The 5 worst lies you can tell during the interview process

In a highly competitive job market, you may be tempted to inflate your accomplishments to stand out amongst other candidates applying for the same position.

In a world where it is increasingly easy to perform background checks on prospective employees, it is best to remain above board and honest about your qualifications. If you lie about being proficient in an area within your industry you know nothing about it will certainly come back to haunt you. Your employer will expect you to bring those unique qualifications to the table once they bring you on and if you fail to deliver you won’t last very long at that company.

Those of you seeking work right now should be wary of the 5 worst lies you should avoid telling recruiters in any upcoming interviews.

1. Educational degrees and certifications

Fibbing about degrees and specialized certifications you never completed is an incredibly easy lie to uncover. Recruiters can use background check services such as National Student Clearinghouse, GoodHire, and Public Records Center to verify the various degrees, special training courses and certifications you claimed to have on your resume in mere minutes.

There might also be the chance that your recruiter went to the very same Ivy League you claimed you graduated from with high honors. Imagine the horror of acing your interview and they ask you who your favorite professor in the program was and you draw a blank.

2. Accomplishments in the field

It’s important not to lie about your level of expertise in the industry. Let’s say you write for an online publication and you lied about tripling online traffic to the site in your first month writing for them. Hiring managers can easily reach out to your old editor and ask them if you really tripled their online readership.

Another way this kind of lie can blow up in your face is if the new publication you were just hired to write content expects you to increase online traffic threefold and you fail to deliver you’re more likely to experience burnout from imposing unrealistic expectations on yourself. If you continually fail to meet those professional markers you’ll also have to deal with your boss putting undue pressure on you or worse they might let you go due to your underwhelming performance in the position they hired you for.

3. Termination history

This is a tricky one because no one wants to reveal their shortcomings in an interview. There are ways to frame the answer to the question of why you got fired in a way that won’t hurt you in the long run. For example, you can say “My unique skill set didn’t really meld with the new direction my former company was moving towards but I learned a valuable lesson about what type of company culture I could see myself thriving in and how I can add my own expertise to reach common goals within this new company.”

This could be a great chance to show you’ve done your research on the company you’re trying to get hired at by explaining how your core values match with the company’s own attitudes and practices.

4. Aspects of the job you love the most

Breaking down what you’re most passionate about for the position you’re vying for is an integral part of the interview process. The recruiter wants to know that you’re invested for the long run and if your career goals match the direction the company wants to move towards as well. For example, you might be tempted to lie and claim you love to do something tedious like data entry if you’re applying at an accounting firm.

The hiring manager will remember that you claimed to love doing this aspect of the job and they’ll routinely pick you to be on data entry duty. You don’t want to be stuck doing data entry day in and day out if you hate it. You’ll likely end up feeling bitter and unfulfilled and your performance is likely to suffer. In turn, your boss will likely take note of your lackluster performance and let you go to hire someone more eager.

5. Your current salary

Lying about your current salary can backfire for a few different reasons. Most companies know the approximate compensation for roles within the industry. If they catch you over-inflating what you’re worth they’ll likely wonder what other things you lied about on your resume. Starting your working relationship off with a lie isn’t great and if you do get caught they’re more likely to hire a different candidate who was honest about their compensation even if you’re more qualified. One other reason why exaggerating your salary is less than ideal is that the person interviewing you might assume they can’t afford to bring you on and they’ll most likely hire a different candidate they can provide adequate compensation for.

Applying for jobs is a stressful experience but it’s best to be forthright about your abilities to foster a symbiotic working relationship between you and your company for years to come.