News and trends > Surveys

Outrageous resume lies!

July 31st, 2008
By CareerBuilder blogger in News and trends, Surveys
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Creating your resume can often involve some creative writing for the author. Numerous job seekers have lied on a resume. “Lied” is such an ugly word; I prefer “embellished” myself! Many of us look at it as putting a positive spin on a job. Why say “trash collector” when “waste management technician” sounds so much better?

According to a new CareerBuilder.com survey, job title is just one of the lies employers found on a resume.

The complete list of the most common lies told:

About job duties and responsibilities: 38 percent
About skill set: 18 percent
About dates of employment on previous jobs: 12 percent
About academic degrees: 10 percent
About previous companies worked for: 7 percent
About job title: 5 percent

The survey found the most embellishment and lies in the hospitality industry, with transportation/utilities and information technology close behind.

When we surveyed hiring managers, they shared with us some very outrageous claims that applicants had made.

Applicants claimed, among other things:

That they were a member of the Kennedy family
Claimed to attend a school that did not exist
Claimed membership in Mensa
Submitted a resume which featured a photo of the subject of the resume. The photo was of someone else
Claimed to be a CEO of a company (they were an hourly employee)
Said that they had worked for the hiring manager before when they had not
Cited military experience that dated back to before he was born
Included samples of work that they had not done. The work had actually been done by the interviewer
Claimed to be Hispanic when he was 100 percent Caucasian
Claimed to have been a professional baseball player

For more details about the survey, and a list of tips on how to make your resume stand out, click here.

You can also check out the CareerBuilder.com resume resource site, CBResume.