Should you lie on your CV?

The Agogo

This is a tough question because you can either get (i) caught out and lose the job, or (ii) get the job and have no idea what you're doing.

But if employers keep posting job vacancies in the following:

"The ideal candidate will speak four languages, have great work ethic,
two First-class Honours Bachelor Degrees and a Masters (a Doctorate is preferable).
Also must have at least ten years work experience in Deloitte & Touche.

...what should they expect. Even if their 'ideal candidate' existed, they wouldn't even take a sniff at their crappy 28K job.

So, to lie or not to lie?:pac:

Tallon

Yes, in moderation!

King Felix

Never lie.

Embellish.

Jaxxy

I've lied on my CV before, and working in HR I've seen many that I know are complete fabrications. The trick is not to lie about anything that can get you into trouble or put any unnecessary stress on yourself. Find out as much as you can about the position and tailor your CV accordingly.

A little bit of exaggeration and self-promotion is usually no harm.

Nijmegen

CV's aren't all a pack of lies, embellishments and exercises in dressing up the afternoon you spent with your dad as extensive experience in X, Y or Z?

WindSock

Well I am not going to say I have a piss poor work ethic and hate people.

stovelid

Depends on the lies:

Outright lies that mislead employers as to your suitability: No. You can get caught and I've had people try to spoof me in interviews and it's not good.

Lies about qualifications: No

'Massaging' your experience and skills a little bit to better fit the role in the knowledge that you have the basic aptitude and can quickly make up the ground: why not? A lot of the stuff employers ask for in job descriptions are nice-to-haves, not a deal-breaker.

alwaysadub

Once it's not something major. Little lies and embellishments are ok.

Handsome Bob

Lying about your suitability for a job is just silly, you'll be found out one way or another.

As for college and LC grades, I've known people who have lied about them but meh, couldn't be bothered doing it though. If they are going to judge me based on the C1 I got in Irish (H) then chances are they a wanker of an employer that you wouldn't want to work under anyway.

Sea Sharp

In hindsight,
don't say you're training for a marathon and then come in stinking of smoke.

flyton5

I wouldn't go lying about being fluent in a language or having certain qualifications...too easy to catch. I see CVs with "fluent French/Spanish speaker" written on them all to often.


Pretty sure what they mean to say is "I studied French/Spanish for 6years in school but I dont actually speak the language"

kylith

King Felix wrote: »

Never lie.

Embellish.

Exactly.

You don't 'play WoW all day' you 'have excellent computer skills'
You're not 'insufferably bossy' you 'have good leadership skills'
You're not 'a useless sheep' you 'work well as a team'.

It's all about how you phrase it.

mickoneill30

I was working a few years ago in another company where one guy asked me to list all of the IT systems and versions we used. When I was half way through I asked him what he needed it for. He said his CV.

I met him a year or so later and he told me he always got called for interviews but never got the jobs "for some reason".

My last boss told me he hired me (amongst other reasons) because when asked about stuff I didn't know about I just said I didn't know. He said the other guys he was interviewing at the time tried to make something up when they didn't know. I think "I don't know" is an OK answer if I haven't listed an item or skill on your CV.

If you lie and your caught (and you should be if you're interviewed by anybody half way competent and you've lied big) then you won't get the job.

stateofflux

you cant lie on a cv about your qualifications....but i have definitely exaggerated what i did in the past to the limits of believability....you cant make it obvious though

Archeron

My name is Mister Burns.......

AnonoBoy

Applied for a job with Google once.

Claimed I used to be head of Altavista.

Didn't get the job.



Unlike crime, lying doesn't pay.

billymitchell

A few years ago, I went for an interview in this now pretty big IT company.
I was trying to break into IT at the time, so I got a mate of mine to do up my CV for me.

So off I went for interview anyhow, and the interview was going really really badly(The "I dont know" answer is ok, but in moderation).

So after about 15 minutes of technical questions, the interviewers realised I was a bit of a spoofer, so they decided to talk about something else. So they had a look at my hobbies and interests. In there they noticed one of my hobbies as "All Ireland U16 Chess champion"......I wasnt but my mate had put it in as he was. I can barely play the game.

Queue another 5-10 minutes of me trying to spoof my way through talking about chess. Shortests and most embarrassing interview of my entire life!!

In short, if you lie, be able to back it up!

kfallon

I usually start to lie with the name

My 1,000th post, can't go without throwing in a 'finger in the bum' reference

MarkGrisham

Not lying, but putting a good spin on what you've done is a good idea. The problem with outright lying is that you can't let slip the truth.

As for those job specs, they're generally a HR department's idea of what they'd love. They'll let a lot slide for the "right" candidate though.

kfallon

MarkGrisham wrote: »

They'll let a lot slide for the "right" candidate though.

