Lying on CV

frosty123

PapaOscar wrote: »

Some jobs are now asking for a social welfare letter,so be careful with the lies they can come back to haunt you.

can a employer do that? without your prior knowledge??

lawred2

Little Less Conversation wrote: »

Yeah had a three year gap during the recession. I was working but now I'm doing a course. I hate lying on CVs but the reality is that work was hard to find with jobbridge taking most of the jobs.

It's a course. It doesn't matter what's on your CV.

All course organisers really care about is that you can pay the fees.

Dr Brown

Little Less Conversation wrote: »

Who has done it and how do people get away with it?

I'm doing a course and they want me to bring in my CV on Monday but I don't know what to put on it. I'm stuck with a gap on my CV due to the recession. It's a big gap of three years and I don't know how to fill it up. It's a long time without work but then the time flew by quickly at the same time. How do I fill in a gap like this to make myself look good?

Plenty of websites will give you a fake reference for a small fee.

c68zapdsm5i1ru

What did you do during the three years - any training courses, voluntary work, childminding, anything like that?

Feisar

I done up a mates CV before he headed off to Australia, it wasn't a total work of fiction however to say I took creative liberties would have been an understatement.

He's doing great now.

2011

Little Less Conversation wrote: »

I hate lying on CVs but the reality is that work was hard to find with jobbridge taking most of the jobs.

Not remotely credible that you couldn’t do something worthwhile.

Be honest, you could have volunteered, completed a few courses or found some work.

TheShow

Just say you were travelling. no more needs to be said.

LollipopJimmy

Lies on CV's are usually easy to spot, depending on the industry a reference could be sought from time in Australia also.

I've seen them all

-Caring for sick relative, usually found out when you ask one or more probing question
-Travelling - again, ask a probing question and watch the person fold
-Back to full time education 'oh have you got a cert/diploma/degree'

A good recruiter will smell the bull a mile away. Be honest, hopefully you've got something solid on your CV since which is what will be taken into account if so

josip

Wouldn't OP have to provide his P45 from HMV if he got the job?
Or has all that changed?

LollipopJimmy

josip wrote: »

Wouldn't OP have to provide his P45 from HMV if he got the job?
Or has all that changed?

A P45 only comes from your last employer

myshirt

How did you manage to survive for 3 years without a job? That alone is impressive.

Most people on here are a month max away from it all falling to sh't if they lost their iob.

Feisar

myshirt wrote: »

How did you manage to survive for 3 years without a job? That alone is impressive.

Most people on here are a month max away from it all falling to sh't if they lost their iob.

Deserves a seperate topic however do you think most are that close to the wire?

josip

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

A P45 only comes from your last employer

From reading the opening post I thought he didn't have any employer since the gap? He's doing a course.
So whatever is being suggested would be for the 'last employer' .
So any Irish-based fake employer suggestions will be sussed on day 1?

LollipopJimmy

josip wrote: »

From reading the opening post I thought he didn't have any employer since the gap? He's doing a course.
So whatever is being suggested would be for the 'last employer' .
So any Irish-based fake employer suggestions will be sussed on day 1?

Sorry, a P45 is only relevant if leaving one employer for another and start the new position in the same calendar year as leaving the old employer.

Example, I leave company 'A' in December of 2017 and start with company 'B' in January I only need to inform revenue of the change and it's job done.

Under His Eye

I have used travelling as a gap filler. Caring for ill relative has been used as well. None of which can be checked.

I don't understand why people are obsessed about gaps?

Under His Eye

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Sorry, a P45 is only relevant if leaving one employer for another and start the new position in the same calendar year as leaving the old employer.

Example, I leave company 'A' in December of 2017 and start with company 'B' in January I only need to inform revenue of the change and it's job done.

Even if you have a valid P45 you don't have to hand it over. You can send it to revenue who just send the new employer a TDC.

mikemac2

KevinCavan wrote: »

Anglo Irish Bank

You’d be thrown out of the interview and you’d deserve it :pac:

Gravelly

The amount of CV's we get from people who spent a few years in Australia / working in Xtravision during the recession would amaze you

I've a colleague who hits them with either "Oh I spent 20 years in Australia, what company were you working for? or "I was a regional manager for Xtravision in <persons area> for 10 years, which shop were you in?
Cue lots of spluttering and stammering!

I wouldn't not hire someone because they were out of work for a couple of years at the height of the recession, but I'd pause for thought if they were lying on their CV.

