Lying on your CV

[popcorn]

Asking for a friend. A genuine actual friend. This is not about me, my CV is honest and I have a nice job. Please do NOT call the police.

A mate of mine is currently midway through the interviewing process for a job he's really excited about. The first interview went well and he's been invited to the next stage - meanwhile they are doing a "background check".

Mate has now realised, having dug up his old certificates, that his GCSEs weren't quite as good as he thought they were. He said he got five As and three Cs on his CV, but actually it was three As, two Bs and a C, or something like that.

I don't know if employers are actually able to check your grades without specifically asking you for certificates (I get mixed results when I google this question). Can they do this? Is it possible he might have to sign something as part of a background check that entitles them to check his grades?

Also, ordinarily I don't think employers would really bother about this thing, but because of the nature of the job - it's a sort of educational training apprenticeship thing - I wonder if it will be a bit more qualification-focused, like applying for uni. Also, because he didn't go to uni, I wonder if his GCSEs carry more weight.

Sorry for the boring thread. Please post your interesting stories about lying on your CVs here. THANKS

[bgmnts]

I always tell the truth on my cv for this exact reason, well that and lying to better yourself is genuinely for twats, just in case. I got a D in maths and sciences like a thick cunt so its prevents me from a shit load of jobs but them's the breaks.

[thugler]

Zero chance they will check that. They'll check your references and that's about it

[Small Man Big Horse]

With my current job I had to travel back to my Mum's and dig out my old University certificate from an old dusty box in the garage* as they demanded a copy before employing me, but it's the one and only time in my entire life I've had to provide any evidence outside of referees. And all my referees were also friends, so happy to lie their arse off for me.










*No, an actual box, not my mother's vagina before anyone makes that joke.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Surprised so many of you are still putting grades on there; I long compressed both them and my a-levels down into how many I got to 'save space'.

[Captain Z]

Last time I had to write a CV I removed my GCSE results in favour of my CaB +karma score.

[popcorn]

Surprised so many of you are still putting grades on there; I long compressed both them and my a-levels down into how many I got to 'save space'.

My achievements are now so stratospheric I don't put anything before my degree on my CV (plus my GCSEs were shite). But not everyone goes to uni, not everyone has popcorn level genius.

[Enrico Palazzo]

I've lied for so long about my cv that i've forgotten what the truth is. However a mate lied about his school grades, got offered the job then they checked and rumbled him. Still offered him the job but on a reduced salary.

[Bently Sheds]

Dunno about lying on a CV, but I found an old schoolfriend online who had started his own business. In his website's "About Me" section he claimed he had gone to Cambridge University. I know for a fact the only time he went to Cambridge University was in order to fix their photocopier, the lying cock.

[imitationleather]

I wouldn't be able to tell you what GCSE grades I got. I remember that they weren't good but the exact letters have been forgotten.

[Norton Canes]

I got such an inferiority complex from putting '3rd class' as my degree result that I changed it to '2:2'. Never been sussed, done wonders for my confidence. Although to be fair I now work in web development and my degree was in English.

[Ferris]

Asking for a friend. A genuine actual friend. This is not about me, my CV is honest and I have a nice job. Please do NOT call the police.

A mate of mine is currently midway through the interviewing process for a job he's really excited about. The first interview went well and he's been invited to the next stage - meanwhile they are doing a "background check".

Mate has now realised, having dug up his old certificates, that his GCSEs weren't quite as good as he thought they were. He said he got five As and three Cs on his CV, but actually it was three As, two Bs and a C, or something like that.

I don't know if employers are actually able to check your grades without specifically asking you for certificates (I get mixed results when I google this question). Can they do this? Is it possible he might have to sign something as part of a background check that entitles them to check his grades?

Also, ordinarily I don't think employers would really bother about this thing, but because of the nature of the job - it's a sort of educational training apprenticeship thing - I wonder if it will be a bit more qualification-focused, like applying for uni. Also, because he didn't go to uni, I wonder if his GCSEs carry more weight.

Sorry for the boring thread. Please post your interesting stories about lying on your CVs here. THANKS

Literally zero chance. We verify your degree and (the relevant) professional qualifications, after that we just don't care.

Unless the person is 16, I'd think it was quietly hilarious that they put GCSE results on there.

Degrees and professional certifications go on mine, but they're secondary to workplace/management experience. I've considered removing them altogether.

[Famous Mortimer]

My friend Mamous Fortimer keeps getting asked about whether he's been fired from a job, when applying for new ones. He was, but the job was shite and he was desperate to leave it anyway. So, he chose to pretend the period of unemployment between jobs was non-existent (the old one finished a little later, the new one started a little sooner) and all has been well so far. Plus, staff turnover is so crazy there that anyone who knows the place will be surprised he stuck it out as long as he did.

He did make sure his friend, who still works there, would agree to be a reference, so he'll just lie about ol Fortimer's times of employment, all that good stuff. It's a handy tip for people who left a job in less than happy circumstances, I think.

[katzenjammer]

A mate of mine lied about his degree, got the job but then HR kept hassling him for his degree certificate. In the end he photocopied his and someone else's and literally cut and pasted them together.  It was very obvious, text all wonky and everyone that saw it laughed, but his new employer bought it and he worked there for a couple of years.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

I wrote mine on a mattress just I could comfortably lie on it.

[Icehaven]

What he could do if there's a next time is put something like "8 GCSEs, grade A-C" rather than list them individually. As others have said it's unlikely they'll be remotely interested in GCSE grades anyway, if they are it'll probably be enough to see he got x number at grade C and above, and if they're that bothered about the actual subjects and grades then they'll ask for further info.

[Lord Mandrake]

Gave myself a reference in an accent. Stole a certificate and shopped it with my name. Intimidated other candidates at an interview. Lied consistently but willing to die by the sword.

[Alberon]

No one cares about GCSEs and I'm not just saying that because I don't have a single one to my name.

[pancreas]

I got a D in maths and sciences

omg really?

[bgmnts]

Ys rlly

[pancreas]

u shd eat more oily fish

[popcorn]

What he could do if there's a next time is put something like "8 GCSEs, grade A-C" rather than list them individually.

He showed me the CV, he just wrote "5 As, 3 Cs" (or whatever it was, or wasn't).

However a mate lied about his school grades, got offered the job then they checked and rumbled him.

How did that happen?

[checkoutgirl]

lying to better yourself is genuinely for twats

No it's not.

[bgmnts]

No it's not.

For me it is so there.

[pancreas]

yeah, but you got a D in maths, so ...

[popcorn]

I got a D in IT and I work in big wanker tech :D

[pancreas]

And do you think you should lie on your CV?

[Bazooka]

Always lied, and never caught, it's impossible for employers to check, but yeah if you need a degree no point lying there.

Never had my references checked once.

[gilbertharding]

No one cares about GCSEs and I'm not just saying that because I don't have a single one to my name.

Me neither.

I have GCEs and CSEs. O Levels... because I'm ancient. Of course, most recruiters will just take 'GCE' as a typo these days.

I still list them on my CV, but it takes three lines, and it's near the end, just above hobbies and interests.

[checkoutgirl]

For me it is so there.

Most people you know did it.