If you're a 'lovely molly' you'll inevitably get a job offer from me!!!

Brendog

I had to laugh!

My friend was telling me when handing in your CV you are supposed to have the names and address of your references on it...not the actual reference itself.
Every CV I've handed in has included 2 references written out by someone, while his CV has just included the persons name and address.

Difference is, I've been employed 6 different times while hes only ever gotten 1 job.




Is this true, that there must be the names and addresses ONLY?

CreepingDeath

I've interviewed a lot of people in my time, mainly java software developers.

A lot of people throw down every keyword they can.
So I typically ask them one question for each keyword they've put down.

If they can't answer simple questions, then it throws their entire CV into question.

If you're caught out on one lie in an interview, you start to lose credibility.
If you're only having an "okay" interview, then it's usually game over.

Handsome Bob

Brendog wrote: »

I had to laugh!

My friend was telling me when handing in your CV you are supposed to have the names and address of your references on it...not the actual reference itself.
Every CV I've handed in has included 2 references written out by someone, while his CV has just included the persons name and address.

Difference is, I've been employed 6 different times while hes only ever gotten 1 job.

Is this true, that there must be the names and addresses ONLY?

Never heard of that one, maybe it's just because he's a 'tard that he's not getting any jobs? :pac:

Biggins

If we all are honest, we probably have enhanced/embellished some details.
If one outright lies though, don't be surprised to be caught out eventually by a boss either by the asking to do a role/job one is not able to subsequently do or by research by the employer later on.

- "Enhance" is one thing and half expected by possible employers.
- Outright lies? Your out the door mate! If your lying from the start before you even set foot in the door - how can one earn/gain trust and be given security access to money/data/people!

charmer

No, because it'll get creased and that just gives off the impression that you're an unorganised person. I wouldn't give you the job.

What.. this is AH right?!

:pac:

Killer Pigeon

I wouldn't necessary lie on a CV, especially in certain seconds like 'work experience' because of obvious reasons. Neither would I lie about academic records. If you aren't happy about something on your CV, just don't mention it.

stovelid

Lying about your qualifications is silly. They could be checked down the line and you're out whereas if you embellish your work experience and skills a little, you can get yourself up to speed in the normal window of adapting to the job.

I've never been asked for proof of my qualifications before but was actually asked to supply them for my current job. And that was after I'd accepted the job and given notice in the previous place so if I'd lied, I'd have been in a tight one.

Brendog wrote: »

I had to laugh!

My friend was telling me when handing in your CV you are supposed to have the names and address of your references on it...not the actual reference itself.
Every CV I've handed in has included 2 references written out by someone, while his CV has just included the persons name and address.

Difference is, I've been employed 6 different times while hes only ever gotten 1 job.




Is this true, that there must be the names and addresses ONLY?

I don't even put the names of the referees on mine. Just a note to say they can be furnished on request. I assumed that the new job might want to specify the referee themselves, as in, they might require a HR or technical reference for example.

starbelgrade

I've never written a CV in my life.

kfallon

starbelgrade wrote: »

I've never written a CV in my life.

Typed a few tho???

Stark

I've massaged my CV a little in the past. Like if an employer had very specific requirements like "3 years Java, 3 years SQL" and I had say only 2 years Java, I'd probably massage that a little given that no-one's going to notice one way or the other once I start the job. I'd never tell an outright lie as I'm likely to get caught out in an interview. In my last interview I was upfront anyway about not having one or two of the required skills in the job spec and they were cool with that. Much better than trying to spoof them and getting stressed out.

starlit

No I think its very wrong to do so. Think if you lie on your C.V you will get caught out in the end.

Mr. Presentable

It's either that or a bed of nails :mad:

starbelgrade

kfallon wrote: »

Typed a few tho???

No. I've never needed one. I got all my previous jobs through word of mouth & by reputation & now I work for myself.

Agricola

Yeah embellishing is necessary for most people. We're not all charity workers who like to feed the needy in our spare time, or people who spent 2 years working for free after our degree to get a foot in the door of the industry.

Employers are getting more and more demanding and precise with their specifications, so its natural that people will need to big themselves up in their CV's. As long as you dont take the piss and pretend you have a Master's from some far off University, its fine. Stuff like filling out a role you had in a past job, adding one or two bullet points here and there, abit of flowery jargon, thats grand imo.

mikerowsopht

As long as it's IT you can get away with anything.

I am a system administrator for 5 yrs now

I have on my CV

mcsa, mcse, ccna, ccnp, vmware pro, server pro, windows pro, etc...
the list goes on but all i know is excel and word

eimearcmh

No. Unless your a good liar:-)

CreepingDeath

mikerowsopht wrote: »

As long as it's IT you can get away with anything.

