To ask -do you lie on your CV

[FirestarterJackie]

Well do you?

I do. Yeah I move a few jobs around, fill in some gaps nothing major

That isn’t true. I never have, and plenty of other people here are saying they haven’t. Of course we can’t prove to you that we’re not lying. But (using logic) every non-liar reading your post knows that it’s not true!

And I accept that you may be mistaken rather than deliberately lying. Which is good of me as I really don’t like people lying.

Good points, Monday. Reading this thread, it’s dawning on me that certain people I’ve worked with in the past, and had to carry because of their laziness or incompetence, may well have lied on their CVs.

They got away with it by learning on the job at colleagues’ expense. Management must have realised, but not bothered to do anything about it.

@Throwawaytoday why don't you just put 11 GCSEs and 4 A levels? You have a degree so they're unlikely to care about your GCSE grades!

Possibly? How on earth can anyone pretend to themselves that an outright lie re public qualifications isn't fraud?

They got away with it by learning on the job at colleagues’ expense. Management must have realised, but not bothered to do anything about it.

I once found out that someone I'd hired had lied on their CV - to avoid litigation, the previous company had only confirmed dates of employment - and I was asked if I wanted to terminate them.

At that point it would have been considerably more hassle to terminate and hire someone new, so I let it go. But I knew they'd lied, and it definitely impacted the way I managed that person.

It is interesting why no one is asking themselves why people might lie on their CV and whether there really is always a negative impact on the company if someone does that...

The people who are critical are just assuming that someone might be a bit ''creative'' with their CV because they are without moral or ethics and are ultimately going to be a liability to the organisation.

I think there are people who have to do this because they:

• are struggling financially and need a job at all cost
• they have gaps in their CV because something might have happen to derail their life (nervous breakdown, addiction, health problems) they know full well will get them immediately rejected for a job
• they had a shitty manager who made their life hell and they ended up losing their job so they decide to leave it out and make something up
• no one is given them a chance although they know they can do the job so they decide to change the narrative.

Would they all make rubbish employees once they get their foot through the door? I doubt that very much.

Frankly having lived a little I know that life is not that black and white and that there is a lot of grey everywhere.

I also know there are an awful lot of shitty employers out there who treat their employees poorly and are very skilled at manipulating employment laws so I am not quite sure why so many expect sainthood on the employee side either.

No never.

But I have employed someone that did and it was awful, so obvious (not recognising the excel icon when supposedly a wizz etc) it ended in (her) tears. Honestly I don't know why people do.

Struggling or needing a job desperately are not reasons that justify lying to get ahead of genuine applicants. Many of us have struggled / struggle. It’s like saying that stealing food from a shop is fine because you have no money.

Yes.
I was the only person doing Accounts for a company and my colleagues used to joke I was Head of Finance.
Put this on my CV and it really helped.
In my defence I could do every aspect of the job so didn't get found out per se.
New job came with a hefty pay increase and I stayed in it for years.

No it doesn't. People get away scot free all the damn time with all kinds of nefarious stuff
Fed up wit's this particular lie being trotted out all the time

@Smileeriley
Struggling or needing a job desperately are not reasons that justify lying to get ahead of genuine applicants. Many of us have struggled / struggle. It’s like saying that stealing food from a shop is fine because you have no money.

They are perfectly good reasons to me.

I would never criticise someone who steals food from a shop because they are starving, it does not hurt a supermarket in the slightest but it will keep that person alive.

I look back on my career in charities I have seen employers tell porkies on a massive scale:

• I left one charity after I was asked to sign financial accounts relating to grants I realised were not accurate because some of the money donated was not being used as had been agreed by the funders. I refused to sign the documents until the CEO had corrected them because I would have be an accomplice to fraud
• left another in the probation period after I was asked to do something that was putting vulnerable service users at risk
• left yet another after the CEO, who bullied all its senior staff, tried to get me fired with a performance plan based on bogus claims after I refused to put up with her bullying. I filed a grievance and reported her to the Board and then had to leave as it was impossible for me to continue working there in these circumstances

So me having to leave these roles relatively quickly (1 or 2 years or 3 months for the one that was putting service users at risk) created some gaps in my CV not through something I had done wrong but because of the employers' dishonesty.

