Partner Article

Job seekers can’t resist lying on CVs

• Over one third (37%) of candidates lie on their CVs and job applications
• Skills (47%) and interests (47%) are the most common exaggerations
• One in three candidates (33%) admit to embellishing their career history – and yet, 79% of candidates know this information will be checked

London, 3 April 2018 – More than 1 in 3 (37%) job seekers confess to exaggerating on their CVs according to research by HR and payroll solutions expert NGA Human Resources.

Skills and interests are the two most common areas to contain misleading information with almost half (47%) of candidates confessing this is the case.

More shockingly, easily verifiable information such as career history (33%) and qualifications from school (24%) follow close behind.

1. Skills (47%)
2. Interests (47%)
3. Career history (33%)
4. Qualifications from school (24%)
5. Professional qualifications (19%)
6. References (16%)
7. Qualification from university (16%)
8. Industry body membership (11%)

Table 1: Most commonly exaggerated information on a job application or CV

Even the threat of being discovered doesn’t seem to deter candidates from lying. Job seekers are well aware that their information may be checked during the application process. When asked, they thought references (86%), career history (79%) and professional qualifications (76%) would most likely be verified by a potential employer.

1. References (86%)
2. Career history (79%)
3. Professional qualification (76%)
4. Skills (69%)
5. Qualification from university (65%)
6. Industry body membership (53%)
7. Qualification from university (42%)
8. Interests (29%)

Table 2: Information jobseekers think is checked during the application process

“Candidates are taking risks by embellishing their qualifications and skills, especially since they know they could be found out,” said Anna Dickson, Talent Management Specialist at NGA HR.

“It’s even more important for employers to be able to run stringent checks to make sure they’re recruiting the best people for the job. By using the right technology, employers can assess the accuracy of information provided, streamline their recruitment processes and be certain that they are getting the right candidates through the door and into their workforce.”

Methodology The survey, conducted by 3Gem on behalf of NGA HR, questioned 2,000 working professionals who have moved job in the last three years in November 2017.

About NGA Human Resources We are a leading provider of HR and Payroll software and services in the UK and Ireland. We help organisations align their people strategy to their business strategy, by understanding the role of HR and Payroll within business. It is this understanding, combined with our technological expertise and superior service delivery that ensure we deliver the greatest impact for our customers – something we have been doing for over 40 years.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by NGA HR UK .