By Christine Cunneen, President, Hire Image, LLC
It’s no surprise that people lie on their resumes and CVs. It’s been going on for as long as people have prepared that ever-important sheet of paper detailing their professional and educational pasts in an attempt to secure a new job.
According to a recent StandOutCV survey of 1,785 Americans 18 or older, 55% of them admitted to lying on their resume at least once. According to the same survey, the top five common lies on a resume or CV include –
- Previous work experience: 55.4%
- Skills: 43.1%
- College degree (or equivalent): 41%
- Personal details, such as age, location, or name: 39.5%
- High school details: 39.2%
Further, the Google searches related to “how to fake a resume” are up 48%, while those searches specifically looking for information on how to fake a job reference are up 52%. As for education, the National Credit Verification Service reports that 25% of the MBA degrees it examines on resumes are false. In these instances, people claim they have a graduate degree that they did not actually receive or claim degrees from bogus institutions.
The reasons for the lies are varied—from high unemployment and fierce competition to hiding a less than stellar past—but regardless of the reason, the risks are the same.