to ask if you have stretched the truth on your CV or a job application

[MaudeLynn]

Well, have you?

I am an old gimmer. Twenty years ago I had well-paid office job and jacked it in to become a "trailing spouse" big mistake Eventually returned to UK with DH and did a degree and qualified as a teacher. Became pregnant during PGCE so never worked as a teacher. We live in rural area and DH works long hours so became SAHM.

Am now at the end of my tether and need to work. Not much chance of getting into teaching so thought I would look for absolutely bloody anything office work.

I can hardly say that I have spent the past few years since DC started school driving them to after school activities and watching Escape to the Country

So I thought I might be a bit -ahem- creative with the old CV. Anyone done this?

[Allergictoironing]

Dangerous thing these days, putting your references on your CV. There are a few agencies out there who will call about a supposed job, say they need to contact your references before they submit your CV to a client, then call your references to try & tout their services. There never was a job in the first place, they were just after potential customer names.

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

One of my referees used to be the senior partner of a law firm I'd done some temping at, rather than the person I'd actually worked under. He was an old family friend, and when I told him who I had down from the company as a referee he offered to do it instead.

I never saw the reference he wrote, but I got the first job I went for after putting him on my CV...

[anyzom]

I've definitely stretched the truth on CVs - similar to Johnogroats. Did some very very undemanding voluntary positions but they could have been much more full on. Was good friends with the person they asked refs from and she'd always run the written ref by me.

Also I did make up jobs completely when at uni, but that was quite a long time ago and internet was still in its infancy. Plus it was a fairly lowly position so I assume they just didn't check refs (I'd put down a company that I knew had gone out of business).

These days if I had a long gap on my cv I'd probably take up some token voluntary work for the sake of building up a reference, and/or do a short course. If you have recent references they don't mind so much if there's a five year gap behind it.

[oscarwilde]

I've said that I enjoy keeping fit, but that's about it.

Why do you think you need to "get creative". You have a degree, a teaching qualification and presumably some life skills. Have you actually applied to do anything or just flummoxed as to what to put on a CV?

[Dietagainmonday]

Years ago my brother said he had experience with transport management, his real experience was a trolley boy at local Sainsbury's on a Saturday while at uni. Got the job and still doing great.

[whodrankallthemilk]

i used to work in HR. we interviewed a chap who was in his 50's for a teaching job. on his application form he said he had achieved a latin o level (or whatever it was)

the problem was that the staff member I was interviewing with, went to school with the interviewee, in the same class. He knew that only one person passed that year, because it was himself. apparently there was a big scandal at the time and he remembered it.

Now the interviewee was by far the best candidate for the job, but i refused to offer him a job based entirely on his dishonesty on the application form.

furhtermore when you submit a cv and they offer you a job, they are offering you it on the basis that you can and have done what you say you have...eg if you say, i can ride a horse, and they hire you becuase they need someone to ride a horse, and you cant actually ride the horse....they can sack you, becuase you cannot fulfil your contract. iyswim

DONT LIE ON YOUR APPLICATION FORMS ever

[Johnogroats]

Everything on my CV is factually correct, but somethings look a bit more full on than they were...

eg, while on mat leave (I took 3 years), I had a position on the local council. This meant attending a few meetings now and again, and for the privilege I got paid 16 / month! However, my CV does not look as though it has a gap in it. Of course the truth would be apparent to anyone who new what "Indpendent member of the X Committee on X City Council" was...and I explain it in a positive sense.

[MaudeLynn]

Thanks for replies; some good advice. I wouldn't lie about having qualifications, in fact I probably need to "dumb down" my CV as I don't want a professional job - I just want to re-join the human race (so the virtual PA job wouldn't be for me).

[Allergictoironing]

Looking at lower level jobs I get one of 2 responses. Either I'm "overqualified, so will get bored & leave" (on a 3 month contract??) and don't get to interview stage, or they already have plenty of applicants who have been doing that same sort of job so why should they look outside that list.

I don't think you realise just how high the contention is in some areas; even being incredibly fussy they can still have a short list of 20-30 people of which they will interview maybe 3-4 at most, so even getting an interview is tough. That's when it gets down to which one the potential boss clicks with, as everyone they are interviewing is fully qualified for the role.

[rapasara]

Often it depends on the job. To be frank, if it is a job that doesn't require a lot of qualifications or knowledge, getting the job is about whether the employer likes the look of you.

Maybe a good idea to go for jobs like that instead? Basically do any job for the sake of a reference and apply for other things after a few months?

Also, I think it's OK to be creative as long as it's not an outright lie: don't for example, put you've got 10 GCSEs when you've got none.

Sure there's websites that can help with this creativity.

