Should You Lie on Your CV Or Resume?

The UK version of The Apprentice has just ended,candidates might, it's certainly tempting to lie. But most
and the winner - by all accounts a great guy - wasemployers will not want to hire someone who tells lies.
caught out lying on his CV.And if you do lie, no-one finds outs and you get the
In the penultimate episode of the show, the candidatesjob, that lie will hang over you for the duration of your
were subjected to a round of tough interviews andemployment. Employers who discover that someone
this is where the lie was revealed - in front of millionshas lied, may well decide to sack the employee and
of viewers. Lee had attended, but not completed, athat is going to look a lot worse than your lack of
university course and said that he had been there forexperience or the fact you didn't pass a maths exam.
two years. However, the interviewer had contactedAnd not only that, prospective employers are bound to
the university and he had, in fact, been a student forfind out. Even if you lie (again) about why you left, they
only four months.are going to wonder why you don't have a reference.
He still won, coming first out of 20,000 applicants.So,So what can you do to cover up your lack of skills or
does this mean it's OK to lie on your CV?qualifications, or worse still, the fact that you were
The first question you need to ask yourself, is why dofired?
you think you need to lie? In Lee's case, it wasIf you feel the need to lie, the best thing you can do is
embarrassment over his lack of education andto learn how to write an effective, targeted CV or
qualifications. Understandable, perhaps and he gotresume which is designed for the job you are applying
away with it. But is it worth the risk?for and which highlights both what the employer is
If you are concerned about your CV and feel thatlooking for and your own strengths.
perhaps you don't shine as much as the other