The punishment for lying on your CV is worse than possession of a weapon
A 2023 survey conducted by CIFAS found 21% of Brits admit to knowingly exaggerating on their CV. When comparing this percentage to the working population, 6.99 million Brits are committing CV fraud in 2024.
According to the Crime Prosecution Service, Fraud Act 2006 dictates that “making a false representation for personal gain or to cause loss to another can constitute fraud.”
Rachel Reeves, who had exaggerated her time in employment at The Bank of Scotland on her CV, has been accused of “fabricating qualifications or work experience on a CV”. At the very least, Reeves has misled colleagues, party and the public.
At it’s worst, punishment for lying on your CV can reach 10 years imprisonment. That’s six more years than the maximum prison sentence for the possession of an illegal weapon, according to GOV.uk penalty tables.
Six common lies found on CVs, according to career experts
Upon analysis of the most common CV lies, Resume.io finds that exaggeration on CVs rarely comes from masterminded con artists and more from job applicants fearing inadequacy.
Contributions and achievements
While many hiring managers may overlook a white lie or two, a well-written CV will clearly include examples of your individual contribution to a project.
Improving grades and qualifications
With many employees feeling they’ve been passed over for interviews because they are not qualified enough, it’s no wonder that some feel a pressure to exaggerate their education details. However, claiming a qualification at a place you’ve never studied, or falsifying grades in order to secure a job – is a sure-fire way to get fired or even prosecuted.
Employment dates to cover gaps in employment
“Tweaking” your employment dates to cover gaps in your CV isn’t just dishonest — it’s also easy for hiring managers to find out about. It takes just a couple of calls from the hiring manager to your previous employers, and what you thought was an innocent exaggeration has passed over into the realm of creating distrust with your new potential employer.
So, what should you do instead? While employment gaps aren’t ideal and often easy to explain in an interview, you may consider a short note on your CV or cover letter to explain.
Exaggerating job titles
For better or for worse, the job title that you were hired to do is pretty fixed. While you may not be able to change it, you can reframe the responsibilities that you did in the job. Use the bullet points in your employment history section to describe your responsibilities and curate examples of impressive results you achieved while you were in the role.
Team size
A common exaggeration found on CVs is exaggerating the size of the team they managed. Remember that it can be just as impressive to achieve top results with a small team as it can be with a big one. In fact, when working in small teams you’re unlikely to have as much infrastructural support as larger teams in larger companies. Find creative ways to highlight this. Consider the examples you choose to include and the language you use to describe it.
Vital statistics
Prejudice can be a real fear for certain job seekers. But don’t waste your time finding ways to fudge key information about your profile so you appear different from how you are. Find other ways to present information so that you can maintain a level of privacy for indicators of age or other characteristics you’re uncomfortable with sharing in your CV.