[Allergictoironing]

I've got a mix of that and the exact opposite problem at the moment! My field is very oversubscribed, partly because the whole industry is a bit pants at the mo so everyone with related skills are going for the same jobs - think over 400 qualified applicants in 24 hours for a very specific role.

On one hand you get things like "needing" a minimum of a 2:1 degree (so 20 years experience doesn't count?), requirement to be expert level in at least 4 different software packages, and at least 3 years experience in the last 5 working in a very specific industry sector. On the other hand, any gap over 2-3 months on the CV and they make the assumption that you must be crap!

If you can't get a glowing reference from the very last role you worked in then forget it, so I'm at the stage now (been out of work about 6 months) that I want to "lose" a job I took last year that really didn't work out and just have "career break" on my CV. At least that way prospective employers won't demand to know what happened in that job and make me relive the nightmare of working for that company, then assume that I left because I was crap and not because the employer was a bunch of entitled bastards with no concept of how the real world works and with insane expectations, who were driving me into a breakdown.

[StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes]

I think you can be creative with the skills it takes to run a household, so accountancy for family finance, chef if you do the cooking etc etc but as someone up thread said focus on the skills you have and try to apply them to the job you are applying for. you could seek a back to work course or attend night classes and volunteering often leads to work and gives an interest for a CV. good luck

[badbride]

A lot of trailing spouses end up effectively being their husband's PA, with all the IT and organisational skills that involves.

Why not market yourself as a freelance virtual PA? This means you can be self-employed, and as such, have no need to send anyone your CV in the first place.

See this article about how to set yourself up as a virtual assistant

[rapasara]

I've a friend who works for a well-known bank as an advisor. She's about 30.

I know for a fact that she left school without a single GCSE. She also did not do any further education at all.

Now I often wonder how she got the job without a GCSE in maths and English -I'd have thought that these were essential.

Was she, erm, creative with the truth? or didn't she need these qualifications?

[LightastheBreeze]

Since you obviously enjoy houses - watch ' escape to the country'. Maybe you could have spent some time doing some house renovation or interior design as an interest that filled your time. As it's not a job no one will know that you probably only done a bit of decorating.

[Goblinchild]

Yes, it's one thing to stretch your other interests a bit to make yourself sound more interesting. It's another thing entirely to be dishonest about grades or skills relevant to the job.
I had a friend who wrote bush pilot, camel wrangler and dead shot with a rifle on his CV. For a waiter job. Which he got, for sheer chutzpah.
It turned out later that he was indeed all that he had said on his CV.

[SauceForTheGander]

Don't lie on a CV - they are pretty thoroughly checked by anyone worth working for.

[Beijing]

Not really, I conduct a lot of interviews though and generally don't assume that because something is in a CV it is true. I always make a point of asking about specific skills that people claim to have and see if they can hold a conversation on that topic long enough for their claim to seem plausible. That's for skilled work though, that you can't just blag if you haven't studied/experienced it before.

It's better to focus on skills anyway in a CV, I can't speak for all interviewers of course but 20 years of experience in a job doesn't equate in my eyes to an expert in that subject, often it means somebody stuck in a rut and not really employable in any other role as they're so institutionalised. Assuming that you have the skills needed for the jobs you're looking for just make sure you mention those and where you've used them.

[Chloerose75]

Don't lie. It is completely unethical and you will look a fool when you're found out. If you want to get some more recent experience can you volunteer for a bit?

[Joysmum]

You're in the same situation as I am.

My advice, do a skills based CV rather than an experience based one. Google for the layout of this.

[innisglas]

When I was young I'm afraid I had to be very creative with my cvs, in one case, just to get a waitressing job when I lived in Canada and every job asked for five years experience. Usually claiming that I'd worked on the other side of the country or world.
In the first waitressing job I got that way, someone came in the next day asking for a job and quite honestly said she had never done it before. By this time it must have been pretty apparently to my employers that I hadn't a clue about waitressing and was listening to her and regretting having lied. Well, they didn't give her the job, they kept the dishonest one instead (very strange).

I don't think it would be so easy to get away with that nowadays, with the internet and such like.

[littledrummergirl]

I had a conversation with a friend who seems to be able to get jobs at the drop of a hat. Apparently her last one meant she was able to put "opens the post" on her c.v.
I nearly choked, been doing that in every job since I was 17, but never considered adding it to my c.v!
If something that basic is interesting to future employers, I dont think I will be changing jobs soon as I dont have the inclination to deal with every nitpicking minute detail of my past.
I have managed a team of 75 though with everything that entails from training them to appraisals. That doesnt seem to count for as much.

[Sortyourmakeupout]

I'm an accountant and I have to be able to provide certificates. It's a must in any job I have had.