Edgware

Just tell them to check the Sex Offenders Register. That will explain everything.
Is it a girls school you are looking to work in?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

dreamers75 wrote: »

3 years without working in a job boom. best of luck with that.

Porbably best for both involved that you put nothing in.

That's a proper idiotic statement. Is the OP supposed to remain unemployed because he/she was unemployed at some point in the past?

Neyite

Anyone who is going to be snotty to an interview candidate for a cv gap after the 10 year recession Ireland just had is a tosser.

wakka12

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Lies on CV's are usually easy to spot, depending on the industry a reference could be sought from time in Australia also.

I've seen them all

-Caring for sick relative, usually found out when you ask one or more probing question
-Travelling - again, ask a probing question and watch the person fold
-Back to full time education 'oh have you got a cert/diploma/degree'

A good recruiter will smell the bull a mile away. Be honest, hopefully you've got something solid on your CV since which is what will be taken into account if so

If youre not retarded and prepare before the interview theres no way they could know youre lying about travelling or an ill relative

2011

Neyite wrote: »

Anyone who is going to be snotty to an interview candidate for a cv gap after the 10 year recession Ireland just had is a tosser.

I can understand how it can be difficult / impossible for some to get a job during a recession but doing nothing worthwhile for three years is taking the pi55

antodeco

Under His Eye wrote: »

I don't understand why people are obsessed about gaps?

Sure isint that why all them women are in the gyms?

Paddy Cow

Little Less Conversation wrote: »

Who has done it and how do people get away with it?

I'm doing a course and they want me to bring in my CV on Monday but I don't know what to put on it. I'm stuck with a gap on my CV due to the recession. It's a big gap of three years and I don't know how to fill it up. It's a long time without work but then the time flew by quickly at the same time. How do I fill in a gap like this to make myself look good?

This is too ambiguous for us to properly advise you. If it was a gap from 2008 - 2011 and you've been working since, it's no big deal. If it's from 2015 - 2018 then that's a problem as the recession was over then. As long as you have some decent references you should be grand.

Don't lie and say you were looking after a sick relative or travelling. They are the two biggest excuses. All the interviewer has to ask is an opened question such as "what did you learn about yourself during this time?" and you'll be sitting there with an open mouth.

Neyite

2011 wrote: »

I can understand how it can be difficult / impossible for some to get a job during a recession but doing nothing worthwhile for three years is taking the pi55

He never really said what he did during that time. It may well be that he kept busy enough but doesn't realise that it can go on the CV.

Coaching local sports. Learning /practising a sport. Volunteering with community events and activities. Looking in on elderly neighbours. Joining the PTA of the school (if he's got kids) If he can show that he was a) looking for a job, and b) that he kept busy doing stuff and not just lying in the scratcher until 3pm every day then he can make the most of the gap and still be honest.

skooterblue2

Its really a catch 22 situation.

If lie you will be caught, its not just the written bit about the lie, its the retelling, absence of paperwork, absence of acquired skills and education. HR arent the quickest of cats but they spot disorganisation in lies.

Then if you tell the truth, you are most likely to meet an interview who may not understand or empathize. Then you try to be honest and they dont have the technical skills to understand. My advocate was talking to an employer about getting work experience for me, when he heard I had Higher Functioning Autism, he asked "Is he retarded or in a wheelchair or what?". Needless to say we passed on the placement

josip

It's a toughie, I think you've got to lie.
I failed an exam in 2nd year, got a I in the repeats.
Was applying for jobs at the end of 4th year and had to provide all results of the previous 3 years.
Dumbo here put down the fail and the repeat result, in case they checked and I was caught lying.
After 16 rejections, one of my friends said, "Eh Dumbo, maybe leave out the fail.."
My next 5 applications were all successful and I got to choose the one I liked best.
The day I started, they told me they hired me because they were short of numbers for their Monday indoor soccer and I had soccer down on my CV.

LollipopJimmy

Neyite wrote: »

He never really said what he did during that time. It may well be that he kept busy enough but doesn't realise that it can go on the CV.

Coaching local sports. Learning /practising a sport. Volunteering with community events and activities. Looking in on elderly neighbours. Joining the PTA of the school (if he's got kids) If he can show that he was a) looking for a job, and b) that he kept busy doing stuff and not just lying in the scratcher until 3pm every day then he can make the most of the gap and still be honest.

All of that stuff goes on a CV though and looks good tbh.

