How often Canadians lie on their resumes and what they’re lying about

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Have you ever embellished your experience or education on a job application? Maybe a little? Maybe a lot?

A new survey shows just how much Canadians are lying on their resumes, with half of the hiring mangers asked revealing they have spotted fibs.

And there tend to be certain areas where the truth is stretched the most. Employers interviewed by CareerBuilder.ca say skill sets tend to be the most embellished (53 per cent), followed by responsibilities (53 per cent), job titles (32 per cent), academic degrees (31 per cent) and companies worked for (31 per cent).

You may think you are impressing your potential boss, but the company’s Mark Bania points out there’s a little thing these days called the Internet.

“It is slightly easier today than it would be in years past to qualify some of that information on resumes by using social networks like Linkedin or simply having access to this information online,” says Bania. “It’s a lot easier to see those red flags and gaps that might have otherwise gone unnoticed in the past.”

It’s not hard to see why people lie on their CV with nearly 1 in 4 managers saying they spend 60 seconds or less reviewing a resume.

“What job seekers may not realize, however, is that most hiring managers are willing to consider candidates who do not meet 100 percent of the qualifications. While employers need a certain level of skills, they also want to see job seekers who show enthusiasm, a potential for learning and cultural fit,” says Bania.

Most Memorable Resume Blunders
(Hiring managers gave the following real-life examples of blunders they have caught on resumes)

*Applicant claimed to be a former CEO of the company to which they were applying
*Applicant claimed to be fluent in two languages – one of which was pig Latin
*Applicant wrote “whorehouse” instead of “warehouse” when listing work history
*Applicant’s personal website linked to a porn site
*Applicant introduced himself [in the cover letter] by saying “Hey you.”
*Applicant vying for a customer service position gave “didn’t like dealing with angry customers” as the reason for leaving her last job
*User name of applicant’s email address was “2poopy4mypants”
*Applicant claimed to be a Nobel Prize winner
*Applicant claimed to have worked in a jail when they were really in there serving time
*Applicant who claimed to be HVAC certified later asked the hiring manager what “HVAC” meant
*Applicant said to have gotten fired “on accident”
*Applicant claimed to have attended a college that didn’t exist
*Applicant for a driver position claimed to have 10 years of experience but had only had a driver’s license for four years
*Applicant listed as a reference an employer from whom they had embezzled money and had an arrest warrant out for the applicant
*Applicant’s stated job history had him in three different companies and three different cities simultaneously