Embellishing the details on your resume can be risky business, and even cost you a job opportunity.
However, according to a study by iprospectcheck.com, and employment background check and screening company, the average Virginia job seeker admits that 76 percent of their resume is correct. The national resume accuracy rate is 72 percent.
The study revealed that of respondents who would lie about the college they attended, most would claim they attended Harvard.
The company’s survey was answered by 3,351 anonymous job seekers. When analyzed by industry, the lowest resume accuracy on average, 34 percent, is seen in finance. The highest accuracy was 90 percent in real estate.
“While the ‘Fake it til you make it’ approach may have worked for a handful of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs over the years, it is not advisable for the majority of job applicants,” iprospectcheck.com President Matthew J. Rodgers said in a press release. “Lying on your resume can have serious consequences down the line, as there have been countless examples of when such indiscretions were discovered years later, and resulted in termination of employment.”
When analyzed by state, the lowest accuracy was in Hawaii with 35 percent. The highest resume accuracy was in Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, Rhode Island and Vermont.
According to iprospectcheck.com, factors of a resume most likely to be inaccurate were previous job titles at 25 percent, level of experience at 15 percent, and education and qualification at 15 percent.
The survey also revealed that more than half, 53 percent, believed that lying on a resume should be illegal because of the possible consequences if hired. Twenty-eight percent said they would be less likely to lie if artificial intelligence software was developed to test for inaccuracies.
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Rebecca Barnabi
