Have you ever lied on, or otherwise embroidered your CV by a touch of exaggeration?

I once got a job as a silver service waitress having exaggerated my experience thinking that it couldn't be too difficult, could it? I hadn't factored in my dyspraxia and after the first evening the boss suggested that my training had obviously failed me! They kindly let me stay but it wasn't the job for me and I was poached by one of their clientele. He was happy for me to be clumsy as long as I could be sociable with his clientele.

I exaggerated on mine especially in the 1st few years to hide the rubbish jobs I'd done for a few weeks here and there. There might be a few places where I am economical with the truth especially on things like linked in, which is an open community like Facebook and not a private job application, but I do have the qualifications I claim.
I think to fib on a CV is bad, but on Linked in its the done thing

Not about facts (such as jobs I'd held before or qualifications I'd gained) but certainly about experience, just the once. I'd learned enough from my boss to know I could do the job I was applying for, so I ticked the "Experience" box (half the time, I'd been doing the idle madam's job for her in any case, so it was sort-of true).

I have never lied on my CV beforehand and this was because I would not want to be disciplined for doing so. Possibly the next addition to Rachel from Accounts CV will probably be that she was a member of the Royal Family between 1998-2012, but in a few years time, she will state it was a spelling mistake and it was in fact the Royle Family sitcom with Sue Johnston, Caroline Aherne and Ricky Tomlinson.

I have never lied in my CV, but I got into the habit of tailoring it to the position I was applying for, as there is no point in including a lot of experience that is irrelevant.

If for example you apply for a job as a secondary school teacher, it is inadvisable to inform the board that you have previously lectured at a university - they will immediately reject you on the grounds that you will be talking over the heads of school pupils.

Likewise having worked as a shop assistent or a typist is irrelevant, whereas the fact that you have supervised a homework cafë is not, or that you are aunt to 15 children of varying ages.

I’ll admit I did it once decades ago. Not exactly a CV but verbally. I was working 4 days in my nursing job and although I needed extra hours/income I couldn’t fit it around family life as a single parent.

I saw a cleaning job 2hrs 4 days a week in a factory depot and the hours were very flexible. I had a chat on the phone and the factory manager said he didn’t mind at what time of day I fitted it in. I just had to meet the area domestic supervisor at the site for a quick hello and some paper and the job was mine.

She produced a large floor buffing hover type machine and asked if I had previously used one. I really wanted the job and I lied and said yes.

She drove off and left me to do my first shift. I cleaned the staff toilets which consisted of 2 cubicles. Within seconds there was only one cubicle. I lost control of the hover machine and whacked the dividing partition and knocked it down!

The guys in the factory thought it was hilarious and kept my secret. They fixed the partition back in place and the domestic supervisor was none the wiser.

Grannynannywanny 🤣🤣🤣

The advert currently showing on this page is for CV building

Norah

JaneJudge

I don't think I have hobbies on mine. I could hardly put I like going to nice hotels and eating good food and drinking copious amounts of wine from time to time

I most probably do the opposite Monica. I have lots of lived experience (you all hate that phrase don't you? ) as a carer for someone with an illness and disability (severe) that I could most probably take forward into a career but I have no qualifications in it. I suppose there must be plenty of other examples too

I've many experiences that could be used on a CV. I must be a professional cook, cleaner, dog walker, skier, receipt keeper by now. Maybe not CV worthy!

receipt keeper
Surely you mean accountant Norah! 😁

No, I've never lied on a CV but I worked with someone who had. Not in a small matter, either. It took a long time before she was found out.

This is an interesting question. I teach a class about this where we consider outright lying and stretching the truth. The stats are amazing globally that people actually think a bit of exaggeration is OK. People have lost a great deal when these things have come to light. It is simply not a good idea to lie about anything. Just be you.

Not quite on topic but I once interviewed a prospective employee and when I spoke to his referees, both of whom I knew, I found that he was employed and being paid by both companies while saying he was ill. His CV stated that he was no longer employed by either company.

Most people have early in their careers. I certainly have. I haven’t lied, but I’ve certainly embellished some of my experiences.

I wouldn't think about it. It is dishonest.

My sister has interviewed many people, and says that women are so honest they often don’t apply for the job in the first place even when they would be ideal. If a job has ten requirements, a man will say “Oh, I can do five of those and learn the rest on the job.” And a woman will think, “I can only do eight of those, so I won’t apply”.

Surely embellishment is a form of lying??
Can’t believe there are so many well behaved ladies on here….
I lied on my CV that I had a BA of Art - took it in the States but had to leave to return to UK just before I completed the last semester - I was a mature student and I had certainly paid my dues. Suppose you can’t compare that to completing 10 years in the Bank of England!

You might have ‘paid your dues’ (fees?) but you lied. What if you had been asked to produce your certificate or enquiry of your university had been made? Incidentally, what is a BA of Art as opposed to a Bachelor of Arts?

Not this woman! I have always worked on the basis that the worst that can happen is that I won't get the job and applied for anything I reckon I could do with a wing and a prayer.

The best one was when I applied for a job requiring someone with an engineering background and I looked at DH and said 'Your an engineer, I have an engineeering background.' I got the job and it got my post-children career off to a roaring start.

No I just put down what I had and what I d done

MillieBoris well with a name like that why would I be surprised you lie
Can’t believe there are so many well behaved ladies on here
Well start believing it I m sure the majority of people are totally honest, why wouldn’t you be, it would get found out in the end
My best one was when I got a job which stated they wanted a graduate well I never got the opportunity to go to Uni but I was totally honest with what I had got which wasn’t that much past O levels but I was offered the job and did it well for 15 years, maybe I interviewed well. So no I wouldn’t lie

BA is Batchelor of Arts. And by ‘dues’ I mean I certainly put the time and effort in studying art. Had several jobs after that and no one was interested in my American degree.

Not lied myself - I wouldnt have seen the point of getting a job I didnt feel qualified for.

However, a job agency did darn well lie on my behalf (or were inefficient). Either way = same result and I got sacked because of them!

The agency had sent me off for a secretarial position in an insurance brokers office and I had a successful interview, got taken on - but was sacked a couple of weeks later.

Reason being either the agency hadnt checked whether any maths was involved in the job or had lied and told the firm I could do it. So I was very surprised to find part of the tasks I was asked to do by the firm was mathematical calculations for quotes. If they'd asked me at interview or told the agency and they had done their job properly - then I would never have been given the job in the first place and so wouldnt have been sacked.

I'm an extremely fast typist, good enough shorthand, basically very suitable person for a wide range of typing or secretarial posts of that era (ie the 1970s) and was good at my work - but I do know most of those jobs did not involve making maths calculations and I wouldnt apply for the odd few that did say they expected that - because I know I'm pretty useless at figure work and didnt even get a Maths O level. Hardly surprising - lots of people arent good at figure work.

I would not have put myself in that position and obviously don't blame myself for not being up to that maths bit of the job - as it was so rare a requirement as far as I could see for that type of work.

No. Maybe now reading some of these I should have, I may have got further on in life... I used to believe honesty and integrity were their own reward. How foolish of me!

I have a BA (Hons).
That's Bachelor, not Batchelor, of Arts.
It's in foreign languages.
I'd be cross if anyone else said they had one without sitting the rigorous examinations.

That reminded me of Horace Batchelor, the Pools man on radio Luxembourg:
K-E-Y-N-S-H-A-M

I’ve never lied on a CV, but as a singer and performer have certainly made the most of all my singing experiences.
However, I was horrified to see my bio in the programme when a colleague organised a tour. He had taken my (truthful) details and exaggerated them to such an extent I was embarrassed😬