Should I Lie on a CV?
“So Mr. Smith, I see you studied at Oxford University and worked as a Manager for a major UK bank…”
We are commonly asked how far someone can go to “spice up” details on their CV in order to help get that dream job, but did you know, around a quarter of 3,000 screened CVs submitted with job applications last year had a lie in them?
Common lies cover: falsifying qualifications / references and inflating job titles and a report released from The CIPD states that around a quarter of companies either failed to check these details or did not contact references.
A Chauffeur managed to get a job driving a Managing Director around – even though he had been banned from driving, and more recently, the former head of an NHS trust faces jail after admitting securing his £115,000 job by lying on his CV – claiming to have a first class degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Medicine (even though his only qualifications were a couple of A-Levels.).
In addition to the above, it has recently been documented that housing associations are being forced to withdraw up to one in 15 job offers because applicants have lied on their CVs or concealed a criminal past.
Should I lie on my CV?
If you do decide to embellish details on your CV (and we do not condone this), you run the risk of being caught as more and more employers wake up to the fact – leaving your career and your reputation in ruin. If, however, you do get away with your lies, you may end up in a job normally beyond your grasp – and this may lead to questions being asked.
What is being done about this?
Around 80% of companies in the US make use of Resume (CV) verification services to ensure potential recruits are telling the truth but here in the UK, only 20% do the same / similar!
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(Article written by Lee Tonge. Read more about Lee at Google+)
