As competition for jobs intensifies and employers rely more heavily on AI screening and applicant tracking systems, new research from resume.io reveals just how many professionals are bending the truth to stand out.
The research reveals that more than one in five U.S. workers (21.5%) lied on their resume in the past year, and Gen Z workers are doing so at more than 10 times the rate of baby boomers.
According to a survey of 600 U.S. professionals, the most common resume lie is inflating a job title or responsibilities (5.5%), narrowly ahead of exaggerating skills (5.3%).
Combined, nearly one in nine workers (10.8%) admit to puffing up either their title or their skill set on a resume, while almost one in 25 (3.8%) say they have claimed experience or qualifications they don’t actually have.
The dishonesty is even more pronounced among active job seekers. Among workers who have actively searched for work in the past year, nearly four in 10 (38.9%) admit to bending the truth on their resume, while 61.1% of recent job seekers kept everything accurate.
Gen Z are most likely to bend the truth
The data reveals a stark generational divide in resume honesty, with younger professionals far more likely to admit to embellishing their previous experience.
Nearly four in 10 Gen Z workers (37.1%) say they have lied on their resume in the past year alone, more than 10 times the rate of boomers (3.7%). Gen Z is also the only generation reporting job title inflation at scale (11.3%); not a single boomer admitted to it.
Millennials are close behind, with nearly one in three (29.3%) admitting to lying on their resume recently, including being the generation most likely to claim experience or qualifications they don’t have (6%).
The contrast with older generations is significant. Just 3.7% of boomers admit to lying on their resume. Gen X workers were also comparatively honest, with only 14.3% admitting to any resume lying within the last year, less than half the rate of millennials and roughly a third of the rate of Gen Z.
Interestingly, the honesty gap narrows on quieter forms of resume padding. Gen X (2.4%) and boomers (1.9%) still adjust employment dates to smooth over a gap at rates close to their younger counterparts (millennials 3.9%, Gen Z 4.8%), suggesting that while blatant embellishment skews young, subtler resume editing happens at every career stage.
Men lie more; women play it safer
The research also highlights a clear gender divide in resume honesty, with men considerably more likely than women to admit to lying.
Men are nearly twice as likely as women to say they’ve lied on their resume (28.0% vs. 16.1%). They are also more than three times as likely to inflate a job title (8.9% vs. 2.7%) and more than twice as likely to claim experience or qualifications they don’t have (5.5% vs. 2.4%).
Women, meanwhile, were the only group more likely than men to round up a past salary (1.8% vs. 0.7%). Among those who job hunted in the past year, women were also more likely to keep their resume honest (35.9% vs. 31.4% of men).
“It’s not surprising that so many job seekers feel pressure to embellish their resume in a market this competitive, but the data makes it clear that pressure isn’t affecting everyone equally. Younger workers, in particular, are entering a job market where competition is fierce, entry-level opportunities are limited, and employers are increasingly relying on AI screening and applicant tracking systems to narrow the field. It’s understandable that some candidates feel they need to polish their experience just to get noticed,” Amanda Augustine, a certified professional career coach, certified professional resume writer, and resident career expert for resume.io, said in a statement.
“The problem is that even small exaggerations can quickly unravel during an interview or once you’re on the job, and the reputational damage can last far longer than any short-term advantage,” she said. “A better approach is to strengthen your qualifications and present your experience strategically.
“Whether it’s taking an online course, earning a relevant certification, building a portfolio through personal projects, or volunteering to gain hands-on experience, there are plenty of ways to close a skills gap while demonstrating initiative,” Augustine continued. “Employers are often just as impressed by candidates who proactively invest in developing new skills as they are by those who check every box in the job description.”
Photo credit: Drazen Zigic/Freepik
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