Five of the most popular lies people use on CVs

CV Lie Detector

Even flawless candidates need reference checks

In an Experian survey 71% of companies found "serious lying" going on in CVs, and there's nothing worse than an austere fib. By all accounts the current financial situation has inspired even more creativity among desperate job-hunters, as another report showed that those in the 36-40 age bracket were the worst CV liars!

However, these professional lies tend to catch up with us eventually, at best resulting in embarrassing revelations and at worst ending up in getting the boot. Below is a top five CV fibs list for employers to spot and prospective employees to avoid:

Previous positions

event management


Event Management

We can all be a touch creative with our job titles. Using words like "food technician" and "executive aid" make us feel better about having been burger flippers and receptionists, but then there are the outright lies... assistant positions become supervisor positions, cleaning jobs turn into project manager jobs, and job-hunters everywhere cross their fingers and hope the references never get checked.

Employment

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Freelance HR Professional

That big gap between jobs looks very untidy doesn't it? Fourteen months on the dole doesn't sound nearly as good as being a freelance something-or-other.

Academic dates

tourism_4th_year

Fourth year in Leisure and Tourism Studies

Whether it's flunking completely and filling in the gaps, or stretching your academic studies a year or two, this CV-filling option is a popular one. Academic institutions do tend to be fairly good at keeping records though...

Academic qualifications

metallica


2:1 in Social Work

Yes, it was a shame you missed out on your 2:1 by three marks, and your lecturer said you deserved better, but a 2:2 is still a 2:2. As for your Masters in Applied Filing, well...

Undeclared directorships

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Cashflow Manager

Some businesses just fail, while others slide into obscurity after swindling huge amounts of money from customers and suppliers. Either way, admitting to heading up such an organisation on your CV takes some gumption.

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