I’m certain I would be nailed to the wall, figuratively speaking, if I were to attest that there are people who get away with this tactic of placing ‘little white lies’ on their CVs just to gain recognition. But what are the repercussions of this move, and is there triumph in practicing it?
It is difficult to find a job these days, therefore sprucing up your CV with a lie that may go unnoticed in order to boost your chances of attaining it may be tempting. In fact, a certain number of candidates admitted to using this method to increase their chances of being hired. An anonymous study also found that people who have been hired have been guilty of this at some point in their lives.
A little white lie on a CV is claiming to have certain skills or accomplishments in certain areas when you don’t. For example, claiming to have extraordinary presentation skills when you would rather hide behind the crowd when asked to move to the front. But does it really matter?
Some people regard lying about ‘skipping a rope’ as a hobby, and lying about your Bachelor of Science qualifications as far different ends of the same snake; as much as it’s still a lie, one end of the snake will bite you. You may lie, but don’t exaggerate, according to them.
A candidate, in one story that made a run on social media, claimed to have coding skills, and future employers decided to put them to the test. The employers placed a computer in front of the candidate, and the candidate failed to code, hence tarnishing their image. Probably for good. Therefore should we still debate whether a lie is small, or rather conclude that a lie is a lie?
“But my future employer will never ask me to skip a rope to see if I’m really good at it as I claimed to be in my CV”, you may say. “Some skills, like time management, are skills that employers view in high esteem in future employees”. But these skills, or their poor application thereof, always come out and end up painting a bad picture of you.
They put a lot of pressure on you to perform because you claimed to be good at them, and you neglected to leave room for improvement. And upon neglecting to give yourself a chance to learn these skills, or improve on them, you also neglected your new employers a chance to sharpen those skills you definitely need help in.
Career guidance experts and websites tell you about tailoring your CV to match the job you’re applying for, and this does not mean lying about certain skills and qualifications employers may be looking for. Employers regard lying on your CV as a slap in the face. No matter how desperate to get a job you are, in their view it still means you are fooling them.
Although some employers will forgive a misdemeanor like this, others will find it intolerable and insulting, therefore end up getting them fired. Therefore one may have to prohibit from using these lies in order to get ahead.
Lying on your CV, no matter the shape of the lie, how big or small, whether it’s painted in pink or in the employer’s favourite colour, could still get you in trouble.