Standout Resume has released its recent survey results on job seekers and recruitment in Australia and the findings paint a concerning picture.
Standout Resume has released its recent survey results on job seekers and recruitment in Australia and the findings paint a concerning picture.
Two in five (42.4%) Australians admit to lying in a job application or interview – and 19.6% of people have lied more than once.
Worse, liars have little remorse, with almost three-quarters, 72.7%, saying they had no regrets about lying.
While we compare better than the US, where 64.2% admitted to lying, it is nonetheless confronting.
In our own research on Character, where we focus on Honesty, Humility and Hardwork, people who score low levels on these three metrics tend to be:
bad employees or toxic bosses;
performance of the teams they are in decline, even if they have high levels of competency;
and where there are published financials or share price indexes, they, too, trend downwards.
In 2022, Harvard Professor Aiyesha Dey published an unusual article about the importance of character in C-suite recruitment. She found that CEOs who recorded higher-than-normal minor infractions, such as excessive speeding and parking fines, were more likely to be involved in corporate fraud, insider trading, or other similar crimes.
So why do people lie?
They do it because it works. Especially in the short term!
Liars on job applications earn, on average, $15,000 more than those who tell the truth.
Liars also do better in the long term, with the majority—74.8%—saying lying had no negative career trajectory effects and more than one in five saying lying was more likely to benefit them.
That’s a pretty big motivation, even if you have a moral compass.
And what do they lie about?
1. Reason for leaving the last job – 21.1%
2. Previous Work Experience – 20.9%
3. Qualifications and Skills – 14.6%
Gen-Z and Gen-Y are more likely to lie about work experience (22%). Whilst Gen—X and Boomers were more likely to lie about reasons for leaving their previous job.
Recruiters and companies that perform this process in-house do not have adequate protocols to catch liars.
In fact, 73.4% or almost three out of four liars don’t get caught.
At marvinHR, we use extensive screening, both online and especially offline, to ensure all significant candidate claims are verified. Our evidence-based interview process requires candidates to justify or provide proof to minimise misrepresentation and fraud.
But what happens when candidates do get caught?
Three in five liars who were caught, or 62.6%, said no action was taken.
Again, the deterrence in Australia is inadequate.
If you’d like to ensure you don’t hire a liar when searching for your next team member, reach out to us at marvinHR – +61 8 6377 7607
THE MOST COMMON JOB APPLICANT LIES
| Most common lie | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Reason for leaving the previous job | 21.1% |
| Previous work experience | 20.9% |
| Skills or qualifications | 14.6% |
| Long-term career goals | 9.7% |
| Interest in the position or company | 9.1% |
| Personal traits or work style | 8.5% |
| Salary history | 8.5% |
| Availability or willingness to relocate | 4.5% |
| Education or certification | 2.2% |
| Criminal record or legal cause of concern | 1.0% |
THE MOST COMMON MOTIVATIONS TO LIE IN A JOB APPLICATION OR INTERVIEW
| Motivation | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Meet the job qualifications | 25.0% |
| Because I felt I could do the job but wouldn’t land it if I didn’t lie | 23.5% |
| Was under pressure to secure a job | 23.2% |
| Negotiate a higher salary | 13.7% |
| Hide employment gaps | 10.5% |
| Hide something in my history | 4.2% |
THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF LYING IN A JOB APPLICATION OR INTERVIEW ON SOMEONE’S CAREER
| Do you feel that lying had a long-term effect on your career? | Percentage |
|---|---|
| No effect | 74.8% |
| Yes – positive effect | 21.4% |
| Yes – negative effect | 3.7% |
MOST COMMON REASONS TO NOT LIE IN A JOB APPLICATION OR INTERVIEW
| Reasons to not lie in a job interview or application | % |
|---|---|
| No need | 39.9% |
| It wouldn’t feel right | 33.1% |
| It didn’t occur to me | 13.9% |
| Wouldn’t want to have been caught | 11.1% |
| The risk was too high for me | 2.1% |
MORE KEY JOB SEARCH STATISTICS
» Across 2023, 9.7 million people were searching for a job in Australia
» The average Australian looks for a job every 3 years and 4 months
» 1 in 3 people would take a pay cut to achieve a better work-life balance
» More than a third of Australians want the option to work from home
» 1 in 3 Australian job vacancies are never advertised publicly
» Only 35% of job adverts display the salary for the role
» There are 26 job seekers competing for every entry-level job
» Recruiters only spend 6-8 seconds reviewing a resume
» 41% of job seekers have faced age discrimination
» Only 1 in 4 resumes make it past ATS to be read by a human
» 43% of companies are using AI to interview candidates
» By 2030 14% of employees could need to change their careers due to AI advancements
Source: https://standout-resume.com.au/lying-in-job-applications-australia