I am a system administrator for 5 yrs now

I have on my CV

mcsa, mcse, ccna, ccnp, vmware pro, server pro, windows pro, etc...
the list goes on but all i know is excel and word

I find that people who need to quote certifications in general are trying to prove they know something.
People who know the subject matter inside out don't bother with certifications.

epgc3fyqirnbsx

I think ommissions can be important. I couldnt get an interview for the last year until I left out half of my college experiences (educational ones that is :pac:)

starlit

mikerowsopht wrote: »

As long as it's IT you can get away with anything.

I am a system administrator for 5 yrs now

I have on my CV

mcsa, mcse, ccna, ccnp, vmware pro, server pro, windows pro, etc...
the list goes on but all i know is excel and word

Would love to have your job and have your qualifications!

How did you manage to have the time to get all those certs?

Owwmykneecap

My last CV had "fluent in english" on it.
Bit of an exageration...

kylith

kylith wrote: »

Exactly.

You don't 'play WoW all day' you 'have excellent computer skills'
You're not 'insufferably bossy' you 'have good leadership skills'
You're not 'a useless sheep' you 'work well as a team'.

It's all about how you phrase it.

I would have thought that was obvious, but I've looked over some of my classmates CVs and they were actually underselling themselves, not taking any opportunity to embellish at all. Stuff like 'worked in call centre' without mentioning anything about teamwork, multinational environment, sales skills, the five languages they speak. One of the girls speaks fluent Russian and Swedish and didn't think it was worth putting on her CV. :eek:

Lux23

Taliyah Screeching Tack wrote: »

I would have thought that was obvious, but I've looked over some of my classmates CVs and they were actually underselling themselves, not taking any opportunity to embellish at all. Stuff like 'worked in call centre' without mentioning anything about teamwork, multinational environment, sales skills, the five languages they speak. One of the girls speaks fluent Russian and Swedish and didn't think it was worth putting on her CV. :eek:

That's true and most people really do undersell themselves on their CVs. There are so many things we do every day that we just don't think of as skills when we go to write our CV.

I think when its comes to 'lying' on your CV, be sensible and only put things on that you know you can do. There are things I have on my CV that I dont' have loads of experience with but are still tasks I know I can do in my sleep. Its just that now employers want people with way more experience then needed these days.

Tigger

Gary Mysterious Hyena wrote: »

I think ommissions can be important. I couldnt get an interview for the last year until I left out half of my college experiences (educational ones that is :pac:)

i cut away 3 years of education replaced it with dossing round europe and became employable

i think its a "thinks he's too god for us" scenario

PeterIanStaker

I've never lied on a CV but I have been economical with the truth when it comes to lack of experience and gaps due to unemployment etc.

Tailor the CV for the job at hand and you'll do ok.

Dartz

Lying...


I've done ****all at all with my life anyway. Literally sweet ****all, just existing here. I went to do my CV... had a nice template all ready. And after my degree, and 6 months work experience... I've nothing to put on it.

I mean... who the **** is even going to look at it in a ****ing recession. Jesus Christ what's the point of even trying when there's a hundred other jobless out there with decades of experience, god knows what else practical skills, and I'm fresh out of bloody college. I did what? Staffed a con while I was there...

I can fire off a hundred of these, or I can sit here on my arse and it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference. I could bull**** out my hole, but it'd be obvious enough and get me nowhere.

So what's the point.

You do how many years education through the boom, only to be sharted out in the middle of a bloody depression? It's just not worth doing anything.

Brendog

LZ5by5 wrote: »

Never heard of that one, maybe it's just because he's a 'tard that he's not getting any jobs? :pac:

hes just very arrogent and thinks hes smarter than most people.

Thanks man

mickoneill30

Dartz wrote: »

Lying...


I've done ****all at all with my life anyway. Literally sweet ****all, just existing here. I went to do my CV... had a nice template all ready. And after my degree, and 6 months work experience... I've nothing to put on it.

I mean... who the **** is even going to look at it in a ****ing recession. Jesus Christ what's the point of even trying when there's a hundred other jobless out there with decades of experience, god knows what else practical skills, and I'm fresh out of bloody college. I did what? Staffed a con while I was there...

I can fire off a hundred of these, or I can sit here on my arse and it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference. I could bull**** out my hole, but it'd be obvious enough and get me nowhere.

So what's the point.

You do how many years education through the boom, only to be sharted out in the middle of a bloody depression? It's just not worth doing anything.

That's the spirit.

Really if you believe all that it'll come true.