Top Lies Job Seekers Slip In Their Resumes

Columbia County School District Job Fair Tuesday, December 5

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Job seekers often find themselves in stiff competition for positions. The challenge of standing out as an applicant is one of many concerns in a highly competitive job market. In their quest to gain an advantage, some people may resort to stretching the truth on their resumes. It might seem like a quick way to score that dream job. However, those little white lies can potentially backfire. Recently, ResumeLab, a career advice and resource website surveyed over 1,900 folks across the U.S. to gain insight into the lies people tell during the job recruitment process.

Their research uncovered that 70% of workers acknowledged that they had been untruthful on their resumes. Furthermore, 37% admitted to doing so regularly. Also mentioned, people with Master's or doctoral degrees reported the highest frequency of resume lies, with 58% admitting frequent lies, and 27% indicating occasional lies.

On the other hand, those without a college degree had a lower rate of frequent lies at 29%, with 42% admitting occasional lies. Individuals with bachelor's or associate degrees displayed the lowest incidence of resume deception, with 30% frequently lying and 33% confessing to occasional lies.

Top lies job seekers put on their resume.

Their survey investigated the specific aspects about which U.S.-based job seekers tend to be less than forthcoming. Respondents were provided with the option to select all the areas that applied to their own experiences. Embellishing responsibilities (52%), inflating job titles (52%), and exaggerating the number of people they supervised (45%) emerged as the most common lies.

According to their findings, 52% of respondents admitted to adjusting their job titles to make them sound more impressive. Interestingly, only 5% of participants indicated that they lied about their technological capabilities.

On their resumes, people often tend to provide false information regarding their educational qualifications and periods of unemployment, according to the survey.

Take a look at the complete study here.

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Kayla MorganEditor

Kayla is the midday host on Detroit’s 105.1 The Bounce. She started her career in radio back in 2016 as an intern at another Detroit station and worked her way here. She's made stops in Knoxville, TN, Omaha, Ne and other places before returning to Detroit. She’s done almost everything in radio from promotions to web, creating content on social media, you name it. She’s a true Michigander, born and raised. So, you can catch her camping or vacationing up north to exploring the downtown Detroit or maybe even catching a sports game. During her free time, Kayla enjoys watching movies, roller-skating, crafting, and music festivals. She and her husband together dip into many of the great things Michigan has to offer. Together they also like to travel. A few hobbies of hers include wine and beer tastings, crafting, hiking, roller skating, movies, home improvement projects, gardening, and festivals. She’s always looking to take on more local events happening in the community. She loves connecting with the community. When writing, Kayla covers topics including lifestyle, pop culture, trending stories, hacks, and urban culture.