Employers are aware that some job applicants will exaggerate their professional experience and even add outright lies to their CV in an attempt to secure their dream jobs. However, the extent of this phenomenon might be bigger than they think.
Savoy Stewart has surveyed 3,126 individuals across a range of sectors who were either in, or looking for, full-time employment. 63% of respondents admitted to lying on their CV at some stage in their professional career.
Most lied about CV aspect
| Lied About/Made-up Experience or Qualification | Inflated Actual Experience or Qualification | |
| Skill Set | 19% | 24% |
| Work Experience | 23% | 31% |
| Education | 2% | 5% |
| Professional qualification courses | 20% | 26% |
Most applicants lie about their past work experience. Over 50% of respondents said they did this for at least one job application. Education is the least lied about CV feature (less than 10% of respondents).
How did the liars fare?
| Lied about | Got Job | Were Found Out |
| Skill set | 23% | 10% |
| Work experience | 37% | 8% |
| Education | 9% | 12% |
| Professional qualification
courses |
14% | 1% |
Applicants who lied about their work experience and skill set were the most successful. Shockingly, only a small percent of these candidates were found out (8% and 10% respectively).
Industries with most CV lies
| Industry | Percentage Who Admitted to Lying on CV |
| Marketing | 67% |
| Hospitality | 60% |
| Finance | 34% |
| Education | 26% |
| Law | 12% |
| Health Services | 5% |
Marketing and hospitality employers should be extra careful when vetting their applicants; a whopping 67% of marketing applicants and 60% of hospitality job seekers admitted to lying on or embellishing their CV when applying for jobs.
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