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

[Shirleyphallus]

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?

No. I never would. Could not live with the guilt.

I was speaking to someone I did not know (cannot for the life of me remember who or where) who admitted that she had done and as it was years ago -Oh! just remembered if was for a survey and she asked for my highest qualification. Anyway she said she had put down 5 more O levels than she had. She reckoned they would not check back.

I couldn't do it. I would not sleep at night and if I got found out.....

Yes all the time. No idea where my exam certificates are so couldn't prove them and they were all O levels so who even knows what they are anymore? What potential employer is ever going to check up on a company I worked at in 1987? I appreciate that it's totally different for young people but when you get older you can say what you like and no one can ever check! I might even add a couple of A levels next time. Don't employers assume a certain amount of everyone's CV is bullshit anyway?

I leave off short term temp jobs or jobs I leave quickly. I recently left a job after a half a day and of course I’m never mentioning that again!

I’m confused as to why people have things on their CV from 30 years ago? My CV goes back 10 years. Employers often only want two references. I have a clear enhanced DBS so it’s obvious I’ve never been in prison.

I don’t lie about qualifications but I leave off my A level grades!

Having security clearance, they do security checks (database checks) ID checks and references come from your HMRC tax record where they ask you to confirm 3 year’s of employment history. You give them details of your character referee. They do a basic DBS. They don’t check your qualifications.

Obviously Developed Vetting is in much more depth.

NC'd for this but I was accused of identity fraud because two of my degrees were issued in my maiden name. The investigation was carried out by HR and my line manager without my knowledge after I'd been in post for just over a year and by the time I became aware of it, it had concluded and I wasn't allowed to input (ie show my marriage cert).

Integrity is one of the cornerstones of my profession. It isn't worth the risk for me. If I was to get caught lying, it might not be just missing out on a job, it could be my entire career at stake. If someone was to report me for lack of integrity to my governing body I could get struck off. I didn't work so hard on my qualification and Masters to be struck off over bumping up a GCSE grade.

It's worrying how many people on MN think it's acceptable.

I have two CVs. One with everything on, and one I call my "thick cv" that has no qualifications after I did o'levels. It lists them as GCSEs too. It's lying by omission I guess.

Nope never. I work in academia. Nobody asks for GCSEs and ALevels as they were donkeys years ago. No need to lie about anything else. I always make it clear I took a very long career break to look after my DC.

For jobs that require no qualifications or training such as retail or admin it’s fairly easy to get away with as experience is usually ‘preferred but not essential’ and qualifications are not necessary.

@JollyAndBright, I had to have GCSEs and a computer qualification to apply for an admin job in the NHS. Is this the case though for outside the NHS?

....I’ d like to think that any admin role wasn’t classed as “experience preferred but not essential”, tbh...

I've never lied in my resume but I'm exaggerating a little about my skills and performances. And I don't think that it is shameful, because the employers always require too high demands. For writing a good resume I'm using fee-based services. One of them which I trust is copymyresume.com/template-downloads/ I recommend this one because I've never had problems with them and they adjust your resume for every employer apart. So I think that a good resume is key to success.