Lying on CVs for job applications rises to 17%

Lying on CVs is on the increase, according to an indepth study of job applications.

Pre-employment screening company Powerchex analysed 3,876 applications submitted to financial services firms between June 2007 and May 2008. It found 17% of CVs contained some form of discrepancy, compared with 13% the previous year.

The most common types of discrepancies were dates of employment, academic and professional qualifications and undisclosed directorships. The survey also suggested that women were 25% more likely to lie than men.

Students from lower ranking universities were more likely to lie on their CVs than those from top ranking ones. The research found embellishments on the forms of 43% of applicants from the UK's lowest ranking universities.

However, only 14% of applicants from the top 20 UK universities were found to have lied in their applications.

Alexandra Kelly, managing director of Powerchex, said: "There appears to be a trend that the lower ranked the university, the higher the likelihood of discrepancies on a CV. Graduates from lesser known universities may feel they need to alter their background to compete."