Should I Tell Resume and CV Lies?

By Catherine Z Jones

In today's world, the search for employment is extremely competitive. So how do you present yourself most favorably to a potential employer? Some people think the simplest way to present yourself in the best light is to lie on your CV or resume.

Studies show that up to seventy-five percent of all CVs and resumes reviewed contained some type of deception in them. Many people think that it is alright to exaggerate the truth or state an outright lie when looking for employment. Most feel that an employer is too busy to check all the facts and they will get away with falsifying information.

The largest group of people that submit CVs and resumes containing false information is women in their thirties. They make up at least thirty-three percent with young men in their twenties coming up a close second.

So why tell resume and CV lies? Many people feel that almost everybody does it to make a better impression than others competing for the same position. However, if they are discovered they run the risk of losing out on being hired. Also they run the risk of ruining their reputation and future job opportunities.

Not only are we dealing with a moral issue, we are dealing with a legal issue as well.

Should an employer find out about misleading information found in a resume, CV, or application form before a person is formally hired, they have the right by law to withdraw the offer of a job.

If the deception is found out after a person is already working for an employer, then the employer can dismiss the person. If that employer is listed as a reference, they can state the deception as a reason of termination, potentially ruining chances of being hired by another employer.

What kind of information is most commonly falsified? Most often a resume or CV will have dates of employment that have been exaggerated so that it looks like a person was with an employer for longer than they actually were. Sometimes dates are exaggerated so that gaps in employment are wiped out or decreased for whatever reason. Salaries are often disclosed to be up to thirty-five percent more than what was actually received.

More serious false information involves stating or producing phony degrees. Unscrupulous people can find and even produce false documents that are very official looking, giving a potential employer the impression that the person has received higher education when in reality, the person may have only attended a few courses or worse yet, never even attended the institution in question. This is a serious offense and could result in conviction and time in prison.

The bottom line is that if you do not know how to represent yourself in a positive light, ask a professional resume or CV writer to write a resume for you.

Or another option is to speak with someone that you admire and ask them how they wrote up their CV or resume. Telling resume and CV lies, or lying on your job application form should be avoided so that you do not have to worry about defending yourself or you employment if the misleading information is discovered.

There's more information on resume and CV lies here and advice on getting a professional resume or CV writer to write a resume for you.

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