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The 10 most outrageous resume lies

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Ever come across a nicely embellished resume only to catch a lie in it after some investigation? You're not alone - according to a new CareerBuilder survey, three in four HR managers (75%) reported having caught a lie on a resume.

Conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder by Harris Poll on 2,500 employees and 221 HR managers, the survey further revealed that this need to stand out may come from wanting to make every second count. Among HR managers polled, 39% said they spend less than a minute initially looking at a resume while almost one in five (19%) spend less than 30 seconds.

In the survey, HR managers and hiring managers also shared their most notable and cringe-worthy real-life examples of gaffes. Here are the top 10:

#1 A candidate claimed to have written computer code the hiring manager had actually written. Both had the same previous job, but the applicant did not know that fact.

#2 The job seeker included a picture with all of his pets.

#3 An applicant said he worked for Microsoft but had no idea who Bill Gates was.

#4 The candidate's resume was lifted from the Internet, did not match the cover letter.

#5 An applicant said he studied under Nietzsche.

#6 The job seeker stated that he had tried and failed a certification exam three times, but was planning to try again.

#7 An applicant claimed to be an anti-terrorist spy for the CIA at the same time period he was in elementary school.

#8 The candidate falsely claimed to have a PMI credential when applying for a job at PMI (the organisation that grants that credential).

#9 The applicant included a description about his family.

#10 An applicant mentioned that his hobby is to watch horror movies.

Sadly, the survey also revealed that as much as candidates want to stand out from the crowd by doing something unusual or outrageous, only 12% of HR managers are more likely to consider calling such a candidate in for an interview.

On the flip side, five factors that HR managers are looking for were community involvement (35%), bilingualism (34%), and a sense of humor (25%).

HR managers are also more likely to hire candidates who are better dressed (24%), and have more in common with them (13%).

Photo / 123RF

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