New Yorkers are Lying on Their Job Resumes, and Here’s How Often They Do

As you're preparing to apply for a new job, have you ever stretched the truth on your resume?

Be honest with me, you have, haven't you?

Maybe you have, and maybe you haven't, but no matter how you slice it, a number of people across the country have told a white lie in order to bring their resume or CV together. It may be a position of more esteem at your former company, or a responsibility that you didn't actually have, or even a job at a company at which you never even worked a day.

It's the wrong thing to do when applying for a job, but less-than-diligent hiring managers may miss your fabrications if they're not careful. How far can you go with that ruse, however? How much are people actually lying on their resume in today's job market?

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New Statistics Show New Yorkers are Lying on More Than 25% of Their Resume

An interesting story was published this morning from ABC News 10 in Albany, highlighting a study from iProspectCheck, an employment background check and screening company. The study surveyed job applicants across the country, in an attempt to discover how accurate the average job resume is.

The study found that the resumes of New York job applicants are, on average, only 72% accurate, matching the rate of accuracy for the entire country.

The survey went a bit more into detail on where, specifically, job applicants chose to lie on their resume. Here are how applicants responded to that question:

• Incorrect previous job title: 25%
• Inaccurate level of experience: 15%
• Fabricated level of education/qualification: 15%

The only other pillar of a resume that wasn't mentioned on the list, was changing one's actual name. Other than that, New Yorkers were quick to admit their resume-related lies, and where on the paper they chose to tell them.

This is, admittedly, a troubling statistic for anyone who plans to be in the job market in the near future. As technology becomes an increasingly large part of the job application process, I hope that employers make the choice to check online for the accuracy of some of their applicants' resumes.

If that doesn't happen, however, your fellow New Yorkers may be able to beat you out for a job, by pulling the metaphorical wool over the eyes of Empire State employers.