The number of job applicants attempting to lie on their CVs has reached a three-year high, having escalated steadily since the summer of 2007.
According to the annual pre-employment screening survey from Powerchex, nearly one in five candidates for jobs now has a serious lie or deception on their CV. The rise has coincided directly with the decline in the global economy.

The timing of the rise suggests that, with unemployment soaring at its highest level for years, and competition for jobs more fierce and tougher than in recent memory, candidates feel the need to falsify part of their applications to be successful.

Alexandra Kelly, managing director of Powerchex, told Recruiter: “The figures issue a warning to companies recruiting candidates that they must take extra measures to make sure they hire the best person to fill a role, and that they don’t hire someone who may have the intent of defrauding the company.

“Companies can do this by operating screening practices that take into account the different risk levels a potential employee can pose to the company. Risk level needn’t be correlated with seniority: any potential employee who would have access to sensitive information should be thoroughly checked before being taken on.”

An interesting way in which the effects of the recession on the job market can also be seen is that the largest increase from last year in the number of candidates lying was in the under 21-year-old age range. Young people are believed to be among the hardest hit by the recession. The figures suggest that they are certainly feeling the pressure of an incredibly competitive job market, and that more and more are reacting to the pressure by falsifying elements on their CVs. Nearly a fifth (17%) of under 21-year-olds are attempting to do so now, having been the most truthful age group a year ago.

Risk level needn’t be correlated with seniority: any potential employee who would have access to sensitive information should be thoroughly checked

There has also been a 50% increase between 2008 and 2009 in the number of job applicants attempting to hide county court judgements (CCJs) or bankruptcies. This is quite possibly because of the extraordinary financial climate we have been experiencing, which has lead to extremely large increases in the number of bankruptcies and corporate insolvencies over the past year.

The most common type of lie that is made on CVs is the alteration of employment dates by more than six months (42% of all lies). Candidates may do this to hide a period of unemployment from a would-be employer. The second most common lie is where candidates attempt to hide a directorship at another company (29% of all lies), while the third most common lie is where candidates falsify their academic background or qualifications (18% of lies).

The sector of work which faces the largest number of applicants attempting to lie to them are brokers, where 24% of job applicants are deceptive. Over the past three years, the IT sector has seen a 283% increase in the number of lying applicants - from 6% to 17%.
Research has also revealed other indicators of the likelihood that a candidate may falsify part of their CV. There is a strong link between the rank of the university that a candidate has attended and the probability of them lying on their CV: the better the university attended, the less likely they are to lie. Candidates from the top 10 universities in the country are almost half as likely to lie as those from outside the top 100.

The survey was commissioned by Powerchex, in conjunction with Shell Technology and Enterprise Programme (STEP), a programme between Shell, universities and employers.

Powerchex researcher: Deva Gilroy Sen

keyindicators

• The largest increase from 2008 in the number of candidates lying was fromthe under 21-year-old range
• There has been a 50% increase in the number of job applicants attempting to hide county court judgements or bankruptcies
• The IT sector has seen a 283% increase in the number of lying applicants, from 6% to 17%