Everybody massages their attributes to suit the job to which they are applying, but there is a fine line between manipulating facts and creating fiction.

If you fabricate qualifications and employment history on your CV then you not only run the risk of being discovered, but also risk leaving your career in tatters and your reputation in ruins.

However, if an employer doesn't check your references and qualifications, and many employers do not have time, then you may get away with your deception. You will have secured yourself a job which would usually have been outside of your grasp.

The decision is yours, bear in mind that lying on your CV is a not something to be undertaken lightly, and is certainly not something that Online Graduate condones. It is a dangerous game that can, and most likely will, have serious consequences on your career.

Massaging the truth
Your CV should be individually tailored to each job you apply for. You should push to the fore the skills and desirable features of your background that are most relevant to the job to which you are applying.

The need to show the employer what they want to see, in doing so securing an interview, can lead to applicants falsifying the facts. For example a common deception is to exaggerate the time that you have worked in a previous position - writing 6 months instead of 4, or writing that you earned a 2:1 at degree level instead of a 2:2.

Applicants make all sorts of extravagant claims on their CVs. Some have been know to write a different degree qualification on each application they send out.

Top five CV fibs:

1.     Saying you worked for a company longer than you did

2.     Making up qualifications

3.     Manufacturing work experience

4.     Making up hobbies and interests

5.     Making up attributes - for example that you are organised

Can you get away with it?

The interview
No matter what you write on your CV you should be prepared to justify its contents in an interview. If you cannot talk lucidly about your education, previous work experience and every other detail you have transcribed then the interviewer will see through your deception far quicker than you expect.

Hesitation and a lack of confidence expressed in your body language and tone can indicate to an interviewer that you are being less than honest. It will be here where you are undone.

To reach the interview stage you will have shown that you have the qualifications for the job. At interview you have to reinforce your work and academic experience with your personality. A question that often arises is "tell me about yourself", if you have written a pack of lies on your CV you have to hope that your acting skills are good enough, more often than not they will be well below par.

References
To substantiate work experience details employers ask for references from your previous employers. Often they will request that you bring your references with you to an interview or that you send them in afterwards, possibly after you have been offered the job.