Recruitment

Revealed: One in three candidates lie on their CV

More than a third of candidates are putting their careers at risk by lying on their CV to wow employers, according to a new study.

New research from NGA Human Resources has revealed that 37 per cent of job seekers put fibs on their CV and job applications with skills and interests being the most common exaggerations for nearly 50 per cent.

A candidate’s career history and school qualifications follow close behind with other lies including professional qualifications, references, university degrees and industry board membership.

NGA said 9 out of 10 HR Directors had discovered such exaggerations with over half then removing the candidate from the job process. They were most concerned by lies over qualifications, industry board membership and references.

Only 9 per cent of HR Directors made a job offer after uncovering a lie. However, according to NGA, even the threat of being discovered doesnt deter candidates from lying.

Job seekers are, it says, aware that their information may be checked during the application process. When asked most thought references, career history and professional qualifications would most likely be verified by a potential employer.

Anna Dickson, Talent Management Specialist at NGA HR, said: Candidates are taking risks by embellishing their qualifications and skills, especially since they knowthey could be found out.

it’s even moreimportantfor employers to be able to run stringent checks to make sure they’re recruiting the best people for the job.

The research formed part of a white paper from NGA called the art of securing your preferred candidate.

As well as uncovering untruths, it also discovered that decisive decision making by HR directors was vital in getting the best person for job vacancies given intense competition.

It found that a quarter of candidates said they had a maximum of between 6 and 10 different job opportunities at the telephone interview stage or equivalent.