Lying on your CV or job application

Good luck surviving in a job that you don't have the skills for.

Smooth Daddy wrote:

Good luck surviving in a job that you don't have the skills for.

I do have the skill for it- being a qualified accountant.

Perhaps you don't work in finance or more likely not at all.

There are numerous accountancy packages in use. Unless you have done 20 jobs all of which happened to used different packages you will not have used some of them

Nearly all accountancy packages are easy to use and you can pick the basics up in a couple of hours. I did one job - must have SUN accounts. I did but when I arrived they used a newer version which had changed completely. Someone showed me how to use it for 5 mins then I managed it perfectly on my own.

Don't lie on an application. A few ideas:

1) Find a way to start using some of these software packages on your own time. (Or maybe use new software while freelancing for a small business or volunteering for a charity that needs some accounting work?) Then you would have experience and something new to put on your resume.

2) Stress your computer aptitude on your resume and cover letter. And figure out who would be the manager of the jobs you're applying to. Email that person directly with a personalized resume and cover letter for every application you submit that stresses your computer skills. Tell that person you're capable of learning new software. Don't just send your application in through a computer site.

They get hung up because HR people aren't accountants. They need some criteria to filter the mass of resumes the receive over the internet, and the hiring manager tells them the new applicant will do XXX and have to use software YYY. So HR starts filtering based on those requirements because they might not know that learning a new piece of accounting software is not necessarily a difficult task.

Get with the 21st century HR people don't do the hiring anymore they are there to stop the company getting sued. 90% of that is farmed out to agencies and that's online, The online question from the agency says 'Do you have working knowledge of SAP' If you tick no they bin it

Thanks for trying to be helpful, but you need to get real as well- everyone lies or at least exaggerates on their cv. This is just one thing that is more difficult to blag if someone sits you one the computer and says off you go

JobHunter wrote:

Get with the 21st century HR people don't do the hiring anymore they are there to stop the company getting sued. 90% of that is farmed out to agencies and that's online, The online question from the agency says 'Do you have working knowledge of SAP' If you tick no they bin it

Thanks for trying to be helpful, but you need to get real as well- everyone lies or at least exaggerates on their cv. This is just one thing that is more difficult to blag if someone sits you one the computer and says off you go

I have never lied nor exaggerated on my CV. And none of my company's hiring is farmed out to agencies nor is it online.

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Start a company that screens properly. Figure out what the key skills needed to do the job. Then setup an online screening app Then well you know the rest

Why did you post the question in the first place if you have such firm convictions about the issue? You've been given several pieces of useful advice, to which you've replied with mocking disdain.You too could "get with the 21st century": HR departments today can verify myriad pieces of information with little effort, and will if it means determining fine lines of separation between seemingly equal candidates. Companies are increasingly moving away from accepting at face value statements like, "Proficient in various accounting software packages including X,Y, and Z" and instead asking detailed, specific questions about your experience with the programs, asking for certifications if they're available, or even requiring proficiency tests.Get yourself access to the program(s) in question in some form or another, and indicate your increasing familiarity with them in your cover letter. That should get you through HR filters. Answer truthfully about your experience with them when being interviewed. If you really can get up to speed with them that quickly, the people in the know who are considering hiring you will be aware of that--being honest with them from the start is the only acceptable way to go.

JobHunter wrote:

Get with the 21st century HR people don't do the hiring anymore they are there to stop the company getting sued. 90% of that is farmed out to agencies and that's online, The online question from the agency says 'Do you have working knowledge of SAP' If you tick no they bin it

Thanks for trying to be helpful, but you need to get real as well- everyone lies or at least exaggerates on their cv. This is just one thing that is more difficult to blag if someone sits you one the computer and says off you go

Smooth Daddy wrote:

Good luck surviving in a job that you don't have the skills for.

You mean like the Treasury Secretary and all of our diplomats?

Why did you ask the question if you already made up your mind?

Lying on you application or resume/cv (who does a cv for an accounting job? Are you in Europe?) is not cool. It'll get you fired if found out.

Any place that just looks for checked boxes and not for the best person for the job, is not a place you want to work for any way. I hire people for computer programming jobs. I could care less that they know the computer language we use. Just that they are smart and want to learn the language (though I would not hire a whole team of language novices - at least a few people need to be experts in the technology. The rest just need to be smart [and easy to work with]).

