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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to blatantly lie on my CV to get a job?

108 replies

IWannaJob · 09/05/2011 21:29

Can't see any other way to get one tbh! I have applied for numerous jobs in my home town over the last few weeks and have not even had acknowledgements that they've received my applications Angry.

I live near London and my plan is to apply for jobs there (temporary roles first) which I did not want to do but needs must (will be a 90 min commute each way and will probably cost around £350 per month in travel costs at least Shock). If I had current experience, I could get a highly paid position there but I don't as I left my last job 2 years ago after being bullied at work by my boss. The company would not do anything about it as he was the Chairman and I was told to accept it, as 'that's just the way he is, don't take it personally' or leave. I finally gave in after 2 years, loosing my self confidence and any thoughts that I may be good at my job along with it (I was very good btw). Depression and demoralisation then set in and I have not worked since. I had good grounds for a tribual but could'nt face it. I have recovered from that now and am very enthusiastic about working again.

I know the fact I have not worked for a while is probably one of the reasons I have not had any replies to my job applications.

Therefore I have a cunning plan to lie on my CV. I won't go into what I am going to lie about but it will hard for any employer to check. They may decide not to give me a job as they will not get a recent reference but that is a risk I will take. I have nothing to loose at this time. I am a hard worker and quick learner so want an opportunity to prove myself which I am not going to get with my current CV.

So AIBU in wanting to provide for my family (have 4 DCs btw and Dh works all the hours god sends but we cannot manage on one wage any more)and tell a lie which will hurt no one in the process. If the employer is not happy with my work, they can get rid of me right?

OP posts:
ManicMarie · 09/05/2011 22:58

IWannaJob

Go for it. I doubt MacDonalds will find out.

MisSalLaneous · 09/05/2011 23:05

It is stealing a job from someone else more deserving by being blatantly dishonest. By lying and saying you have recent work related experience when you don't.

I'm not stupid - I know you're not going to change your mind or listen to opinions. I'm not even sure why you bothered posting, did you just want people to come and say how acceptable that was?

I keep wanting to give you actual advice, but do realise I'm wasting my breath. Nonetheless, here goes: I was surprised to see how many employers are completely understanding about career breaks. Some of them have gone through it themselves, some had wives / partners in the same situation, and some are just decent. If you can get through to interview stage, you can sell yourself by being so confident, it will be obvious that you know what you're talking about.

Jenstar21 · 09/05/2011 23:05

I have a similar gap in my employment, for almost identical reasons. I put 'career break' on my CV. When asked what I did in that time, I say 'travelled, took a break, spent time on family eesponsibilities'. None of this is a lie. It's just not the entire truth. I don't say I spent days and weeks lying in bed, weeping, and thinking I'd never have the confidence to work again. I now have a post doing a maternity cover, at the same grade/salary I was on before my 'career break', and although it's not permanent, it's getting me back into work, getting my confidence back, and they seem to like me....
So - sorry, I don't want to turn this into a post about me, but thought it might be helpful to share my experience and tell you how I dealt with a similar situation... I really wouldn't lie. You'll get caught out in the end....

Primlico · 09/05/2011 23:44

It's like "stealing a job" oh purrrlease. How about getting hired by a friend of relative, is that stealing from someone more qualified? How about being chosen because you are dim, but drop dead gorgeous, is that stealing from an experienced applicant. All these situations happen in the real world MsSal. And if I can have a turn at wasting my breath: I'm always surprised to see how many employers view a career break as a reason for automatic rejection. Even if they have been in the same boat, the real world often means they don't want to take the risk of hiring someone with an obvious gap on their CV because if that person goes wrong, then they look a fool. What all the people hiring want is a good employee, and someone whose hiring will not come back to haunt them. Unfortunately, sometimes lying is the only way to achieve that. I can't do it, but I applaud people like IWannaJob who can, and know that many of the people who succeed have that capability.

Original poster
IWannaJob · 09/05/2011 23:54

ManicMarie - There's a thought, I have not applied there yet.

MisSalaneous - Get back in your box. I am very deserving thanks.

OP posts:
FannyNil · 09/05/2011 23:57

Would you employ a nanny or a cleaner who lied to you?

MisSalLaneous · 10/05/2011 00:08

Primlico, I, and many others I know, got new roles after career breaks by being perfectly honest about work experience, and, from the other side, I have appointed people that have done similar. A break is not necessarily seen as a bad thing. Oh, and I know perfectly well how the real world works, thank you very much. It's just that I try to be honest as I go along, and I definitely wouldn't "applaud people ... who can" lie.

I was trying to be helpful, but hey, OP, go ahead, your life, your conscience.

ManicMarie · 10/05/2011 00:19

IWannaJob

Hehe, I like you.

dreamingbohemian · 10/05/2011 00:39

Just don't invent a job. You will get caught.

There are so many ways to cover that two years. You could say you tried starting up your own business but it ultimately didn't pan out (shows initiative). You could say 'family responsibilities' in an evasive way that makes people not want to pry. You could say traveling.

Are you sure you would get a lot more money with recent experience? These days even people with lots of experience are not getting much money.

Can you do freelance work online? to save on transport.

I don't think it's the worst thing in the world to lie on a CV, my field is very 'old boys network' and I find that even worse because truly stupid people get jobs they cannot do.
And the OP would not have to lie if society was more tolerant of mental health issues.

But, I think it should only be a last resort, and shouldn't be as big as inventing jobs. Just asking for trouble.

Pennybubbly · 10/05/2011 01:00

OP - it sounds to me as if you have already made the decision to lie.

