Nearly a quarter of all people going for jobs in the financial services industry lie on their CVs.

Nearly a quarter of all people going for jobs in the financial services industry lie on their CVs.

Among the blatant lies, include making up educational qualifications as well as licences, memberships and employment history.

However financial candidates appear savvier than their other industry rivals - with 23 per cent lying on their CVs compared to the regional average of 27.2 per cent. According to First Advantage – which put together the survey – this is because candidates are more aware that screening checks are compulsory in financial institutions. The survey covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa. First Advantage calls itself a pre-employment screening firm.

"The comparatively low and falling rate of discrepancies in the financial services sector reflects the greater regulation and a workforce that’s increasingly familiar with screening. This provides an example to other sectors where screening is less commonplace – our findings indicate that the greater use of screening, the less likely candidates are to attempt to conceal or misrepresent information when applying for a new job, which in turn improves the quality of hire," said Traci Canning, senior vice president and managing director of First Advantage in EMEA.

"However, the high percentage of major discrepancies in financial services shows employers cannot afford to be complacent – screening is not only a safeguard for employers but a powerful deterrent to candidates who might otherwise mislead or overstate their qualifications and experience," she added.

Yet so fed up have employers become of people lying on candidate CVs – and inaccurate information in general - that some have scrapped them altogether. Last week Laszlo Bock, senior vice president, people operations at Google, declared that CVs are a waste of time and even if they are "trueish" still unlikely to fit the right candidate with the right employer and vice versa. 

“Resumes stink. They’re a simply awful way of marketing yourself for a job. Some of that is our fault as job-seekers and can be fixed," wrote Bock.

"An employer has no way of knowing if most companies on a resume are good or bad (is working at "LaszloCo" a good sign?), if a title means anything (VP is a senior title in tech, but not in banking, and even in tech some companies have one VP for every 20 people and some have one per 300), or even what my words mean (is a “superb programmer” the co-inventor of Google or just really, really good at Logo?). And employers are completely blind to the indefinable things that make you "you," such as generosity, curiosity, or playfulness."

Bock suggests companies turn to data instead of CVs. He proposes that companies and employees become more honest and open about what both parties are looking for and what skills are necessary for a specific role in order that the correct match can be made.

Meanwhile Financial Times columnist, Lucy Kellway, takes it one step further in her column this week. She suggests that there is room in the market for an employment app along similar lines to the now world famous dating app Tinder – claiming that the process would be a much faster and efficient way of matching canididates to jobs.

"Instead of posting a CV on LinkedIn, people would supply a picture (possibly at a computer, or doing something rugged, or laughing uproariously) plus a very brief description, in say, 140 characters or fewer. I might be 'Financial Times columnist. Company director. Gives speeches'," Kellway writes.

"Equally, the employer would have 140 characters in which to say something about the job. Then, if both sides swiped right on each other, they could start to exchange instant messages. The snappy flow of question and answer would be faster, simpler and more natural than an interview, and if it went well, the next stage could be a quick meeting in the office. Assuming both sides liked what they saw, the person could then be put to work. Later on, a permanent contract could be signed. Or not. If either party lost heart at any point, it would be back to TinderIn, no hurt feelings," she adds.

For now though the CV remains, complete with white lies and non-existent skill sets.