to blatantly lie on my CV to get a job?

[IWannaJob]

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 .

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 ). 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?

I think that falsifying an employer/job on your cv is not honest and extremely risky.

However, you can be discreet about why you left certain jobs eg. I tried another career early on in my working life and I was not good at it, hated it and was rather relieved to eventually have my contract terminated. However, in the 'reason for leaving' box I put 'career change', because that is the truth, I was changing careers even if I didn't know that consciously at the time. I then reached a senior position in my second career and it has absolutely no bearing on anything I have done since.

I suggest going for temping or a short-term contract if possible, even if the money doesn't look good straight away.

OP, there are a few routes to go down may not require a CV. Job agencys will put you forward, you just go to the interview. Ditto the Job Centre. Go to employment fairs and pick up application forms etc.

Please don't lie, I can see why you would, I really can but I really don't think it will be worth it in the end. Fibs have a way of biting you in the arse when you reallly don't expect it years down the line.

Good luck.

RJRabbit, a good analogy, and nobody would condone insurance fraud, but all this talk implying that CV inflation and lies (yes lies, shock horror) is criminal and morally contemptible is ridiculous. Of course it depends on context. If one is lying to get a job in the police or as nurse, that clearly has greater impact than lying to get a job at Tesco (for example). The point is that the OP is desperate and needs a job, and is she takes on board the smug and sanctimonious advice in this thread, she might find that her "crime" of a two year gap will exclude her from many jobs and employers. Her time is accountable to her alone, the faceless corporation (which indeed it is) has no right whatsoever to demand that she spend her time in a productive or employed capacity. And it will be quick to let her go if its requirements change. Yet companies and recruiters are obsessed with avoiding gaps and quick to dimiss valuable talent.

Don't do it. It will prey on your mind, even if you're successful and get a job.

And it's illegal, isn't it?

It's a hard situation to be in. Everyone bumps up their CV a bit.....but lying is right out.

The company will contact your last employer for a reference, if the reason you give for leaving is different to waht they say then not only will you have wasted everybody's time but this information may well be shared between companies, thus ruining your chances further. Leaving aside all the moral issues it still isn't worth the risk. You may earn less short term being honest but you have to think about where it will get you long term. I doubt in the current climate you will get the higher paid jobs anyway with a 2 year gap unless you have been doing something fantastically beneficial to the company during that time (and can prove it).

Making a false representation in order to gain advantage is fraud, which is a criminal offence. It would be deliberate deception. I wouldn't even consider it.

penguin can I ask? Is my example acceptable or should I put I was regarded as amoral as my husband left me? Sorry for hijack.

Just say you were on a career break

Why not do a short, relevant course or do a couple of months' voluntary work locally? You'd then be in a position to say you have recent experience and a recent reference? Then as many others have said, prove yourself in a temporary role.

Two years is not a long time to be out of the job market. Maybe get someone else to read your CV and give some pointers for improvement?

I left a job once due to feeling bullied by my boss. I was upfront with employment agencies and they found me temp work almost immediately. If you have the right skills, attitude, presentation it shouldn't be a problem. If they can use you, they will because they make money on placing you.

Maybe go and have a chat with an employment agency in London and ask them their view?

My father was severely dyslexic at a time when it was more 'he's thick' and so left school with zero qualifications. He was bright however, and quickly tired of the manual type jobs on offer to him. He fabricated O and A levels and was never found out, and it allowed him to become a Sales Director. However, this home culture of CV boosting has carried on. My sister also (at the time) undiagnosed dyslexic performed poorly in her A levels, but gained a business degree, she inflated her A level grades on the application form for a very large city bank,(needlessly) - got the job, application was checked and she was fired on the spot. Very traumatic.

I have also added things to my CV to break into a very competitive industry, I was not found out, the small company never checked, but it was stressful. In my experience small companies are less likely to check, large ones employ people to check for them. Verifiable things such as qualifications - are too risky. If you feel it is necessitous to cover up a gap or suchlike because otherwise you will not get a job (and let us not forget it is super competitive at the moment) and think you will not be found out, then take the risk. Lets not pretend we live in a meritocracy.

it's illegal, can't they sack you and take you to court for a fraudulently application? in which case you would get community service, prison or a fine?.

dunno if anyone has already said but i believe its an offence, obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception

I don't know X-stitch - I threatened court action when I was told a single parent didn't fit in with my employers' ethos so should get married/resign and they got the message and left me alone. It's impossible without knowing more about the company and why you/they thought that was an acceptable course of action.

