Fake it til you make it? The average Oregon job seeker admits their resume is only 73% accurate, survey finds.

• This compares to a national resume accuracy rate of 72%.
• Of those who would lie about the college they attended, most would falsely claim they attended Harvard.
• An interactive map showing resume inaccuracies in each state.

Embellishing your career achievements can result in serious consequences, most likely eliminating you from the pool of candidates for a prospective job. If you do get hired and your resume lie is later discovered, you will likely be asked to leave. 

iprospectcheck.com, an employment background check, and screening company surveyed 3,351 anonymous job seekers to determine how accurate their resume is. The average Oregon candidate admitted that their resume is only 73% accurate, meaning the other 27% of information is embellished, made up, or inaccurate in terms of their skills or qualifications. This compares to a national accuracy rate of 72%. When these figures were analyzed across specific industries, those seeking jobs in finance had the lowest resume accuracy on average: 34%. Comparatively, and perhaps surprisingly, those in real estate had the highest accuracy: 90%. 

Finance: 34%

Public Sector: 40%

I.T.: 42%

Energy: 50%

Media: 54%

Legal: 57%

Tourism: 60%

Engineering: 61%

Health: 63%

Retail: 68%

Hospitality: 70%

Education: 76%

Technology: 76%

Real Estate: 90% 

Broken down across states, this figure was lowest in Hawaii, where the average person said their resume is only 35% accurate! Comparatively, those in Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Vermont had the highest resume accuracy of 90% in these states. 

Interactive map showing resume inaccuracies in each state (click on ’embed’ to host on your site).

When asked which factor would be most likely inaccurate on their resume, 25% said it would be their previous job titles. 15% said it would be their level of experience and another 15% said their education and qualification would likely be embellished. 

Interestingly, more than half (53%) said they believe lying on a resume should be illegal, given the seriousness of this when it comes to employment. And more than a quarter (28%) said they would be less likely to lie on a resume if artificial intelligence software was developed to test for inaccuracies. 

Lastly, the survey asked job seekers: If you were to lie on a resume about the college you attended, which college would you most likely cite? A majority (28%) said Harvard; 18% said Stanford and another 18% said MIT. 15% said they would lie and say they went to Yale; another 15% said Princeton and 3% said the University of Pennsylvania. A further 3% chose other colleges. 

“While the ‘Fake it til you make it’ approach may have worked for a handful of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs over the years, it is not advisable for the majority of job applicants. Lying on your resume can have serious consequences down the line, as there have been countless examples of when such indiscretions were discovered years later, and resulted in the termination of employment” says Matthew J. Rodgers, President of iprospectcheck.com.