It's ok to lie on your CV, you'll still get the top job.

This has probably been done to death by now, but I can't help adding my 2 pence worth. Lee McQueen shouldn't have won the apprentice, he lied on his CV and giving someone the job after that's uncovered in the interview process is plain wrong and (without wishing to sound overly pompous) sends out totally the wrong message to people entering the recruitment process and could make all of our lives harder.

I know it's only a game show, but it is set up as a recruitment / interview process and as such should take that seriously. Lee has all sorts of faults - he can't spell (but then we all make mistakes sometimes), he can't shave, I think he bullied at least two of the female contestants and he winked (twice) at the end of an interview. Winking can be forgiven, but surely lying on a CV can't be (especially in light of the fact he actually worked in the recruitment industry)? He should have been thrown out of the process there and then and the contest opened to the more honest contestants. Please refer to my CV where you'll read details of how I invented the internet and my successful time as England manager when I took us to the quarter finals of the world cup.

Comments

[Alex Hens]

Gonna disagree with you Tim. Surely it was clear just how much trouble that potentially got him into - and if this whole process was being judged purely on CV (what a quick / dull show that would be) then yes, the guy would have had to be history.

But the recruiter (in this case S’r’alan) has just conducted 12weeks of tests and trials - so to throw everything you've learned about a candidate over that time out for some over zealous execution of potentially misplaced principles I would argue would be criminally short sighted.

Personally I thought Lee was most stupid for not removing it from his CV altogether as soon as accomplishments in his working life meant any period of time at catering college really became utterly superfluous.

Education is only really a decent barometer of someone’s propensity to achieve within an academic environment, and just a safe yard stick when you have nothing else to really judge a candidate against – which is fine (would be more fine if the education system was more engaging and flexible to really bring out the best in students, whatever their strengths, together with exams that actually graded something rather than trying to pretend we’re all achievers). I’ve met and know plenty of people with glowing academic CVs who I wouldn’t trust to change a lightbuld – equally many who have grown in terms of success far beyond where their educational achievements might have indicated was probably the best they might hope for.

In recruitment it’s of course necessary to conduct quick sifts – and I understand why when there is so much volume coming in for a recruiter then education is an easy go to. But The Apprentice – love it or hate it, agree or disagree with the results – is a far more rounded selection process than just about any other you might expect to undertake. The CV is actually a tiny element – one that it was pretty clear at the time was very nearly Lee’s complete undoing. I think they gave plenty of attention in the programme to how it was taken by the interviewers and S’r’alan, but at the end of the day I think they took the right decision to axe the pratt, and then move on.

And to be honest – if someone impressed me at interview and their story held together, I wouldn’t be calling up their educational establishments to check up. But if they weren’t working out – no matter 1st Class honours or 2 weeks in a Cookery School – I’d have to say “you’re fired” within the 3months probationary period. There’s your 12 weeks selection process right there – and if you’re still unsure at that point then I suggest you tighten up your person spec or make more effort to look at and evaluate those on probationary periods.

[Mike Kelley (Mr CV)]

CV Lies
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The Curriculum Vitae (CV) is just "words on paper" and is written to help you get an interview. It is the recruiter's or employer's responsibility to determine what it these words actually mean. Not including the factual information such as qualifications, the job candidate may not be "lying" on the CV , but the reader's interpretation of skills, and experience etc. communicated may not be the same as the candidate's.