If I have two CV's in front of me and one has a three year gap and the other has jobs of any level including retail, door to door sales, volunteering or whatever of course the person who has shown the tenacity to actually do whatever it takes to stay in employment will have the advantage.

My industry fell on its face during recession but I ploughed into any job I could get to keep working and I ended up on the dole for 8 days total. I treated looking for a job like a full time job and found work where I could get it.

Under His Eye

Do recruiters see gaps as "something to hide"?

Feisar

Paddy Cow wrote: »

This is too ambiguous for us to properly advise you. If it was a gap from 2008 - 2011 and you've been working since, it's no big deal. If it's from 2015 - 2018 then that's a problem as the recession was over then. As long as you have some decent references you should be grand.

Don't lie and say you were looking after a sick relative or travelling. They are the two biggest excuses. All the interviewer has to ask is an opened question such as "what did you learn about yourself during this time?" and you'll be sitting there with an open mouth.

Just swot up on what you say you were doing! I.e. if you were looking after someone sick pick an illness and read up on it.

Hulk Hands

It's hard to see the downside in lying if youre finding it hard to get somewhere you want. If you're struggling to get interviews and you've a big gap on the CV, then fill it in. If the job needs a 2.1 degree that you don't have, say you have it. The worst that can happen is you're found out, and back to the exact same position you were beforehand.

2011

Neyite wrote: »

He never really said what he did during that time. It may well be that he kept busy enough but doesn't realise that it can go on the CV.

In this post late in the thraed the OP suggests that he was "idle" for 3 years:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=108416770&postcount=46

If he can show that he was a) looking for a job, and b) that he kept busy doing stuff and not just lying in the scratcher until 3pm every day then he can make the most of the gap and still be honest.

Yup, but to me it looks like the OP can't honestly say that he was doing anything worthwhile (hence the thread).

skooterblue2

Feisar wrote: »

Just swot up on what you say you were doing! I.e. if you were looking after someone sick pick an illness and read up on it.

So if you just say cancer for an example. be prepared to elaborate on questions. If they ask about symptoms, treatments and how the treatment ended? If you pick either cancer or Heart disease and you were their carer for some time you will know their medical history intimately. By Murphys law the interviewer will have a relative that had/has the same condition. Dont ever say a cancer patient is cured, "the patient is in remission the last 5 years". Serious medical conditions consume every aspect of the patients life, as the patients right hand man, you have to speak the jargon too.

Paddy Cow

Feisar wrote: »

Just swot up on what you say you were doing! I.e. if you were looking after someone sick pick an illness and read up on it.

It's not just the illness. Three years is a long time to care for someone, so it'd have to be a close family member. It's not something I'd lie about. What happens if someone who knows you and your boss is talking to your boss and says "oh X has finally got a job, fair play, I know they were out of work for a long time". It's not inconceivable.

It also depends on the job - a checkout person in Tesco isn't going to be as closely scrutinised as someone going for a management position. The op is only applying for a course, it's not even a job so I really don't see the big deal in a 3 year gap during the recession. We don't know when the 3 year gap occurred and if the op has been in employment since, so really we haven't a clue how relevant this gap is.

LollipopJimmy

Under His Eye wrote: »

Do recruiters see gaps as "something to hide"?

I would see them as something to be honest about and able to explain. Somebody that sat on their hole for three years is going to need to have done something fairly impressive since to battle against candidates who did what it took during recession. Sitting at home firing out CV's on Monster or Irishjobs etc isn't jobhunting either.

Gravelly

You could always say you were meditating and you are now back in the workforce as you have gained enlightenment.

Paddy Cow

skooterblue2 wrote: »

So if you just say cancer for an example. be prepared to elaborate on questions. If they ask about symptoms, treatments and how the treatment ended? If you pick either cancer or Heart disease and you were their carer for some time you will know their medical history intimately. By Murphys law the interviewer will have a relative that had/has the same condition. Dont ever say a cancer patient is cured, "the patient is in remission the last 5 years". Serious medical conditions consume every aspect of the patients life, as the patients right hand man, you have to speak the jargon too.

I don't think an interviewer would come out and ask direct, personal questions like that. Is it even legal? Not too long ago someone got sued just for asking if a candidate was married. I think because "looking after someone who was ill" is such a cliche answer at this stage, they would ask open ended questions and see how the person reacts. "Who was sick and what did they have?" is not ok. "What did you learn about yourself during this time?" etc is fine and gives the interviewee who is lying a rope to hang themselves with.

