Are you as you say on your CV?
There is a great temptation to exaggerate your capabilities and work experience on your CV in order to make you appear more attractive to a potential employer. However this strategy usually backfires after a few probing questions from a discerning interviewer. Are you as you say on your CV
Techniques to spot misrepresentation on your CV include thoroughly checking business references, probing into gaps into employment and vague sentences which can be interpreted in a number of ways.
Another item which can arouse suspicion is not including addresses of your referees and just a mobile number as your contact point. It also arises suspicion if all the companies where your referees have worked have gone out of business. A competent interviewer will always check your referees LinkedIn profile to check that they actually worked in the same company as you. If the company is still in existence a smart employer will check with the HR department if the person being given as a reference actually worked for them. This nips in the bud sophisticated misrepresentations where you get a friend to act as a referee and pretend they worked with you in the past. Although rare, it has been known to happen, especially in regards really competitive positions or a few years ago when there were not as many opportunities in the economy as there are today.
The most common areas on a CV where exaggeration occurs is changing the dates you worked in a particular job in order to avoid gaps on your CV. This can be easily found out by a potential employer by simply ringing up your previous employer and enquiring off them the dates you worked there. Another common area of misrepresentation is educational achievements. Again this is a dangerous game as all an employer has to do is ask for a copy of your certificate, diploma or degree. In essence a job offer could be retracted due to inaccuracies on your CV as your honesty and credibility is immediately called into question.
Surveys indicate that the majority of job hunters don’t exaggerate on their CV, which goes against the common misconception that everyone is doing it. Hence there is no need to exaggerate or lie on your CV as the chances are that it could seriously backfire, not only landing you with egg on your face but potentially without a job, as a result of a failed attempt to deceive your employer.
Talk to one of our specialist consultants who will offer leading edge advice and connect you with the best employers by discipline, industry or location.
