Lying on your CV: What gets past... or not.

A month-long internship, overestimated responsibilities, overselling language skills... Who hasn't been tempted to "adjust" their CV? But from a small exaggeration to a big lie, beware of going too far!

1- Three out of four CVs are "deceptive"
meaning they contain deliberate errors, and nine out of ten candidates find it normal to "adjust" their background... This is what emerged from the 2013 study by the Florian Mantione Human Resources Institute (PDF), which has been observing the phenomenon of CV fraud for fifteen years.
"Candidates give several reasons for this tendency to embellish their CVs: the race for diplomas, the fierce competition in a tense job market, the need to highlight required skills, but also the fact that everyone does it," explains Patricia Cabot, director and founder of the recruitment firm Sales-Partner, without mincing her words.

2- Embellishing is not lying
If "everyone does it" or almost everyone does, the line between lying and slightly bending the truth remains to be defined... "It's not serious as long as it's just embellishing, for example, adding a month to an internship that actually lasted three, or adding a little to the content of a mission," concedes Yannis Mercier, associate recruiter at EXEC Avenue.
"In fact, you have to find the limit between the necessary adaptation of your CV to the profile of a proposed position and the act of inventing, therefore lying, which can very quickly backfire on the candidate since trust is at the base of any working relationship," warns Patricia Cabot.

3- What sanctions if you lie?
If you practice a regulated profession such as lawyer, accountant, doctor, or plumber, you can be prosecuted for forgery and fraudulent use of a document or illegal practice. In other cases, you risk little from a legal point of view. Because, according to current case law, the employer has a duty to verify the information on your CV. Otherwise, they are at fault.
No prosecution, therefore, but you won't get away without damage. "An employer who discovers that they hired you on the basis of a false CV will certainly not be able to dismiss you for gross misconduct," specifies Yannis Mercier. "However, beware of the atmosphere in the office..."

Read more on the L'Etudiant website.

Emmanuel Vaillant.

Lexpress.fr

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