Wannajob....I think fibbing on CVs is fairly common. But be careful some fibs
break the law.

dh hired someone who had lied about her school results
was quite funny though
she said she had 5gcse's
actually had none , accidentally mentioned it at work one day and dh heard her
no harm done as her job is creative which she's very good at
prob still would have hired her anywya

What is the lie?

If you are just understating why you left your previous job then that would be OK as not really a lie just a better way of presenting the truth. If you have done some study or voluntary work during the 2 years saying you decided to take time out to do this would be fine even if it wasn't really your main motivator. Saying you stopped work in 2010 rather Jan 2010 would be fine if it makes the gap on your CV appear shorter. Again this is presentation not truth that is at issue. If you simply extend your leaving date that is a lie and you shouldn't go there.

I know someone who was sacked because her employers claimed the abbreviated word 'part' on her application form was misleading (as in BSC pt 1, having studied for three years and achieved part of the qualification but leaving before finals - due to pregnancy, as it happens). There wasn't enough space on the form to go into any more detail. She'd fallen out with her boss, after being there for four years, he wanted to get rid of her and this was the only excuse he could find. The employers won at the tribunal. It was ridiculous, she had 20 years of experience and further professional qualifications equivalent to degree level, but the employer was still able to do it. (They originally claimed she didn't have those qualifications as well but had to eventually concede she did - didn't affect the outcome, though.) So do be very, very careful to be exact about qualifications.

Mind you, I only ever mention the 9 O-levels I passed, not my abject failure in physics...

As I said I think it depends upon the sector and the nature of the employer. There's loads of places that don't take up references let alone do background checks. And if OP gets fired it's just an additional lie. Don't be so melodramatic.

If only I had it in me to be a little more liberal with the truth I probably wouldn't be stuck in my dead end job.

I know of an ex- "teacher", whom I worked with for 3 years, who worked for years in schools before it was found out that she was not actually qualified - because she had not actually passed her finals. However, as her first post was in a school where she had done her teaching practice, they hired her cos she was known, without checking her qualifications. She worked there for a few years, moved on (with a good reference), moved on again and about 3 schools later someone checked more thoroughly and she was exposed - all her years of doing the job counted for nothing, she was publicly disgraced and back to square one having to start all over again.

do not lie unless you can live with the possible consequences of being found out

personally i would never lie, and i would lose respect for a colleague who had lied no matter how much I might like them or how well they did the job. Liars are liars.

She did have the massive benefit of being gainfully employed as a teacher for several years, without having to go to the hassle of qualifying.

OK amanda - yes, she had a good income for a number of years - she worked hard for it and was good at her job, she had the mortgage, home improvements, money for treats and everything, had had nice hols, decent cars, the lot. It was all a false sense of security,the longer she got away with it the surer she was that she would not be found out.

But it was all built on a lie and she went swiftly to both unemployed and unemployable! No references and no degree and 10 years older than all her competitors applying for other much less well paid jobs! Not to mention the public shame to her and her whole family through the local papers etc.

But what about future employment though? If you were intervewiing someone and found out that she was sacked from a job because she lied on her CV would you employ her?

I wouldn't lie, but I would be 'creative'

eg. 20xx - 2009 (leave off month) worked for bastard wanking company
2010 - 2011 - there must be something you can put -
'voluntary fundraiser' (eg. PTA)
'play-scheme helper' (eg. helped at pre-school)
'X Committee' (eg. village fete)
Or simply put 'career break' as others have suggested.

I can't condone lying on a CV as I'd be mighty pissed off if you got the job I was going for honestly!

However, there's lies and there's selling yourself.

Time for a sales pitch that requires no lying, but making the truth look fantastic.

You need a bit of spin. You also need something recent. I cannot get a decent job on past experience even though I think I should, because I've been a SAHM for a loooooong time. You need something on your CV that is honest, willing and shows how serious you are.... you also need to learn how to add a little spin whilst remaining absolutely honest.

You'll get found out otherwise, and better to GET a job through honesty than lose one when you're outed as a liar liar pants on fire.

YAB v v U. Why should you get a job before someone else? OK you may think you can do that job, but its extremely unfair on other applicants. Its completely unfair that you get a job based on a lie where an honest person is faced with a rejection. Getting sacked for lying will hinder you getting a job more than a two year break. But then again you'd probably lie and pretend that job didn't exist, but employers can find out your work history easily through the tax system. and the whole lying/fireing cycle goes on.

Just say you were looking after your family. You're probably not getting responses as so many people are going for jobs (think the latest stat was 50 applicants for every job) with those types of figures there is bound to be someone more qualified and experienced than you. Its sucks but its true.