70% of workers said they have lied on their resume, with 37% of those admitting that they lie frequently. Embellishing responsibilities in general (52%), their job title (52%), the number of people they managed (45%), and the length of employment (37%) were the top lies told on resumes.
76% of workers said they have lied in their cover letters, with 50% of those admitting to frequently lying. 80% of workers said they have lied during a job interview, with 44% of those admitting to frequently lying. Job seekers are lying the most during job interviews, then in their cover letters, and then on their resumes.
In all three parts of the job application process, those with Master’s or doctoral degrees reported the highest incidence of lying, followed by those without college degrees. The education demographic that reported the lowest rates of lying were those with bachelor’s or associate degrees.
"Honesty is always the best policy when it comes to job applications and interviews," said Agata Szczepanek, Career Expert at ResumeLab. "Even slightly stretching the truth can result in immediate or long-term consequences. Instead of lying about employment history, education, or something more, workers should try shifting the focus to the related experience and transferable skills they can offer," Szczepanek stated.
Lying on a Resume
70% of workers said they have lied on their resume, with 37% of those admitting that they lie frequently. When asked, “Have you ever lied on a resume?,” respondents claimed:
- 37% yes, I lie frequently
- 33% yes, I have lied once or twice
- 15% no, but I have considered lying
- 15% no, and I have never considered lying
Those with Master’s or doctoral degrees reported higher incidences of lying on resumes (58% frequently lie, 27% have lied once or twice = 85% total) compared to people without a college degree (29% frequently lie, 42% have lied once or twice = 71% total), with those with bachelor’s or associate degrees lying the least (30% frequently lie, 33% have lied once or twice = 63%).
What Do Job Seekers Lie About?
The top lies job seekers tell on their resumes:
- Embellishing responsibilities in general (52%)
- My job title (to make it sound more impressive) (52%)
- Fabricating how many people I actually managed (45%)
- The length of time I was employed at a job (37%)
- The name of the company that employed me (31%)
- Made up the entire position (24%)
- Inflating metrics or accomplishments I achieved (e.g. sales numbers) (17%)
- My skills section (15%)
- Awards or accolades (13%)
- Volunteer work (11%)
- My education credentials (11%)
- Covered up a career gap (9%)
- Technology capabilities (knowing tools like Trello, Asana, etc.) (5%)
The Job Applicant Behavior Survey also inquired about lying on cover letters and during job interviews.
Lying in Cover Letters
76% of workers said they have lied in their cover letters, with 50% of those admitting to frequently lying. When asked, “Have you ever lied on a cover letter?” respondents claimed:
- 50% yes, I lie frequently
- 26% yes, I have lied once or twice
- 15% no, and I have never considered lying
- 9% no, but I have considered lying
Those with Master’s or doctoral degrees reported higher incidences of lying on cover letters (73% frequently lie, 17% have lied once or twice = 90% total) compared to people without a college degree (49% frequently lie, 34% have lied once or twice = 83% total), with those with bachelor’s or associate degrees lying the least (40% frequently lie, 29% have lied once or twice = 69%).
Lying During Job Interviews
80% of workers said they have lied during a job interview, with 44% of those admitting to frequently lying. When asked, “Have you ever lied in a job interview?” respondents claimed:
- 44% yes, I lie frequently
- 36% yes, I have lied once or twice
- 20% no, I have not lied
Once again, those with Master’s or doctoral degrees reported higher incidences of lying on cover letters (63% frequently lie, 25% have lied once or twice = 88% total) compared to people without a college degree (31% frequently lie, 53% have lied once or twice = 84% total), with those with bachelor’s or associate degrees lying the least (38% frequently lie, 38% have lied once or twice = 76%).
To view the full report with more information, please visit https://resumelab.com/career-advice/lying-to-get-a-job or contact Peter Bryla at bryla.peter@resumelab.com
These findings were obtained by surveying 1,914 U.S. respondents online via a bespoke polling tool on August 3, 2023. Respondents were asked a variety of questions around the job application and interview behaviors. These included yes/no questions, scale-based questions relating to levels of agreement with a statement, questions that permitted the selection of multiple options from a list of potential answers, and a question that allowed open responses. All respondents included in the study passed an attention-check question.
