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Original poster

Have you ever lied on your CV? Were you found out?

210 replies

Shirleyphallus · 19/11/2018 21:15

I’m in the process of applying for jobs and am keeping to the letter of the law on qualifications / results etc as I’m terrified of being found out for embellishing it somehow!

Has anyone ever lied on their cv and if so, what was the outcome?

OP posts:
chocolatecoveredraisons · 21/11/2018 07:23

It depends on the job. As a teacher you need a degree but you also need a C or above in Maths English and Science to get onto the course. I have also had to show proof of my degree and my GCSEs when working in schools.

BathFullOfEels · 21/11/2018 07:30

I’ve never heard of having to bring a dbs check with you. Every job I’ve had has required a dbs as I work with vulnerable people. Obviously if I’m offered the job the company send off for an enhanced check, which if I failed would result in me having my job offer withdrawn. Asking you to bring one with you is completely pointless as the company could end up in a huge amount of trouble if you had committed an offence in the time between you sending off for your check and then starting in your new role. I also thought they weren’t valid for an employer unless the actual employer had requested it.

ClaudiaWankleman · 21/11/2018 07:34

Yes but only an employer can request an enhanced dbs - which is presumably what they need for that job. So why make you bring the simplified one? It doesn’t really make sense.

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Caprisunorange · 21/11/2018 08:01

Heather the DBS is only valid for the employer who ordered it. It’s not transferable

MistressDeeCee · 21/11/2018 09:16

How can you 'bring' your own DBS check when individuals aren't allowed to DBS check themselves?

If a new employer required a DBS check then they'd ask you to provide relevant ID documents, and get the check done themselves.

I guess if you move from job to job eg work for 2 agencies
at same time as a Carer or some such then feasibly you could do that on 1 DBS if they accepted that + you're on the register where DBS certificate can be checked online.

Or you were in your previous job for such a short time that the DBS you got via them is less than a year old, so you produce it to new employer and they choose to accept that

But DBS isn't endless whereby you can use same one for say 2 years - your employer would have to apply for DBS for you

You cannot do your own DBS check in order that you can 'bring' them to employers. No way.

sar302 · 21/11/2018 09:18

I omit my AS level results. They were shit, and we were the first year they did them so no one expects me to have them. I have a masters degree now, so I doubt anyone would care about my D in French or a C in General Studies....

Caprisunorange · 21/11/2018 09:21

Tbh the DBS situation kind of illustrates the professionalism and understanding of the kind of companies who expect you to rock up to the interview clutching a pile of ancient certificates

Rachelover40 · 21/11/2018 09:25

Yes and no, not going to tell you what I lied about because I still don't want to be found out. I was once naughty.

ThanksItHasPockets · 21/11/2018 09:27

Presumably the employees who want to see a DBS want to be assured that nothing will come up in their own DBS checks which will preclude them from employing the candidate. Enhanced checks can take up to a month to come through.

PP are absolutely right that the DBS is not transferable. I had to have a separate one to volunteer at my children’s school despite having an enhanced check in place with my employer.

ginghamstarfish · 21/11/2018 09:27
  1. yes, and 2) no
Oblomov18 · 21/11/2018 09:30

I can't believe, and several posters have confirmed that their company does this:
that recruitment has got so petty that they are now going to the extremes of checking which day you left a job, in 1982, when you've had 7 jobs since.

Is that what we are paying for? Some admin or HR person to spend hours, days, checking every job the applicant has had?
ShockShockShock
I don't even have my GCSE certificates. From 30 years ago. No idea what board I sat each subject with!

GOODCAT · 21/11/2018 09:31

We were interviewing for a role at work. I wasn't involved in deciding who to interview. Anyway I read one candidate's CV about ten minutes before the interview started and she had worked for the company before and had worked directly for me the whole time she had been there so I knew exactly what she actually did all day.

Anyway on her CV she blatantly lied about her job title and role whilst working for me. She would not have expected to be interviewed by me because it involved a different team. I didn't call her out on it during the interview but she didn't get the job either.

