It looks like some workers took the phrase ‘by any means necessary’ literally in order to land a job, or at least that’s what a new report suggests. Survey results released by ResumeLab revealed that 7 in 10 workers said they’d lied on their resumes to secure a role.
This summer, the document-writing software company surveyed nearly 2,000 U.S.-based workers about their approach to job-finding. Some of the key findings include the interesting data point that only 15% of respondents have chosen to be completely honest during their job search process. What’s more, the more education a person has, the more likely they are to have lied the results suggest.
“Interestingly, job applicants with Master’s or doctoral degrees reported the highest incidences of lying on resumes (58% frequently lie, 27% have lied once or twice = 85% total) compared to participants without a college degree (29% frequently lie, 42% have lied once or twice = 71% total) and those with bachelor’s or associate degrees lying the least (30% frequently lie, 33% have lied once or twice = 63% total),” the report states.
ResumeLab also examined exactly what it is that applicants lie about the most. Embellishing responsibilities (52%), job title (52%), and the number of people they managed (45%) rose to the top of the list.
What’s more “76% of workers claimed they had lied in their cover letters, with 50% admitting to frequently lying” and “8 in 10 confessed they had lied during a job interview, with 44% admitting to frequently bending the truth,” the report goes on to explain.
Job seekers aren’t the only ones who are dishonest during the interview process. As previously reported by ESSENCE, a recent Resume Builder report revealed 36% of hiring managers shared they’ve lied to job candidates about a job or the company during the hiring process, and of those, 75% said they lie during the interview, 52% in the job description and 24% in the offer letter.
Have you ever lied to land a job?