If I had to tell the complete truth at interviews I would have to say ''yes I have some short term roles in my CV because I worked for charities that were run by complete crooks and I would not put up with their nonsense''.

How do you think that would go down?

So I have to also do some ''creative'' explaining to justify the short term stay in these organisations. Usually I say that these roles were only ''temporary contracts''.

So for me someone telling a few lies on their CV is of no importance whatsoever as long as they can do the job because life is never black and white.

I think you’re spending a lot of time trying to justify something that you know full well is wrong.

Waffle all you like. Misleading someone to get a job is wrong. End of story. What makes liars more special than those of us with a moral compass?

I also know there are an awful lot of shitty employers out there who treat their employees poorly and are very skilled at manipulating employment laws so I am not quite sure why so many expect sainthood on the employee side either.

Two wrongs don’t make a right. But you know that.

No.

Except that isn’t how journalism works 🙄

No, never. Not needed to anyway

Me too

No need to lie

Never lied about quals.

But remember a firm in 2013 who should have employed temp claim handlers in PPI but it was earlier to made redundant on 30th Sept 2013 and I thought nothing of telling employers I was employed until Friday 4th Oct 2013 as they paid a week's notice but required us to go immediately on Mon 30th Sept so could have been deduced as telling lies but no one picked me up on up.

I was technically employed in May 2022 with the promise of 2-day paid trial period which never materialised but hey ho and wasn't put through an employers payroll until 6th June 2022 - (the employer didn't want to pay any of Queens Jubilee) no way of absolutely fighting it, made to feel like the bad one making my end date one week later in July 2022....

HMRC had the last laugh when I went through them to request my P45 - My last date with this employer is 5th April 2023........

The thought that only employees lie wants to make me giggle hard.

What do you mean possibly? It’s literally the definition of fraud. It’s wrongful deception with the intention of personal gain. There’s no possibly about it, it’s fraud.

I do but it is not intentional. I can't remember start and end dates of some jobs so put as close as I can.

I also 'polish' some things so I did A Levels at 16-18, hated the course, didn't do very well. Years later I did an AS just because I could, so that gets lumped in with my A Levels.

My O Level (yes I'm that old) I just list as X number grades A-C, I didn't get any A grades.

@MondaysChild7 ''I think you’re spending a lot of time trying to justify something that you know full well is wrong.Waffle all you like. Misleading someone to get a job is wrong. End of story. What makes liars more special than those of us with a moral compass?''

Good luck with your superior ''moral compass''.

There is nothing more tedious, and less moral in my experience, than those who spend their time being judgemental and bleating about how holier-than-thou they are.

I don't need or want to justify anything either, for me there is nothing wrong whatsoever with a little CV embellishment and it is a common practice.

No.

My life and experience has nothing to be ashamed of and I don't want to get a job and then have to admit I lied to get it.

That's worse than not getting it in the first place.

In an old role, my Manager used to come in once a fortnight for an afternoon - rest of the time he left the running of the branch to me whilst he dossed about at home. The man was getting paid about 4 x as much as me, and not doing the job

I literally did his job - and I mean every single part of it for years.

I complained to HR several times, and after about 7 years of it, I got fed up of it, and when I when HR asked me why I was leaving, I told them (again) - and the manager was 'let go' and they asked me to stay, and take over his role but I said no, I have been complaining about this for years and you never helped me

Anyway the company closed down, and on my CV i put that I was the Manager and listed all the skills I genuinely had - and this helped me into my next role

The next role as a Manager I excelled in and was soon an area Manager - I had the skills already, just not the official job title

So I suppose this is lying, yes

Smite me, oh mighty smiters

I would wager that a lot of people are lying on this thread hahaa