Bending the truth on a CV. We’ve probably all done it to some degree, but as small business owners you should scrutinise every detail of a potential employees Curriculum Vitae before offering them a job.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) says that a good interviewer should be able to spot holes in CVs or spot things that have clearly been covered up.

Annie Fairweather, the REC’s head of public policy says that “that simple measures such as checking with schools and universities that an applicant studied there and asking for original certificates can help identify those who have exaggerated about their qualifications.”

She adds: “Obviously people sometimes exaggerate what their responsibilities were in a job so check that through the references as well.”

“Covering up gaps in employment is the classic one”, she adds.

A survey of 3,800 CVs from the Risk Advisory Group has shown that over half of job applications contained false information. The poll found that those aged 36 to 40 were the worst offenders, with 62.9 percent of CVs containing one or more discrepancy.

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