White lies on your CV (Education)........

[oxtailsoup]

If you apply for a job with a large blue chip company what are the chances of them validating your acadmeic record? Most people I have spoken to say the older you are (and the more hands-on experience you have) the less chance there is of your academic record being checked.

A friend of mine, cough cough, ( ) may be offered the chance of a permy role at about £80k a year with a company they are contracting for. But their education history on their CV is, erm, embellished a bit. They are worried that if they go for the permy job the CV will be thoroughly checked through and could cause them to not only lose the permy job offer but also lose the contract they are working on.

Now I've just done a quick poll of contractors sitting around me here and most of them admits to white lies on their CV from an educaton point of view. (100% from a skills point of view!!).

Any views on this?

[Pondlife]

I guess it depends on how much you (sorry they, ahem) embellished. If it was stated that they had an MBA or a first from oxbridge fairly recently then they may casually ask to see the certificate 'for their records'.

If you've got years of experience they probably wouldn't care.

[Asterix]

I don't think so

Do you think they'll pay you £ 80k p/a without checking you out first ? You might say this happens in contracts. You are forgetting as a contractor, you are hired mostly on your (proven) technical skills, not your educational background. Again, if they don't want you, you can be out the next day. Permanent jobs are a different ball game.

[Ardesco]

I'm sure a few years back they were firing people who had worked in companies for 10 years+ and had done a wonderful job when they finally got round to checking thier CV and finding out it was fake, so if you do lie it will probably come back to haunt you in the end.

[oraclesmith]

Question is... do you really need the embellishments to get the job ? I would have thought not. In which case get rid of them and be honest. You have control over what you mention, so you could not mention the level of degree for example if you have a third, or don't bother with the education bit at all until you're asked for it.

[Cowboy Bob]

I don't lie at all on my CV (honestly!!). However, my current client described my CV as "understated" after they'd seen me perform in the contract. I guess it's because they're so used to them being embellished that they now take the stuff that is written on them with a large pinch of salt. In other words, it can be a rod for your own back.

[lukemg]

Be careful with this, some big companies do check using 3rd party verifier. I had this for a contract role !!! They wouldn't move till I took in my Degree certificate from 20 years previously.
You can gamble and hope for the best, I probably would. Point is, for stuff that is 20 yrs old, will the job depend on it anyway ? Or is it a 'just to get in you need a good degree' situation.

[n5gooner]

can't you fake the certificate, scan in a mates change the name and print it out......

[oxtailsoup]

We're not talking degree problems. We are talking embellished O and A levels (i.e grades and number of). The person in question is now in his mid thirties.

Unfortunately the CV can't be changed at this stage because they already have a copy from when 'my friend' was hired as a contractor.

[n5gooner]

bothered then I think!