What do people lie about on their CV’s?

We all know that people embellish on their CV’s. However, there is a difference between self-promotion and full on lying. Some people do not realize this but it is, in fact, a crime to lie on your CV. The criminal offense is known as CV fraud. The scary thing is that studies have determined that 65% of people lie on their CV’s.

So, what do people lie about on their CV’s? We have assembled a list of the most popular lying categories.

Qualifications

The biggest lies are told when it comes to qualifications. People claim to have obtained a degree when they, in fact, have not. Often times they did pursue the degree but simply dropped out before obtaining the necessary credits.  It is also common for graduates to embellish on their marks.

Job titles

Job titles are often altered in an attempt to sound more successful. While it might be okay to introduce yourself as the project lead to a girl you met at the bar, when you are in fact the assistant project lead, doing so on your CV is a criminal offense.

Lengthening a job duration

Nobody wants to employ somebody who is unable to keep a job for more than a few months. This, in the end, leads to job applicants lying on their CV’s about the duration of their employment at a certain company. After all, what is the difference between two months and two years? I will tell you. It is 22 months and the difference between committing fraud and not committing fraud.

Claiming skills they do not have

This is an all-time favourite for those CV embellishers. Applicants who are too scared to lie about their qualifications, prefer to embellish when it comes to their skills. Adding that you know Pastel or even have C++ coding skills, thinking that you are a fast learner is easy until you are sitting in front of the PC with no clue where to even click.

Providing false references

This is probably the worst lie from a moral point of view. Applicants often insert the contact details of friends and family members, instead of that of previous employers. There are many reasons why a person will resort to this, but generally, it is because they were a poor employee. This is more than CV fraud, though, this is convincing loved ones to lie for you and that is just wrong.

So, there you have it. Five of the most common things people lie about on their CV’s. The problem with lying on your CV is that not only is it an offense, it results in an employer investing in a person who does not possess the necessary abilities to perform the tasks that they are required to perform.