As a couple of other posters have pointed out, employers are now simply getting around this by asking the person to get a letter from social welfare saying they haven't made a claim. I'd never heard of this until this thread and there's no way to lie around that if you have been claiming.

Ipso

Under His Eye wrote: »

Do recruiters see gaps as "something to hide"?

They see it as something tbat might prevebt them get money, potential employers may see it as having something to hide.

BailMeOut

whatever you put on your CV be prepared to talk about and be very convincing about it. My advise however would be the truth.

skooterblue2

Ipso wrote: »

They see it as something tbat might prevebt them get money, potential employers may see it as having something to hide.

The problem is because you tried to hide it, once the employer twigs something isnt Kosher, they immediately have poetic lisence to guess why. The human mind always goes to the lowest common denominator. Gambling problem, problems with the law, drinking problem, undiagnosed mental illness, issues with authority, dismissed for some other reason. Now nothing has to be proven or even said, there are "N" other candidates looking for the job.

Edgware

Just put it up to him like this "you ask a lot of questions Mister, are you looking for trouble?
That will soften his cough

puppieperson1

there are loads of admiral thing you could have been doing.....

Living at home with parent who was in poor health
Doing a creative writing on line course and several others to pass the time list out a few
Flower arranging, first aid. knitting and crochet,
Selling the items you produced at the local flea market to make ends meet
Also singing in a choir and
fund raising for the local charity.
walking dogs at the local rescue centre
gardening with the team for the tidy towns committee
visiting the local care home and reading to the residents & doing odd jobs for them

Vincent Vega

Paddy Cow wrote: »

...I think because "looking after someone who was ill" is such a cliche answer at this stage, they would ask open ended questions and see how the person reacts. "Who was sick and what did they have?" is not ok. "What did you learn about yourself during this time?" etc is fine and gives the interviewee who is lying a rope to hang themselves with.

Not sure that I understand here, so any chance you could explain what makes this an effective question to trip the interviewee up on?

Surely the correct answer here would be something along the lines of patience, empathy, the need to be organised, a commitment to the task at hand, which was at times difficult, but knowing it needed to be seen through and approached with the right positive attitude.

Doesn't seem too tricky to wriggle out of, more a reiteration of the what are your strengths sort of question. Or am I missing something?

skooterblue2

I dont think there is anything bad about being unemployed/on disability/Tús scheme etc etc as long as you did it productively. Just before the last recession hit my relative took redundancy from a very large IT based MNC, sold hid Dublin 4 house at the peak and everyone told him he was mad. So he played golf for 3 months getting up at 5 am during the summer. Went back did his MBA and is now back working for the Banks after 2 years, has a bigger salary and has a bigger house in D4. Its not about what happens to you , its about what you did with your time.

Nothing wrong with being unemployed as long as you filled your time productively:

puppieperson1 wrote: »

Flower arranging, first aid. knitting and crochet,
Selling the items you produced at the local flea market to make ends meet
Also singing in a choir and
fund raising for the local charity.
walking dogs at the local rescue centre
gardening with the team for the tidy towns committee
visiting the local care home and reading to the residents & doing odd jobs for them

Did you take unemployment lying down, or did you get up and look for something to occupy yourself. So you werent really unemployed just financially incapacitated. Big difference between the two.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Loads of people have gaps in their CVs from that time period.

Just be honest with them.

Agent Smith

Say you spent the last 3 years helping people overcoming adversity....

Say you did it in Bray.


That was the Adversity

Outlaw Pete

Just did it once.

2011

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Loads of people have gaps in their CVs from that time period.

I wouldn't have thought so, certainly not the CVs I have seen. I would see that some graduates have taken a "gap year" to travel and been engaged in "casual work" during this time. I would have no issue with that.

Just be honest with them.

I think that the OP's concern is that telling the truth will result in a CV that suggests that he/she is unmotivated. To me it sounds like the 3 years were spent doing very little / nothing, which is exactly why he/she started this thread.

KERSPLAT!

As was already said, it's for a course, not a job so criticism of the CV will be much less, IMO.

In general though, I have exaggerated a little on my CV or maybe squeezed the dates slightly.

I was unemployed for about 12 months. Spent the first few months looking for work in the same line with no joy, then moved and looked for the same work, still no joy so I went back to college and worked part time before getting back to work full time following my college course. I don't think those 12 months would be an issue to an employer. 3 years, of what seems like nothing according to the OPs posts, might not be looked on too well though