A recent survey of 2,000 office workers found that men were more likely to lie on their CV - with 42% admitting to doing so in the past, compared with 38% of female jobseekers, the Express reports.
The study conducted by hiring app Job Today found that, across the board, both male and female jobseekers revealed that fear of competition was the main drive behind their exaggerated CV profiles.
And, it seems that this a more regular occurrence than recruiters may have given credit for. A quarter (24%) of those surveyed admitted to regularly stretching the truth on their CVs to secure employment.
Londoners were revealed as the craftiest region of jobseekers with 44% admitting to doctoring the information on their CVs.
Candidates located in the West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber also admitted to fictitious CV information and were ranked closely after London.
However, Scottish jobseekers came out as the most honest jobseekers with 74% claiming to have never told a fib on their CV.
Co-Founder of Job Today, Polina Montano, says: “We’ve all had an interview go wrong, but it’s important to pick yourself up and learn from your mistakes. The statistics show that people still make silly mistakes that can easily be avoided.”
Earlier this year, research conducted by online tech retailer, Ebuyer, found that previous work experience was the most common fib, with 47% of those listings referring to non-existent former employers, Business Leader reports.
False previous education was ranked second at 41%, closely followed by false personal interests at 20% as the next biggest lie.
One in five workers who lied on their CV told perspective employers that they were proficient in programmes such as Excel and PowerPoint to help spur on their applications.
The ability to use several operating systems such as Windows and Mac OSX was the biggest CV lie for 16% of UK workers.
Rebecca Collins, HR Spokesperson for Ebuyer, told Business Leader:
“We were shocked by the amount of little white lies that are currently on UK workers’ CVs.
"One in five CV lies revolve around technology – if this is something you are guilty of, there are plenty of opportunities to learn the basics of office technology, from YouTube videos to free tutorials.
“If you are planning on changing job roles soon, we would advise spending time getting up to speed with the basic functions so the only thing you have to worry about on your first day is making a good impression!”
For recruiters, the danger of pursuing candidates with fake CV information is rife.
Here are six ways for recruiters to identify CV lies according to WorkPro.com:
Look out for skills without evidence
Line up employment dates to make sure that they look legitimate
Ask references similar questions to ensure that the match
Check social channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to see omitted information
Look for obvious signs in interviews such as negative body language, lack of eye contact and shallow answers
Run a background check: official sets of results will help verify that your new hire is who they say they are
By Sophie Parrott
