Millennials lie the most on resumes – here are the most common fibs
He’s an executive recruiting guru and best-selling author of “Lose the Resume, Land the Job,” Korn Ferry International CEO George Burnison says you are job hunting all wrong. From key resume tips to the best way to interview, Burnison lays out some must-hear advice for job seekers.
Applying, let alone securing a new job, is no easy task.
Even amid a tight labor market, searching for a good job can be a grueling process, which may entice some job seekers to throw in a little lie or two to make their resumes more attractive to employers.
For example, who’s really going to check if you were an intern at Goldman Sachs five years ago?
According to a new survey, two percent of respondents hope not, as they admitted to fudging their internship experience to order to impress recruiters among other things.
To determine how often most people lie on resumes and about what, personal finance website GoBankingRates.com surveyed more than 1,000 individuals of various age groups and found that for the most part people actually tell the truth.
A mere 5 percent of respondents admitted to lying with millennials being twice as likely to fib at 11 percent. Millenials are usually defined as the generation born between 1981 and 1996 who started entering the workforce after the year 2000. Older baby boomers aged 65 and older were the most honest on their resumes, with only 2 percent admitting to putting down false information.
However, Generation Z, the cohort born between 1996 and 2010, was the “most tempted to lie” with 14 percent of them claiming they considered it when applying for a new job.
Of those who did lie, one in three said it was about their work experience and dates of employment.
Here are the most common things people lied about on their resumes, according to the survey.
1. Work Experience – 38 percent
2. Dates of employment – 31 percent
3. Job titles – 16 percent
4. Reference – 15 percent
5. College Education – 11 percent
6. Responsibilities at previous roles – 7 percent
7. GPA – 4 percent
8. Internship experience – 2 percent