Lying on a CV

[BigonaBianchi]

Ok ...who does this?

I have never done so which I am starting to believe is why I am now skint...maybe I should just lie through my teeth like I assume everybody else is(?)...but how do you get reference checks from NASA and MI6 etc when you never really were James Bond?

 

[dudi]

Simple, just get them to fax you directions to somewhere on headed paper, cut and paste the letterhead onto your own reference and forward it on from there.

For the added bit of authenticity, change your fax machine settings so that instead of the fax header note stating the phone number it was sent from, it says it was sent from 'NASA Human Resources'

 

[dudi]

But I have never outright lied on a CV. I have worded things so they sound a bit more impressive, but everyone does that. Also, having a very vivid and quick imagination helps answer the competancy based questions...

 

[yenrod]

Ok ...who does this?

I have never done so which I am starting to believe is why I am now skint...maybe I should just lie through my teeth like I assume everybody else is(?)...but how do you get reference checks from NASA and MI6 etc when you never really were James Bond?

I wonder too!

 

[Abitrary]

I have to tone down my achievements just so I appear more human.

 

[dellzeqq]

It's both reprehensible and stupid. Don't.

 

[peanut]

I lied about my age for a few years .Took 3 years off so I was still in my 40's :?:
Lots of employers don't even consider over 50's as a matter of course. They assume that most people over that age that don't have a history of full time work are either lazy or over the hill or both.
I have been self employed in business for the last decade until foot n mouth and 9/11 finished it off.

 

[beanzontoast]

Can't see the point. Sooner or later, the lie would be discovered.

 

[4F]

In the past I upped my exam results and added a couple of subjects that I did not take. I would imagine now that it is easier to get caught out though.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

no point in my case, as you'll be found out on your first day…

 

[beanzontoast]

BOAB - sounds like you have come across this happening? It's a bitter thing to see people advance in their careers if you know they've done it in this way, but apart from getting the job in the first place, how can anyone be sure that the lie is mainly responsible for thier success in the job?

It's one thing to talk yourself up a bit at interview, but there's a world of a difference between exaggeration and downright fabrication. The best come-uppance is when the job depends on skills that relate to a qualification someone says they have, but haven't. Soon becomes obvious.

 

[Kirstie]

Regarding age, i'm not sure that it's even legal now to ask someone's age when they apply for a job. I know that we don't on our application forms.

 

[cheadle hulme]

Regarding age, i'm not sure that it's even legal now to ask someone's age when they apply for a job. I know that we don't on our application forms.

It's illegal to discriminate on age grounds. However, many app forms ask for age so they can monitor they are compliant. Similar situation to ethnicity.

If you're going to put your education and past employment down, its fairly easy to work out someones age anyway!

Don't lie on a CV, but feel free to sell yourself creatively. If you've worked for large companies i the past, the reference may just be a standard format, job title, date, salary etc.

It won't trip you up if you've exaggerated a little; providing you can walk the talk that is.

 

[4F]

Regarding age, i'm not sure that it's even legal now to ask someone's age when they apply for a job. I know that we don't on our application forms.

No you are not allowed to ask now. A EU directive which started in the last couple of years.

 

[cchapman]

Do people pay much attention to cv's anymore? I know references are so bland as to be useless (for legal reasons, allegedly) It's the interview that countsm and the old boy network.