FWIW though, I'll give my opinion as one who has worked in recruitment.
After reading through hundreds of cvs it becomes quite easy to look for the weak spots, as others have pointed out - poor grammar, weak spelling, inconsistencies and gaps between dates. Therefore READ and SPELL-CHECK your cv, then re-read and do the spell-check again.

I don't know what you plan to fabricate on your cv, but (as others have said) it is a criminal offence to lie on a cv. If you're company is a reputable one - and I'm assuming after the treatment you've received from your previous employers, you're going to research carefully and apply to decent places - they will see through any lies and they will dismiss you instantly if you've made up a whopper. You'll then be stuffed for future employment - decent recruiters do chase up references and do dig deep to make sure they've got the right/best person for the job.

Have some integrity. Is it really worth it?

TheBride · 10/05/2011 01:11

Does this lie involve having worked for a company which is conveniently overseas/ now bankrupt/merged so you cant get a reference? If so, I think they might have seen this one before.

thejoanwilder · 10/05/2011 01:16

I used to work in the call centre of a mid size energy company. Call centre work-in this case nothing exciting (or well paid!), and we had a new recruit who had lied on her CV. I can't remember exactly what it was, I think maybe a reference or something similar. She was escorted off the premises immediately this was discovered.
I'm sure a legal type will be along to correct me, but isn't this legally covered under 'gaining pecuniary advantage through falsification' or something like that. I am obviously not a lawyer :)
I just don't think I could do this- it's not like using weasel words or bigging up something that did happen, it's out and out lying.

kiwimumof2boys · 10/05/2011 01:37

Just out of curiousity, what is the lie ?

kiwimumof2boys · 10/05/2011 01:38

. . .the lie you're planning to put on your CV ?
To be more specific

AlpinePony · 10/05/2011 07:07

I would say do it. After a period of successful employment you can have that gap again.

I have heard that employers are simply binding the cv's of those who have been unemployed for some time. :(

People can shout and scream all they like about employment law and equality, but you know as well as I do that should you say at an interview "Yeh I didn't get on with my last job then was depressed for two years" that you'll not be called back.

AmandaCooper · 10/05/2011 08:03

Two of the most successful people I know lied on their CVs to get their first step on the ladder. Nobody escorted them off the premises or called the Police. It's a calculated risk, not an absolute one. Once you're in, as long as your face fits they won't be continually digging into your background.

I don't condone what you're thinking of doing but I do think that good guys finish last with this sort of thing and if I'd had to have two years off work with depression after walking away from an abusive employer, I'd be tempted to lie about it too. I think your chances of finding a compassionate recruiter who has been through something similar and wants to take a punt on you despite the pressures of the economic climate are close to nil.

BaronessOrczy · 10/05/2011 08:18

What Pennybubbly said.

One day you'll slip up, and by then the consequences could be much more severe.

I couldn't do it. And I wouldn't respect a friend or colleague who had.

I too know people instantly dismissed for lying on their CV. (ex recruitment consultant, my friends don't make a habit of doing what you've suggested). And one of them it was a stretch of the truth not an outright lie. He was still fired.

AmandaCooper · 10/05/2011 08:24

If OP is fired, she'll be no worse off than she is now.

xstitch · 10/05/2011 08:34

'I have heard that employers are simply binding the cv's of those who have been unemployed for some time. '

I suspect that may be true alpine,I find myself wondering what the point is.

I don't think lying on a CV is acceptable for many of the reasons put above. Finding the best way to put things without lying is another matter. I lost my last job because a single mother did not fit with the moral ethos of the company (my husband had left me a few weeks earlier). They didn't replace me and some more staff were let go a couple of months later so I put reason for leaving as company reducing staff numbers which is effectively what they did. I do suspect though due to hundreds of failures suspect they do tell anyone contacting them that the regard me as amoral. So even though I am not exactly lying (still can't bring myself to put 'I am a tart' on my CV), I still get caught out. Its not worth it.

The jobs I lose out on I would hope they really are the best person for the job based on the employers criteria and not someone who effectively got their job by decepetion.

I am at least as desperate as you OP but I will not tell an outright lie the example I gave above is the nearest I have come.

xstitch · 10/05/2011 08:35

amanda if she is fired she will be a lot worse of than she is now. Being fired for dishonesty would make it 100x harder to job hunt.

AmandaCooper · 10/05/2011 08:45

I suppose it depends on the sector and the type of job.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 10/05/2011 08:49

If you do want a job lying in order to do so marks you out as someone who is ultimately not to be trusted.

Your CV must contain accurate information. I know of someone who inflated by one grade their A level grade. They were found out and subsequently not hired as a result.

Instant dismissal is not a risk that should be taken at all.

RJRabbit · 10/05/2011 08:57

AmandaCooper, you're being very naive if you think that employers won't dig into your background.

In The City, we use referencing companies who do exactly this, and often don't finish these checks until months after people start their employment, which means that the op could be happily sitting at her desk one day thinking she's gotten away with it.....

To the person saying you're lying to a "nebulous corporation", I find that statement quite interesting - it's the exact same reasoning used by criminals (usually insurance fraudsters), "Oh, I'm not hurting anyone, it's just a faceless organisation who won't notice a few hundred thousand at the end of the day..."

Trinaluce · 10/05/2011 09:01

Out of interest: what do you intend to do if you go ahead with the lie and STILL don't get a job? Bemoan your lot in life, lie harder or start looking into the legal side of bribery?

xstitch · 10/05/2011 09:02

Think about it Amanda. You are recruiting a member of staff and it is down to 2 people with equal qualifications but one has previously been fired for dishonesty which one would you hire?

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