This article is from a recent LinkedIn Pulse post about lying on a resume. This is unethical and a terrible practice. If you embellish your accomplishments and background - and get hired by a firm - you run significant career risks if (and when) your lies are revealed. Do not lie or embellish your resume.
Most Common Resume Lies
There are certain fabrications job seekers may try to slip past employers more frequently than others. According to employers, the most common lies they catch on resumes relate to:
- Embellished skill set – 57 percent
- Embellished responsibilities – 55 percent
- Dates of employment – 42 percent
- Job title – 34 percent
- Academic degree – 33 percent
- Companies worked for – 26 percent
- Accolades/awards – 18 percent
Most Memorable Resume Lies
When asked about the most unusual lie they’ve ever caught on a resume, employers recalled:
- Applicant included job experience that was actually his father’s. Both father and son had the same name (one was Sr., one was Jr.).
- Applicant claimed to be the assistant to the prime minister of a foreign country that doesn’t have a prime minister.
- Applicant claimed to have been a high school basketball free throw champion. He admitted it was a lie in the interview.
- Applicant claimed to have been an Olympic medalist.
- Applicant claimed to have been a construction supervisor. The interviewer learned the bulk of his experience was in the completion of a doghouse some years prior.
- Applicant claimed to have 25 years of experience at age 32.
- Applicant claimed to have worked for 20 years as the babysitter of known celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Madonna, etc.
- Applicant listed three jobs over the past several years. Upon contacting the employers, the interviewer learned that the applicant had worked at one for two days, another for one day, and not at all for the third.
- Applicant applied to a position with a company who had just terminated him. He listed the company under previous employment and indicated on his resume that he had quit.
- Applicant applied twice for the same position and provided different work history on each application.
Industries Most Likely to Report Catching Resume Lies
While employers have caught lies on resumes submitted for jobs of all types, levels and industries, some report a higher rate of fibbing than others. The survey found that employers in the following industries catch resume lies more frequently than average:
- Financial Services – 73 percent
- Leisure and Hospitality – 71 percent
- Information Technology – 63 percent
- Health Care (More than 50 employees) – 63 percent
- Retail – 59 percent
