90% of retail professionals lie on their CV

Some 90% of retail professionals have got away with lying on their CV, according to research from independent job board, CV-Library. Furthermore, 90.9% of retail professionals admitted to knowing that it’s wrong to do so. The research surveyed 1,000 UK workers and asked them if they’ve ever considered lying on their CV, or to a potential employer, in order to secure a job. According to the data, 70.8% of retail workers think that professionals are forced to twist the truth because employers expect too much of them. Some 65.2% of respondents said they lied to look more professional whereas 53% did it to obtain a higher salary. A further 51.5% were dishonest to make themselves look more qualified, while 37.9% wanted to look more skilled. Some 25.8% admitted to lying to get a more senior role. However, 70.8% said that they would worry that they’d get fired if their new employer found out that they had lied on their CV, with an extra 86.4% stating that they’d be worried about being given a job they didn’t know how to do. What’s more, once in the role, 83.3% would be concerned that they would struggle to do the job as a result of their lie. Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, said: “It’s clear from our findings that retail professionals are not afraid to tell white lies on their CV in order to get a job. For employers, this means recruitment teams need to become more vigilant when it comes to vetting and assessing potential hires. “So whether that’s asking for references from previous roles, or ensuring you ask the right interview questions to get the most out of your candidates, it’s important that you consider whether someone may be trying to pull the wool over your eyes.” He added: “Bringing on board someone that can’t do the job is going to be a waste of time for everyone involved. However, there will be cases where someone just isn’t right for the business once they join. In order to ensure that you hire the right people, be careful to only shortlist candidates that appear to match all the required criteria for the job. “Nowadays, it’s much easier to discover when someone has fibbed on their CV, especially with the help of the Internet. Don’t be afraid to push your candidates to reveal more, it may be that they’re actually a great fit for the business, but felt they needed to lie to look better.”