Lying on your CV – Just don’t do it

The topic of stretching the truth or lying a CV causes many a debate as to whether you should risk it to advance your chances of getting the job and try to get away with it. In this camp, you often hear cries of, ‘they’re just little white lies, ‘but everyone does it’, ‘it’s just playing the game and ‘it’s expected’. Or should you err on the side of caution and go down the straight and narrow of a fully truthful CV?

As a senior resume editor at https://topessayreviews.com and https://www.assignment-help-australia.com.au, we would strongly recommend that graduates and any professionals for that matter be absolutely truthful on their CV about their career, including deliveries, skill sets, professional qualifications and academic achievements. There is no room for ‘lying’ on a CV. Many people think that some lies on a CV are fine and will go unnoticed but take a look at some CV lies that you can’t get away with (by this we don’t mean there are lies you should be looking to get away with on your CV – it’s just these are some of the most common ones which are picked up on by employers!)

A recent study by Graduate Prospects, which was reported on by the Guardian showed that the most common lies on candidates CVs were:

*Stating a higher grade than they had actually achieved (47%)
*Staying they had completed a course when they only finished part of it (29%)
*Showing a different course subject to suit the job requirements (13%)
*Claiming they have a degree when they don’t (11%)

This isn’t to say that you can’t use the language on your CV to positively promote the work you have done. This is not lying. Using positive verbs and descriptions about what you have done and focusing on the responsibilities and impact you had is absolutely fine and certainly not lying. However, saying on your CV that you have a certain qualification or degree which you don’t is not truthful and inexcusable. This could lead to you being sacked. If an employer discovers something on your CV that is not true after you have been employed, they would take this very seriously.

This is where the very interesting recent case of some inaccuracies on the CV of the recent CEO at Yahoo comes in. Scott Thompson, who hadn’t been in the post of CEO that long was forced to step down when some issues came to light about his academic achievements that were stated on his CV. Thompson claimed to have a Computer Science degree on his CV, which he had not taken. Whether this was down to a mistake or a blatant misrepresentation of fact on his CV has not been made clear. What is clear is that many people like Thompson may be taking risks with their careers by putting things on their CV which aren’t factual and could be found out by their employers.

A CV is a representation of your professional and academic career achievements. Never lie on a CV but shed a positive light on the impact of your work in your previous jobs and your degree at university.