What’s the biggest lie you’ve told to get a job?

[ThatCraftyLimeQuokka]

My friend once claimed to be vegan when applying for a vegan charity role, got the job and now just brings vegan lunches to work and sticks to plant-based meals when eating with colleagues. It worked out fine… but it got me thinking. Ever bent the truth to land a role?

I guess it was part of a broader character I was playing to make myself seem like a poor fit. As I say, I was very young at the time, this was decades ago, so I’m not saying it was a particularly well thought out plan and clearly didn’t work. After the interview, my new boss gave me a lift to the station and asked me out for a date on the way, then continued to sleaze on me for six months. Think in retrospect I would have handled the whole thing differently 😂🤮

Not me but the Head of Languages when I was at school in 1980s got offered a new job. They asked to see her languages degree certificate. She didn't have one, had lied on her CV. She was actually a very good teacher but doesn't say much for checks our school did, was there about 10 years. She was very good at languages.

Read my update upthread

This also.

I never even took my GCSE’s as I got attacked at school and spent the period of the gcse exams in hospital.
(I did maths and English at college). No one ever checked. I landed an excellent managerial job at the age of 23 and excelled from there

I lied that I was 15 to get a Summer holiday job (more than 50 years ago) I got the job and loved it setting up dining for overseas students and washing up after lunch and dinner. They were a wealthy bunch I think from USA and when they left they left behind lots of clothes which I was able to take full advantage of.

Oh and I wasn't 15 I was 12

I needed a casual job after university and before starting a PGCE about 10 months later.

I was getting nowhere so I took my BA and MA off my CV and said I'd been working in a clothes shop for 4 years since leaving school. I got a job straight away.

Luckily they never checked my (fake) references.

This was in simpler times back in the 1990s.

pretending to actively enjoy work.

Some of these are hilarious!

Mine is pretty standard, but I said in an interview that I was proficient in Excel. I’m really not!

I filled in a gap in my CV with a make believe job for my brother's business (different surname, he was happy to lie for me if contacted). As far as my CV is concerned I have never been out of work!

This is hilarious 🤣 If you could do that you deserved the job

This is the best thing Ive ever heard!

I pretended I was an avid fan to get a Part time job whilst a student, acting as a hostess/ waitress in the private hospitality box at a football club.

I actually supported a rival club and one day my mask slipped and I couldn't help letting out a "Yesss" when they got a goal against the club that I worked for.

The whole room fell silent.

That I am punctual and a team player

No-one has ever checked my qualifications... ever.

That I’m a responsible self-starter yada yada. More like a loose cannon.

That I had leadership experience. Unless you count being the world’s worst prefect in year 12, it’s a lie. I’ve avoided leadership all my life. Luckily my lie was pretty obvious and I didn’t get the job.

I used the words ‘passionate’ and ‘job’ in the same sentence.

Yes, I forged passing my medical degree and I almost never cut out the wrong organ. Still employed 28 years on!

A school where I worked (briefly) turned out to be a nightmare, with a high staff turnover rate, and like several others, I rapidly found another post. I think I went for "the opportunity to develop my special interest through a wider age range of pupils". My fleeing colleagues were talented teachers, with other skills to offer, and all were able to give very convincing reasons for wanting to move on, despite "being very contented " in their current role.
Word of mouth spreads, and we were all aware of needing a reference; plus it is not unknown for one head to contact another for an "informal chat" - i.e., nothing in writing......

I don't lie about my actual skills and experience as my role is technical and i would be found out on day 1 if I couldnt do it 😂
I have lied about my 'passion' for certain elements of the role, similar to saying, "I am highly passionate about Microsoft Word, I am truly interested in it's features and always intrigued to expand my knowledge of Microsoft Word, i absolutely love it and even in my spare time I am always on Word, learning more about it" 😂

You would have gained entry to the graduate system by virtue of your degree though, wouldn’t you? It’s generally seen that once you have a degree it trumps A Levels, isn’t it? So probably not worth lying over.

Would have been easily spotted then 😂

This! “I’m driven by [whatever the job entails]” and “I love [bullet-pointed responsibility from the job ad] because” and “if I got this role, I’d be really excited to deliver data-driven sales growth insight through the implementation of workflow systems dynamic strategic spoffles”.

As if I wouldn’t leave 0.1 seconds after winning Euromillions. Doesn’t even have to be the big win, gimme the £1m and I’m out.

@MKDex this made me properly laugh.

@ThatCraftyLimeQuokka this is brilliant 😂