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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Is it unreasonable to lie..

70 replies

aristomache · 11/01/2011 19:14

..on a job application?

I haven't told any massive whoppers - I've said I don't smoke, which I do and I elevated the position I held in a long gone company. Only to a position which I am qualified for and could do backwards though.

GCSE results may have received a slight embellishment as well.

So have you? would you? could you?

OP posts:
lal123 · 11/01/2011 19:16

no I wouldn't - it's fraud

Crystylline · 11/01/2011 19:17

if you get caught, it's usually gross misconduct, so you'd instantly lose the job.

if it's a job for any public service, never alter exam results as they do check!

the smoking thing is irrelevant and not their business if you don't smoke at work and it's not a job where it would affect your work.

the elevated job title seems unecessary if it was long ago.

so, no I wouldn't, though many, many people do. too much at risk if you're caught.

Marlinspike · 11/01/2011 19:18

YABU, and it could cost you the job if you are found out!

Many employers now ask for original exam certificates, so that might cause you a problem!

PlanetLizard · 11/01/2011 19:18

YABU

FellatioNelson · 11/01/2011 19:19

If there is a medical they will catch you out. One look at the inside of your teeth will tell them you are a smoker.

And if they don't catch you out and you need to claim on medical insurance for treatment it will be voided if it comes to light that you do smoke. GSCES - well it depends how long ago it was.

I would say if you are qualified and can do it backwards then write a really good covering letter that sells your skills, and if they like the sound of you the rest won't matter.

Olivette · 11/01/2011 19:20

I personally think you maybe being a little unreasonable. If you get the job, and they do further checks you may loose your job?

I wouldn't do it personally, but i know a lot of people do.

madonnawhore · 11/01/2011 19:22

i wouldn't bother lying about GCSE results. could potentially get caught in your lie about the elevated position if you've put down that employer as a reference or there's any way your future employer could know your previous employer (is it quite an incestuous industry for example?).

I don't see how it's any of their business if you smoke though. Who's to say if you do smoke, you're not going to give up next month; or if you don't smoke, you're not going to form a habit next week?

Really irrelevant question imo.

bupcakesandcunting · 11/01/2011 19:22

Naah it's fine. I lied and said I had cardinal experience when I applied to be the Pope.

ashamedandconfused · 11/01/2011 19:22

of course YABU - in what universe would it be Ok to lie like that - lies of ommission are one thing, but embelishing and outright false claims - outrageous!

cat64 · 11/01/2011 19:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

COCKadoodledooo · 11/01/2011 19:24

Yes. YABU. And fraudulent.

Original poster
aristomache · 11/01/2011 19:25

LMAO @ bupcakes Grin

GCSE results were 23 years ago, elevated the position in old company as it's the same position I'm applying for now, plus old company has long since gone kaput and at the other end of the country to where I live now - nobody's going to find out!!

I am that desperate for the job I suppose!!

OP posts:
ashamedandconfused · 11/01/2011 19:27

OP- i take it you dont watch the apprentice? sir Alan went mental when he found someone had lied to him............. you would be out on your ear for the LIES no matter how good you were at your job (I know a teacher sacked and disgraced and will never work in teaching again for falsifiying his qualifications - he was Ok at the job and had been doing it for 9 years when he came to move schools it all came out - very messy)

ScotlandR · 11/01/2011 19:29

YANBU.

The point of CVs is to make yourself look clever, isn't it? My rule is 'never say anything that couldn't have been true'.

If you WEREN'T clued up enough to be the manager of the cafe you waitressed in when you were seventeen, then don't say you were just because you are now. Similarly, if you were never going to get a grade A in GCSE maths, there's no point in saying you did. But if you were just a few points off, or you know you could've done it but didn't work hard enough...

It's a lot easier to emphasize achievements that aren't much and as such are not really checkable, e.g. voluntary work, unofficial arrangements, how much responsibility you were given in job X, etc as opposed to things they can and will check - quality of your degree (although I know someone who lied about having a degree, worked for ten years and then with the authority of her experience moved to another company, to whom she did not lie about a degree) and other results like that.

TBH I make a point of making a lot of the voluntary on-the-side stuff I've done sound very important. Just because I can do it with one knee behind my head doesn't mean that my skills and dedication should go unmentioned!

FrequentNutter · 11/01/2011 19:29

They cannot check GCSE results that long ago, they cannot be checked after maximum ten years.

ashamedandconfused · 11/01/2011 19:29

aristo - either the GCSE results MATTER (as there is a minimum requiremtn of maths/english whatever) or they are so long ago they dont really count - in either case you should not lie

lots of people are desperate for jobs - why should those with genuinely better GCSEs get overlooked cos you LIED!

IAmReallyFabNow · 11/01/2011 19:30

YABU and silly.

If you are so sure you can do the job backwards, why do you feel the need to lie...?

ashamedandconfused · 11/01/2011 19:30

They can ask you for your GSCE certificates though, even if records cannot be checked

sharbie · 11/01/2011 19:31

why bother?? any lies will make you sound dishonest if caught out the last thing any employer would want

MrsFlittersnoop · 11/01/2011 19:33

YANBU. Not in the slightest. It's a jungle out there.

Just make sure you haven't lied about anything you could get caught for.

magicmummy1 · 11/01/2011 19:35

I was on the other end of this situation recently - appointed someone for a job, and later discovered that he had lied on his application. I sacked him.

Don't do it, it's not worth it.

FWIW, people rarely get interviews purely on the grounds of their experience and their qualifications. It's usually a question of how well they have completed the application, and whether they have convinced the employer that they have the skills and qualities outlined in the person specification. I would be far more likely to employ someone with minimal qualifications and experience than I would to keep someone on after they had lied to get a job.

If you're really keen and definitely have the ability to do the job effectively, then this will come across at interview.

Original poster
aristomache · 11/01/2011 19:37

IaAmReallyFabNow For various reasons - massive gaps in employment history largely due to raising 3 children, 1 with special needs, alone, plus living in a very rural and isolated area.

I've applied for so many jobs that I could do backwards, but never even had a "thanks but no thanks" response, and bloody sick of not being given a chance! Currently have to travel a combination of 4 hours every day (plus drag dd out at 7am every morning) to do a job I hate and am over-qualified for.

If this gets me at least an interview, then I'm sure I can live with my dirty little secret!!

OP posts:
magicmummy1 · 11/01/2011 19:50

aristomache, if you're applying for loads of jobs that you can definitely do and you're not getting any responses, then I would guess that there's something wrong with the way you're doing the applications - you can be unlucky sometimes, but you should at least get an interview for some of them.

I do loads of recruitment in my job, and am amazed at how few people seem to know how to get themselves noticed - lots of them might be brilliant, but they just don't know how to tick the boxes. I'll have a look at your application if you want to PM me - with the job description, person spec etc. If it would help...

soggy14 · 11/01/2011 19:57

I've had to produce my maths and English O level certificates more than once (had to send off for replacements as I'd lost them Blush )

Original poster
aristomache · 11/01/2011 19:58

Thanks magic you're very kind. I've already posted the application I'm afraid or I would have taken you up on that.

OP posts: