UK jobseekers cautioned against faking their qualifications

There are many ways to stand out from the crowd when applying for a job, but lying on your CV is not one of them.

Research done by recruitment firm Robert Half has revealed that three in five UK employers have removed a job candidate from consideration after discovering dishonest or embellished information on their CV.

"For many candidates, exaggerating skills on a CV is viewed as a harmless lie – a necessity to help secure a dream job or indeed any job," said Rachel Stockell, senior manager at Robert Half.

"What many people don't realise is that being dishonest with your skills and experience can end up costing you a job offer and damage your long-term career prospects."

The poll of 400 employers showed that the most popular area for dishonest information or exaggerated claims is work experience.

Other areas where candidates typically supply false information include education or qualifications, technical skills, and the duties they claim to have performed in previous employment.

"While you might not always have the implicit intention to deceive prospective employers, bending the truth on a CV, or in a job interview is a dangerous path to take," Stockell said.

"Even minor embellishments have consequences that can come back to haunt professionals throughout their career."

A separate study carried out by recruitment agency Adecco revealed that nearly two-thirds of British firms are not using "name-blind" CVs – job applications with names removed to prevent "unconscious bias" against potential recruits from ethnic minority backgrounds.

More than a third of the 500 hiring managers surveyed said they had not received training in unconscious bias best-practice as part of the recruitment process in their current company.

Alex Fleming, president of general staffing at Adecco, said: "Despite unconscious bias being as big an issue as ever, too many organisations are still not taking active steps to tackle the problem.

"Training hiring managers in unconscious bias practice and using blind CVs are relatively easy actions for organisations to take, so it's concerning that their deployment remains relatively low."