Nearly half of us are lying on our resumes, survey finds

Nearly half of us are lying on our resumes, survey findsNearly half of us are lying on our resumes, survey findsWatch out, there are two-faced liars lurking among us in the office More U.S. workers are lying about their job qualifications than ever before, according to a new survey.Staffing service firm OfficeTeam asked over1,000 workers and mora than 300 senior managers about lying on their resume, and almost half of them - 46%- confirmed that they knew someone who had fibbed on their resume. This percentage isa 25-point spike from the workers who said they knew a resume liar in a 2011 OfficeTeam survey.The number one thing job binnenseekers lie about? Their capabilities, the survey found. Job experience, job duties and education were the top reasons workers listed for misrepresenting or exaggerating information on their resume.Men and millennials know more liarsSome of us are more likely to be in circles with liars than others. Over half of millennials surveyed said they knew some one who had lied on their resume, the most out of any age group.The survey also found that more men - 51%- know people who have lied on their resumes than women - 39%. The survey did elend explain why men are more likely to know liars than women, but we have a theory men talk more at the office in general. Men were found to speak significantly more than women in office meetings.More importantly Men gossip far more than women at work, surveys have found. Men are more likely to share secrets and even incriminate themselves as a form of bragging previous research found that men gossip more in general about romantic liaisons, inept lovers and overpaid colleagues.How to spot a resume liarEmployers can sniff out these liars with some basic detective skills.Survey researchers suggested that you can spot a job-seeking liar if the details dont add up or if descriptions are generalized.Its important to check references. If the references say one thing and the job seeker says another, thats a red flag.If the job seeker uses vague descriptions like familiar with or involved in when it comes to concrete skills, then that person is more likely to be lying, researchers said. A person with real skills will provide more details.Customize your resume but dont lieTheres a difference between tailoring your resume to each job and outright lying. Youre encouraged to customize your resume for each job anduse recognizable industry keywords to make that cover letter pop. Youre allowed to emphasize some accomplishments over others a resume shouldnt be a flat list of things youve done, but a collection of the best highlights.That said, we all know when not to fudge. Youre not allowed to say you have a degree that you dont have, or say you managed a team of twenty when you only managed yourself. Even if you get the job, lies like this are always found out and usually even make the national news.These lies may seem small on paper, but they can leave a lasting dark mark on your career if youre caught. And odds are, youre going to get caught. A 2015 CareerBuilder survey said that56% of hiring managers found lies on job seekers resumes. More than one-third of hiring managers in the OfficeTeam survey said they had removed a candidate from consideration after finding out a lie on their resume.Resume liars get pretty far in their careers at first, which means they fall harder when theyre found out. A group of high school students found out this fibbing principal, a story which made national news. The head of a bank lied about his degree from Dartmouth, and was found out and embarrassed for it. The former CEO of Yahoo was forced out after four months for lying about his college degree as well.Bottom line be honest about what skills you have and what areas you need to grow in with potential employers. It only takes a basic background check or a Google search to see if the dates of your employment match up or if you actually did what you said.Dont risk your career over a fi b. Your nose may not grow like the character Pinocchios did when he lied, but your career possibilities will definitely shrink- and maybe forever.