Forty-six percent of workers know someone who has included false information on a resume. The most frequently "embellished" items relate to job experience and duties.[1]
Men are more likely than women to know someone who has been less than honest.
The age gap is interesting. Even though older workers have had a lot more years to encounter such behavior, they are less likely to know someone who has engaged in it. Among workers over 55, just 36 percent know someone who has been misleading on their resume. But among those under the age of 35, most (55 percent) know someone who has padded their resume.
Perhaps the most startling finding is that the results indicate a 25-point jump over the past six years. In 2011, just 21 percent knew others who had lied on their resume.
The survey data comes from OfficeTeam, a temporary staffing firm. They suggest five things to look for when evaluating whether a resume is truthful:
- Skills have vague descriptions
- There are questionable or missing dates
- You get negative cues during the interview
- References offer conflicting details
- Online information doesn't match
The firm also notes that 53 percent of senior managers suspect candidates often stretch the truth. Additionally, 38 percent said their company has removed an applicant from consideration for a position after discovering he or she lied.
Footnotes:
- PR Newswire, "Resume Lies On The Rise," August 17, 2017
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Dayexplores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
Scott Rasmussen is a Senior Fellow for the Study of Self-Governance at the King’s College in New York and an Editor-At-Large for Ballotpedia, the Encyclopedia of American Politics. His most recent book, "Politics Has Failed: America Will Not," was published by the Sutherland Institute in May.To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
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