Marketing candidates most likely to lie on their CVs

It seems like marketing and advertising candidates most likely to fib a little in their CVs.According to a new report by site Adzuna.co.uk, which spoke to 3,587 participants either in, or looking for, employment, when asked if they had lied on their CV, a staggering 37% of respondents admitted to doing so at some stage in their professional career. Of those that had lied on their CV, 83% said they still got the job, with 43% stating that their lie directly contributed to them bagging the role.The site went a step further and profiled which professions were most likely to lie on their CVs. According to the results, they are usually male (58%), aged between 25 to 34 years old (34%), and looking for a job in marketing or advertising (17%).Other sectors where candidates were more likely to inflate the truth were: retail (14%), finance (12%) and law (12%).Skillset is the areas most lies were spun upon on people’s resumes. For example, being proficient in Excel (43%), their work experience (39%) and then their education (35%) were areas where candidates fluffed a little.  According to the survey, 96% of CV liars said they would do it again with 37% revealing they would be prepared to tell a “big lie” to get their dream job.Moreover, lies are being missed by HR departments, 83% of candidates who lied on their CV, say their falsehood was never discovered and that is because almost half (48%) of HR professionals admit to not always checking an employee’s qualifications and only 62% believe you should check references, says the press release.30% of HR professionals admit they waive qualification checks if the candidate has previous experience.35% of companies believe that the responsibility for uncovering CV lies sits with recruitment agencies.Only 6% of HR professionals check the social media accounts of candidates.53% of HR professionals admitted they are worried by the poor performance of under-qualified staff.This article originally appeared on HumanResourcesOnline on 15 March, 2018.(Photo courtesy: iStock)