Resume Lies

Why do we at HiringSmart believe that Resumes are B.S.? The results of a recent survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com indicate that folks in the IT industry rank third among those who lie most in their resumes. Here’s a look at the other stats, and some of the more outrageous lies hiring managers have unearthed.

Apparently, the temptation to make their resumes stand out from the crowd is too much for some people to resist. For an article about resume fabrications, CareerBuilder.com surveyed hiring managers and workers and found that:

• 38 percent of those surveyed indicated they had embellished their job responsibilities.
• 18 percent admitted to lying about their skill set.
• 12 percent indicated they had been dishonest about their start and end dates of employment.
• 10 percent confessed to lying about an academic degree.
• 7 percent said they had lied about the companies they had worked for.
• 5 percent disclosed that they had been untruthful about their job title.

Some industries are more prone to resume fabrications than others. The hospitality industry reported the most, with 60 percent of employers reporting lies on resumes. The transportation/utilities field was a close second with 59 percent. The IT sector rounds out the top three, with 57 percent of hiring managers saying they uncovered lies on resumes.

The article also listed some of the most outrageous untruths found on resumes as reported by hiring managers. My favorites are:

• Candidate claimed to be a member of the Kennedy family.
• Applicant invented a school that did not exist.
• Candidate listed military experience dating back to before he was born.
• Job seeker included samples of work, which were actually those of the interviewer.