A recent ResumeBuilder survey found that 32% of Americans admit to lying on their resume. In the current highly active labor market, with 65% of employees searching for a new job according to the PwC US Pulse Survey, employers should carefully review incoming resumes.
Interestingly, the ResumeBuilder survey found: 1) resume lies are most frequent among higher earners and 2) the most common lies surround years of experience and education. Other key survey findings include:
- 80% of workers who lied were hired by the employer to which they lied, but almost half had the job offer rescinded after the new employer caught the lie
- Lying on resumes is most prevalent in the technology and finance sectors
- Men lie on resumes twice as often as women
- The most common reason for lying on resumes was to improve chances of getting hired (72%); lacking the necessary qualifications for the job (44%); and covering up parting on bad terms from a previous employer (41%).
Employers should review their hiring practices to ensure they are vetting resumes – whether through checking references, utilizing appropriate skills tests, behavioral or probing interview questions to expose resume dishonesty, formal background checks, internet and social media searches, and/or internal or external verification services.
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