Salary

Any per year per week per day per hour

 

Industry/Sector

Any Accountancy, Banking, Insurance & Finance Advertising, Marketing & PR Automotive, Aerospace, Military & Emergency Catering, Hospitality, Hotel, Cleaning & Household Services Charity & Voluntary Construction, Property, Surveying & Environment Customer Services & Call Centres Education & Training Engineering & Electronics Events, Facilities Management, Security & Safety Graduate, Trainee & Apprenticeships Health, Beauty, Nursing, Pharmaceuticals & Scientific Human Resources & Recruitment IT & Telecoms Legal Management Consultancy & Strategy Manufacturing, Industry, Energy, Utilities & Agriculture Media, New Media, Publishing, Arts & Graphic Design Public Sector & Government Retail, Wholesale, Purchasing & FMCG Sales Secretarial, Admin, PA, Languages & Research Transport, Rail, Distribution & Logistics Travel, Tourism, Entertainment & Leisure Other

 

Job Type

Any Temporary Contract Permanent Part time

advanced search options

reset and use simple search options

However tempting, CV mistruths can often backfire

Given that few people would admit to lying, even if they were being polled in an anonymous high street survey, the true extent of CV dishonesty is hard to quantify, with some estimates placing the proportion of Britons who mislead prospective employers as high as one in two.

However, with contestants on the Apprentice TV show, as well as several high-flying executives, having been caught fibbing about their qualifications or professional experience over the past year alone, it seems fair to assume that the practice is not only common but is seen as a standard tactic when attempting to land a new position.

What's more, with competition for sought-after new jobs steadily increasing, not least as a result of the growing numbers of university graduates entering the employment market, the problem is unlikely to go away.

Of course, adding a few 'mistruths' on a CV, whether it be a higher salary in a previous position or a higher grade of degree from a better university, is all too understandable.

In fact, it's safe to assume that most people see such fibs as ultimately harmless - after all, once they are in the job for which they are applying and succeeding in their new roles, what does it matter that they weren't actually the captain of their college rugby team, or that they were only in their previous post for six months, rather than nine?

Sadly, employers tend to take a far stricter view of lies, or mistruths, on CVs, however harmless they may appear.

Indeed, employers are becoming increasingly vigilant when it comes to checking the veracity of a candidate's resume.

While in the past it could be relatively safe to assume that a busy HR administrator would be reluctant to chase up a former boss or check with the registrar of a college or university, the internet means that they can look into a prospective employees' background, and thereby ferret out any falsehoods, all too easily.

Furthermore, far from being harmless, deliberately attempting to mislead an employer can do serious damage to a person's career prospects.

Not only will getting caught out once all but guarantee that a candidate ruins their chances with an organisation in the future, even when applying for jobs for which they are perfectly-qualified, but former employers asked to corroborate mistruths are unlikely to be generous with their character references.

Meanwhile, even those workers who do land a position on the back of a false qualification or non-existent previous position will forever be looking over their shoulders: with the rise of social networking sites, and the extent to which modern professionals change jobs and employers, the world of work has become smaller than ever and the chances of getting caught out have increased exponentially.

Of course, there will always be room for a little embellishment and, presuming that employers themselves are likely to have told the odd small fib at some point in their careers, an interviewing panel or HR manager is likely to assume that a candidate's CV is not 100 per cent accurate.

But there is a world of difference between exaggerating past responsibilities or making up hobbies to blatant lies over qualifications or experience and any savvy jobseeker should think twice and realise that trying to mislead an employer is not only increasingly futile, but could prove greatly damaging in the long-run.

If you have found this article helpful then please have a look at UK Net Guide’s site job centre, we hope there are lots of jobs that you can find in lots of areas. After you have performed a search click on any jobs advertiser’s logos, this should tell you more about the employment offer.