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Lying for a dream job leads to interview nightmares

Over a third of people have sleepless nights before an interview worrying about the lies they have told on their CV. As the turbulent economic situation leads to a more unstable job market, an increasing number of candidates are fibbing on their CVs in order to secure an interview.

This is according to a poll by interview skills training website Interviewgold.com, which found that for 35% of people, their biggest nightmare would be getting caught out.

Joe McDermott, CEO of Interviewgold.com, said: “Lee McQueen from BBC1’s The Apprentice was a prime example of what a nightmare it can be when an interviewer exposes any discrepancies on a CV. He was made into a scapegoat for the thousands of other candidates who are doing it.”

With lots of good candidates applying for limited positions, interviewers really are turning up the heat in the interview room, says McDermott, and people who’ve lied on their applications “deserve sleepless nights”.

The Interviewgold.com survey also revealed that for 56% of people, their biggest interview nightmare would be clamming up or going blank when being grilled.

“This can be easily avoided with a little bit of preparation,” says McDermott. “If you do your research and make good use of all the tools available you’ll find it easy to stay cool in the hot seat.”

As a professional ‘interview skills trainer’, McDermott’s top tips for avoiding interview nightmares are:

1. Don’t assume that a good CV is enough to get the job; a good CV will get you into the interview room but it’s your performance that will win the job.
2. Arm yourself with knowledge. Study the advertisement, job description, person specification and get to know the employer by conducting research.
3. Perfect your communication skills. An interview is a communication exercise and your ability to sell yourself and your skills is the key to success.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .