How many of us lie in your CV or during interviews? I’m sure most of us at one point did that especially if it was our first job and we desperately needed it. I’ll be going for an interview soon. I hope I won’t get to the point that I would lie to secure the job.

What are the common areas that job seekers’ lie?

• Educational background or professional affiliations.
• Omitting short employment information to avoid being seen as a job-hopper and stretching dates of other employment history to cover gaps.
• Faking job titles.
• Exaggerated achievements (e.g., received “Best Customer Service Award” for the team but was noted company instead).
• Taking credit for a project or assignment that you didn’t do.
• Creating new employers.
• Salary package.

Why you shouldn’t lie?

• If got caught, you are dismissed immediately.
• Your reputation is ruined and the entire industry get to know it as word gets around easily.
• Unless you have excellent memories, you must always remember what lies you had made. You may need to invent another lie to support the first one. It can be a stressful ordeal after all. Being honest is far less complicated.
• You may end up doing work that you are not qualified if you have lied about your educational background or work that you have not done before.

To ensure that you get the job, be yourself and have confident in yourself too. Lying shows others what your character is like. You must know how to market yourself instead of just resort to lying.