People lie on their resumes more during recession

The percentage of people who lie about their education on their resumes has increased during the recession. According to The Liars Index, a report produced every six months by Brookfield-based executive search firm, Jude M. Werra & Associates, 21.43 percent of executives misrepresented their education claims on resumes they submitted to the firm.
“Based on the data it looks like people are more likely to lie about their education when the hiring environment is less than favorable,” Jude Werra, president and founder of the firm said. “The unfortunate thing is that a lot of people feel they are in heavy competition for positions when in fact people are more often chosen for the unique characteristics and skills that they offer rather than how they compare to others.” 
Werra started producing the index after he discovered someone who had lied about their academic credentials on their resume.
“When you go to all the trouble and hours of discussing a career opportunity and don’t find out they’ve lied until you already start making reference calls you’ve already wasted all that valuable time and effort,” Werra said. “I’ve had clients come to me with the same issues, so I started keeping these statistics to satisfy their curiosity but also to make people aware of the issue.”
According to Werra, the highest percentage of liars was found in the first half of the year 2000. The Index from that year showed 23.3 percent of people lying about their academic and educational background.
“What people don’t understand is that according to our research 95 percent of employers will eliminate a candidate from the pool just for finding out they lied about their educational background,” Werra said. “Employers who fail to verify education claims run great risks as well, in hiring people who lie on their resumes. The wise employer will use care in avoiding a candidate who only talks a good game. Checking the education before candidates advance very far in the screening process can save much disappointment, time and resources."
The index is produced using anywhere from 100 to 300 resumes that are submitted to the firm, Werra said.