GreenMeerkat · 21/11/2018 09:35

I say I'm confident and outgoing on my CV. I also come across that way in interviews (I'm a good actress)

In reality, I'm painfully shy, but it hasn't hindered my performance in any job I've had. Probably would if I had any kind of public speaking job but I would never apply for one.

Original poster
Shirleyphallus · 21/11/2018 09:38

I also can’t believe that so many companies use online forms. I know the value in myself as a candidate, there is no way I am spending hours crafting answers for an application form when I could just submit a CV to a decent recruiter and get them to do the work for me

Wonder how many of these archaic companies are losing candidates the same way

OP posts:
treaclesoda · 21/11/2018 11:34

That works both ways though because my company don't want to employ people who think they're above filling in a form. And in fairness, because of where I live, I don't even think it would be acceptable legally to recruit for most roles, so I accept that it is different here.

But if they're losing candidates, they're never going to be the right candidate for that company if they aren't willing to follow the company procedures.

The reason people here use application forms here is 1) so that the content is anonymised 2) to force people to answer for every essential criteria. If you don't meet the essential criteria, you don't get an interview.

treaclesoda · 21/11/2018 11:43

Sorry, that should say to recruit for most roles using a CV.

Winebottle · 21/11/2018 12:05

I have not.

Qualifications are easy too check.

I wouldn't want to lie about experience. I always tell the truth with a positive spin on it. If it is not what they are looking for, I wouldn't want to quit my current job and find myself out of my depth.

KERALA1 · 21/11/2018 12:08

Absolutely not, but in my early twenties my evil flatmate swiped my interests for her own CV. She suggested we work on our cvs together. She then applied for a job at my company and I saw her cv. I had worthy interests such as playing a particular sport regularly and I was on a committee relating to our profession. Her hobby was shagging married men but her CV had my own hobbies, word for word!

Caprisunorange · 21/11/2018 12:29

But what about the vacancies for treacle? Or say, finance director? Do they still fill in a form so HR can force them to answer essential criteria? Mind you I guess the board might do all the recruitment for those roles so you’re just referring to roles HR fill?

treaclesoda · 21/11/2018 14:21

Caprisun it's all roles. Absolutely everything in the entire organisation involves filling in an application form. It's to prevent being sued - we have to prove that there was an absolute level playing field where everyone answered the same questions on the application and the same answers at interview, so that no one has an unfair advantage.

ClaudiaWankleman · 21/11/2018 14:27

treacle Why would you be open to being sued? For high level roles surely you scout instead of open advertising - it would be so inefficient and wasteful to wait for the right candidate to come along by chance if you’re looking for specialised skills.

treaclesoda · 21/11/2018 14:42

It's just how it is here. The Equality Commission state that jobs should be advertised, not the other way round, precisely to prevent a scenario where the only people who are aware of it are people who eg already know the organisation.

I know its different in England, I'm not saying this is the right way, or a better way. I'm just trying to explain how it works in this part of the UK.

Original poster
Shirleyphallus · 21/11/2018 16:01

I’m sure it happens for some organisations but I cannot imagine for a second my CEO who is on £500k+ sitting completing an application form for a job rather than ever being headhunted!

OP posts:
Ragwort · 21/11/2018 16:15

How many of us are actually looking for £500k p.a.
jobs Hmm, I doubt very much that I am going to be head hunted, or even use a recruitment agency for the sort of work I do Grin, I fully expect to complete an application on line.

KristinaM · 21/11/2018 16:25

I also can’t believe that so many companies use online forms. I know the value in myself as a candidate, there is no way I am spending hours crafting answers for an application form when I could just submit a CV to a decent recruiter and get them to do the work for me

Wonder how many of these archaic companies are losing candidates the same way

We are a small company, we cant afford to use recruitment companies and pay their 30% fee. They don't screen the applicants the way we want.

If you CBA to show us why we should hire you then why should we spend weeks looking thourgh hundreds of CVs to find the precious little gem that is yours?

And we are far from archaic, we are the most technologically advanced company in our field in the UK.