Almost 40% of UK employees have lied on their CV at some stage in their professional careers, according to a new survey by SavoyStewart.co.uk.
Some 39% of respondents admitted to lying about something on their CV and 94% said they would do so again, in the survey of 2,315 workers across a range of sectors.
Out of those who had lied, 79% said they had got the job they were applying for.
The most common lies told on CVs were to do with the candidate’s skills, such as knowledge of certain types of software, with 34% admitting to fibbing about their skillset.
The second most common lies were about work experience, with 31% bending the truth. Some 29% of employees have lied about their personality traits such as how organized they are and 21% have lied about their education.
Some 12% of candidates have been dishonest about the languages they speak or how fluent they are, and 9% have lied about their references.
People looking for a job in marketing, media, and advertising were more likely to inflate the truth, with 21% admitting to lying on their CV.
This was followed by those in the hospitality and retail industry with 17% of fibbing on their resumes, while 13% of candidates looking for a job in the property sector admitted to being untruthful.
The most honest respondents were in the medical professions with just 2% lying on their CV. Workers in the law industry were also more genuine with only 6% stretching the truth on job applications.
The figures also highlighted that men were more likely to be dishonest on their CV with 56% admitting to exaggerating or lying, compared to 44% of women.
Those in Yorkshire and the Humber were most likely to lie to get a job, with 9% lying on their CV, according to the survey. The most honest region was the East of England, with only 2% of candidates having lied on their resume.