Just over two thirds of potential job candidates inflate the salary that they were paid in their last position in a bid to get more money, making it the most common interview fib.
Next on the list come lies about candidates’ qualifications or grades in order to impress potential employers (61%), followed by bending the truth about how much relevant experience they have (58%).
These are the findings of a survey undertaken among 1,218 UK adults by recruitment agency review website Hirescores.com. The study found that only a tiny 8% of respondents had never told a fib at interview.
Lisette Howlett, the firm’s managing director, said: “I would strongly advise against being dishonest in an interview. In our experience, most interviewers take even the smallest lie to mean that the candidate cannot be trusted and, therefore, not hired.”
While searching for the perfect job was challenging and it was always tempting for candidates to improve their CV by including false information, the problem was that they could find themselves out of their depth in a job to which they were not suited or did not find enjoyable, she added.
“It may be a cliché, but honesty really is the best policy,” Howlett said. Other common lies put forward by candidates included the reason for leaving previous positions (54%), commitment to their career ( 52%) and their hobbies and interests (49%).