The requirements for qualifications on job applications are mostly there simply to reduce the number of applicants. Both the applicant and the prospective employer know this. So there's a lot of gamesmanship and misrepresentation on both sides of the application. I feel completely justified in lying outright about possessing "skills" that I know aren't required for the job. I've never been called on it.

never lie about something quantifiable / verifiable

but everyone exaggerates, coming out of college my resume listed several extracurriculars, 2 of which I had created myself along with 5 friends in order to collectively boost our resumes and give ourselves "leadership positions". (eg "CFO" of student business philanthropy organization blah blah etc). We did officially create these student organizations but never did anything with them.

In short, if you know that you can get away with this to get the position and are qualified then just do it.

I've never lied on a CV. That being said I've literally never gotten a job based on my CV either!

I've only ever gotten jobs from word of mouth, where aquaintances basically say, "this guy is the best, if you can afford him, make it happen." The CV just goes in a file somewhere in those instances.

I understand the OP's frustration. It's like companies care more about the software than the hardware, it's really shortsighted.

Realism wrote:

but everyone exaggerates

Except on this forum. I believe every claim anyone makes on this forum.

In your application try to identify "transferable" skills similar to what's specified in the job description. You want to do what you can (within reason) to get an interview where you can explain in more detail what you have direct experience with, what you have related experience with, and what you are willing and able to learn (e.g., if you are an accountant and you know other accounting software then you can learn a new accounting software package). Avoid saying anything that you would feel was dishonest if you were asking the question. Be prepared for questions to be repeated in a phone screen interview and a live interview that you have submitted with the application or on your resume. If you have the time/interest, try to learn the new software on your own with an evaluation license or when you have free time at work.

Hell yeah lie. Even if caught after a while, you will still have the loot. This country is built on looking out for number one. Do you think that JD Rockefeller or Joseph Kennedy would have thought twice about lying on a CV?

K5 wrote:

Smooth Daddy wrote:

Good luck surviving in a job that you don't have the skills for.

You mean like the Treasury Secretary and all of our diplomats?

You mean like brosjo's daddy when w appointed him head of homeland security?

Try and get basic experience with the package, meaning download it and play around with it. People telling you to "emphasize your other skills" don't understand how hiring works at large corps -- there's a database of thousands of resumes and someone literally just searches for a couple of terms, some of which are the software names. If your resume doesn't have those terms, nobody even sees your application.

That said you don't want to outright lie about it, because then you get the job and have to say "OK, now show me how to use this." But you don't need to be an expert to put it on your resume.

[quote]Most Interesting Coach ITW wrote:

I've never lied on a CV. That being said I've literally never gotten a job based on my CV either!

I've only ever gotten jobs from word of mouth, where aquaintances basically say, "this guy is the best, if you can afford him, make it happen." The CV just goes in a file somewhere in those instances.

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They must like working with an arrogant, egotistical big head. Add liar are you the best in the whole world! Words really cannot express how much I dislike you right now

jobberhut wrote:

Why did you ask the question if you already made up your mind?

Lying on you application or resume/cv (who does a cv for an accounting job? Are you in Europe?) is not cool. It'll get you fired if found out.

Any place that just looks for checked boxes and not for the best person for the job, is not a place you want to work for any way. I hire people for computer programming jobs. I could care less that they know the computer language we use. Just that they are smart and want to learn the language (though I would not hire a whole team of language novices - at least a few people need to be experts in the technology. The rest just need to be smart [and easy to work with]).

In UK 90% + of jobs are through agencies. I even worked out which company (well pretty certain) as it's in my home town. Did what I normall do and checked their website and its not their they are purely looking though an agency. The most useful advice so far was to download something off the internet but I doubt you can get a trial on SAP. I much preferred in went ads were done by companies as its an agency my inclication is just to lie then fess up in the interview with them. I usually do well in face to face interviews so if the like me they might push me forward and I won't need to lie to the employer. It's not even that great a job financially but I will save time and money travelling

On the other hand agencies are the biggest liars ever and I hold no respect for any company. Everybody is just out for what they can get. My current company is raking money in but has merged with another company. The only incentive for the merger is for the Exec suite to max share options and bonuses. If it meant the layed off workers would starve to death they would still do it. So don't call me on lying, it's the abiding principle of capitalism