It certainly made good television – Lee McQueen being caught out fair and square for lying on his cv.. (His cv outlined that he had completed a two year course when in actual fact he had dropped out after four months) Why did he do it? – We all know academic qualifications are not necessarily top of Sir Alan’s wish list and surely he could demonstrate his career achievements despite the lack of academic achievement.

Is this a relatively isolated incident or does everyone lie on their cv? Is it ever acceptable to lie on your cv? With applications often being pre-screened against a checklist, will anyone really find out if you upgrade your very average 2.2 degree to a more attractive 2.1? Does it really matter that you can just about run to the sweet shop rather than that London Marathon you claim to have completed to make your hobbies and interests more attractive?

What about the employer’s viewpoint – if you found someone had lied on their cv, would you still offer the candidate the job? Or, would you take the view that if someone would lie on their cv what else would they lie about?

I’d welcome your thoughts – and if you are interested in discussing opportunities in management consultancy, please send me your cv too(no fibs please!)