Creating the perfect CV is essential if you don’t want to get drowned out by countless other applications in an exceptionally competitive job market. And while some choose to build an outstanding CV or LinkedIn profile based on truth and real skills, others don’t mind fibbing a little bit here and there to get ahead in the race.
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In a recent study conducted by Babbel, a language learning platform, 1,000 Brits were questioned about what they put in the ‘skills and interests’ section in their CVs and job profiles, and they were asked what was actually true.
Their findings revealed that 13% of people lied about their hobbies and furthermore found that men tended to lie more than women.
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What do they lie about?
Language is one of those skills that people tend to really stretch the truth about. Victoria McLean, CEO and founder of City CV, told Metro.co.uk:
It’s very, very easy to be vague about your language skills on a CV.
An applicant might know a bit of French but it isn’t the same as being bilingual. It’s an easy thing to fudge as a candidate in the hope that you suddenly won’t be interviewed about it.
The study also found that 2% of people lied about having musical or artistic talent in their CV.
Checkster, an online talent and hiring platform, also conducted a similar survey with 400 job applicants and 400 hiring managers in the US. Their results showed that 60% of people tend to exaggerate mastery in certain skills like Excel and 50% say that they worked in a company longer than they actually did in order to cover up a gap in their career.
Consequences of lying
According to McLean, lying about all sorts of things on your CV or LinkedIn profile can carry some serious consequences—especially if you’re asked to do one of the things you fibbed about. She added:
If you can’t deliver what you promised on your CV you’ll be instantly dismissed.
She also said that it’s not hard for recruiters to find out the lies as they often go on social media to investigate their candidates further.
