TWO-THIRDS OF EMPLOYERS say that they have been sent CVs that contain lies.

According to a new survey by recruitment firm Cpl says that many employers still believe that women undersell themselves and will accept less money.

Two thirds of hiring managers in the IT industry find women undersell themselves. The survey also found that a candidate can lose themselves a job in less than 5 minutes with over 80 per cent of hiring managers admitting to forming opinions and making decisions within 5 minutes of meeting.

However, it is lies that make interviewers most wary of candidates, with some admitting they make interviewees squirm.

Some of the best lies picked out by the survey include:

• A break in a candidate CV to ‘return to the home country’ turned out to be an 8-month spell in prison for fraud
• A registered nurse interviewed for a nursing job on behalf of her unqualified twin sister
• A candidate claimed to have had full responsibility for accounts and revenue at a company, but when presented with a basic return, didn’t recognise what it was
• One candidate had a glowing reference from her former employer but disguised that the referee was her husband by using her maiden name
• A candidate claimed to be a manager in a company without realising that the interviewer was actually MD of that company at the time.
• At interview, a candidate advised that he had given a false name on his CV and then refused to give his real name; he was escorted from the building

Peter Cosgrove of Cpl says that liars don’t research their lies.
“Some candidates do not understand that lying about their skills and experience is not a good idea. Landing a job you cannot do results in a highly stressful situation which will only end badly

“Candidates also fail to research their lies, underestimating the intelligence and experience of their interviewers,” he said.

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