Job seeking can be an uninspiring slog at best and a desperate scramble or knock to your confidence at worst. In order to land a new job faster, a large number of people in Germany are getting a little loose with the truth, a new survey by CVapp.de has found.

Over half of Germans falsify their CV

Writing a CV often requires adding an exciting touch to what was a boring or soul-destroying task. Never have the words, “I love the thrill of helping customers in a fast-paced, busy environment” left the page of a CV and been verbalised in earnest by a shop assistant working a temp job in the run-up to Christmas.

However, a new study released by the portal CVapp.de has revealed that many people looking for a job in Germany might be taking their “exciting touches” a few strides further when crafting their job applications. According to the study, more than half of Germans (58,5 percent) have played fast and loose with the truth on their CV or cover letter.

The figures were also revealing when it came to who was more likely to tell porkies. Of those who responded to the survey, 46 percent of women admitted to lying on the document and a whopping 70,9 percent of men said they were guilty.

Which CV lies were told and in which German industries?

So what do the Germans believe is worth fabricating on their CVs and which positions are they hoping their tweaks will reward them with? 78,6 percent of respondents admitted to listing skills that they did not truly hold, while 73,9 percent said they were not truthful about their wages in previous positions. 51,8 percent also admitted to falsifying the qualifications they had gotten at school.

In some sectors, such shenanigans proved more common than in others. People employed in creative sectors made up 76,7 percent of those who admitted to taking dramatic licence with their qualifications. 68,9 percent in construction and 68,5 percent in sales admitted to re-working their past to market themselves in a more favourable light.

Find out more about the study on the CVapp.de website.

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