, for both employers and potential applicants the use of a verifiable online CV can offer assurance that your skills and experience is fact rather than fiction.
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6-04-2009 @ 1:19PM
Siany said...
thanks for your comment, Andrew. What are your thoughts? Is it ever OK to fib on your CV?
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6-04-2009 @ 1:19PM
R Matthews said...
That has to be the most inane, useless and irrelevant article I have ever seen here. What was the point of it?
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6-04-2009 @ 3:10PM
spider said...
First off, I think this is a great article, well worth discussion. Yes, most people tell fibs on their CV’s. Does it matter? Not necessarily, what matters at the end of the day, is that you can hold your own with the job.
Taking on an employee is a huge investment by the company, mostly in time. Time searching for the right candidate, selection interviews, short lists, final interviews, discussions, start dates etc. After all that, if you cannot do the job, you have cheated and deserve admonishment. But also, the company has messed up, as their selection process is obviously flawed. Companies expect to put up with a settling in period, were you become accustomed to the new regime, but they do not accept having to train you, when you claimed experience.
I am a contract designer. I am expected to jump in and produce from day one. If I fib about my lack of experience with the design software, I would not last the week and would not get paid.
Usually, the first guy that reads the CV’s is an administration jerk, who knows very little about the job. He filters out the obvious inappropriate candidates, wrong experience etc. But he will also bin the CV’s with time gaps. Example, I generally work two years then take two years off. The admin guy will see this as unemployable or some other problem and so my CV would never arrive at the design leaders desk. He would have recognized my experience and I would have been able to easily convince him that I could do the job.
So the fibs on my CV are generally continuity related. If they ask for a specific design task, I will reinforce this task to suit. But only if I am confident that I can perform the task. In my case, design is design, whether it be aircraft, automotive, space or what ever. But the jerk in admin will not understand the relevance of other fields, so my honest CV will end up in the round filing cabinet.
I very rarely have formal interviews in my field of work. The interview is usually a phone call with the design manager. He will ask me relevant questions and judge me on my answers. If I feel I am losing the battle, I will make an offer. Take me on for one month, if you are not happy, I do not get paid and will eat the flight and expenses. This usually works and I have always been paid and kept on.
People usually fail because of a lack of confidence in themselves. The interviewer will always pick up on this, like a dog smells fear.
As for interests, superfluous flowery rubbish, mainly to fill out the page. The guy reading the CV rarely gets past the top third of the front sheet, before his decision is made. Never more than two pages to a CV. It will be binned purely for the inconvenience.
Sorry for the ramble.
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6-04-2009 @ 6:21PM
Andrew Brown said...
I would agree with many of your points above and I think it could be quite sector dependant how "acceptable" it might be, in the example given above the need to lie is to get past a layer of admin to be able to present to the person who matters.
Actual experience and skills can however be cruicial in many roles available, and especially in some of the industries we represent (Sport/Fitness/Outdoors/Playwork). As you point out, lies in these areas could leave someone well out of their depth and potentially put others in danger - particularly in the case of instructing in a sport, fitness or outdoor environment, or when dealing with children.
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6-17-2009 @ 11:37AM
Graham said...
Fact is it happens. The odd fib does help keep your c.v in the short list pile and out of the bin. In the current climate the job market is becoming more and more competitive, especially in sectors where there have been heavy job losses. If you can do the job and don't make outrageous claims about your skills and experience then why not?
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7-09-2009 @ 6:19AM
lyingscum said...
I absolutely hate people who lie on their CV, not only are you cheating your way into a job, you are pushing out someone honest who actually has the credentials to do the job properly. That's why the city is so corrupt, liars and cheats pushing their way to the top while decent honest hardworking and moral people get left at the bottom. And we ask ourselves why companies are corrupt and why fraud cases happen so regularly. Same reason why we get sweat shops and exploitation, liars and cheats wanting to get something for nothing.
I don't care what industry you are in, if you lie on your CV you are dishonest scum who should feel guilty for every last penny or cent you stole from the company you claim to work for.
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7-09-2009 @ 6:23AM
Siany said...
But where do you draw the line? When does self-promotion turn into fibbing? Everyone expands the truth slightly on their CV (yes, I believe everyone does this to a certain extent), because you learn how to make your roles sound better than they are.
I'm not sure it's as cut and dry and just telling fibs. I've done it by accident and i hope that doesn't make me lying scum. But I wouldn't think twice about tweaking my CV to suit a job (in fact I'd strongly encourage everyone did that), so if you're highlighting certain parts of a job, are you deliberately misleading someone?
I think there are grey areas, it's not just as simple as stealing a job from someone else.
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7-09-2009 @ 7:01AM
Nope said...
Self promotion is fine as long as you stick to the facts. The line is very clear when you treat facts as your standpoint.
"I was a great manager" is quite different from "I improved productivity by 30% over a six month period".
Tweaking a CV fine, but plain making up stuff is not. And it IS stealing a job from someone else, however you might want to reassure yourself to make yourself feel less guilty about it.
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