Why more People are Exaggerating on their CV

Are you guilty of exaggerating on your CV?

I’ve noticed a concerning and increasingly common trend in the job market: a lot of early-career professionals and career changers are exaggerating on their CVs.

At first glance, these CVs paint a picture of outstanding success.

You’ll see claims like consulting for major companies, achieving a 40% increase in customer acquisition, or growing a social media following by 2,000 people in just four weeks.

But take a closer look, and it becomes clear that many of these individuals graduated only a year or two ago. Their experience often comes from university group projects, internships, short entry-level roles, or voluntary work—not the kind of high-level positions usually required to generate those kinds of results.

If you’re guilty of this kind of embellishment, you’re not alone—and it might not even be entirely your fault. But that doesn’t make it right.

There are a few key forces driving this trend.

The Current Obsession with the S.T.A.R Interview Format

Interviewers today are heavily relying on the S.T.A.R. format—Situation, Task, Action, Result. It’s a handy way to structure answers and draw out competency-based evidence.

But the way it’s used is creating pressure to overstate results.

Let’s say you were involved in a marketing campaign during a summer internship. If you describe the situation, the task assigned to you, and the actions you took, that's great—but many interviewers won’t be satisfied unless you can also point to a measurable, impressive result.

This is where things get tricky.

In real-life work environments, meaningful results are rarely achieved in a matter of weeks or by a single person. They often depend on:

• The existing brand equity of the company

• Established systems and infrastructure

• Team-based and cross-departmental collaboration

• Access to budgets, tools, and senior mentorship

• Long timelines that extend far beyond a typical internship or short-term role

  
  

Despite this, candidates are being coached—by career advisors, employability coaches, and even AI CV tools—to speak in terms of individual achievements. “I led,” “I achieved,” “I grew X by Y%.” Team efforts are rebranded as solo missions. Modest contributions are reframed as high-impact leadership.

All in the name of matching the structure interviewers want.

It’s not just interview answers that suffer from this pressure—CVs have become marketing brochures.

Candidates are encouraged to lead with results, often without the necessary context or scale. Instead of a true snapshot of someone’s journey and capabilities, we’re getting a distorted highlight reel.

Past Results Are Valued More Than Potential

Another reason people exaggerate is because the job market puts disproportionate weight on past results.

Employers often say they’re looking for “potential,” but in practice, most hiring decisions are made based on what you’ve already done.

This can be incredibly frustrating for early-career professionals or career changers who are capable, motivated, and willing to learn—but lack the opportunity to demonstrate their potential.

Rather than taking a chance on someone with transferable skills and passion, many employers lean heavily on checklists:

• Have you already increased sales by 20%?

• Have you already led a successful product launch?

• Have you already managed a team?

  
  

This means people feel pressured to manufacture experience. If they haven’t led a product launch, they describe a university group project as if it were one. If they haven’t directly managed a team, they emphasize “mentorship” or “informal leadership” to sound more senior.

It’s not that these candidates are trying to deceive—they’re just trying to level the playing field in a system that rewards output over capability.

The Influence of Online Career Advice

Social media has amplified the pressure to perform on paper. Open LinkedIn and you’ll be met with endless advice on how to stand out:

• “Make sure your CV includes quantifiable impact.”

• “Use power verbs like ‘led,’ ‘delivered,’ and ‘transformed.’”

• “Your experience section should reflect accomplishments, not responsibilities.”
  

While this advice isn’t inherently wrong, it becomes problematic when it's applied indiscriminately.

Not every early-career role produces a measurable impact worth shouting about. Sometimes the real achievement is learning how to work in a professional environment, collaborating with others, or building confidence.

But these subtler milestones don’t translate into flashy bullet points. So candidates start inflating their contributions, claiming outcomes that sound good—even if they’re not entirely true.

Some even use generative AI tools to draft their CVs, feeding in vague inputs and getting back polished, results-driven content that looks incredible… until an interviewer asks for details.

The CV Arms Race

We’re also witnessing a sort of “CV arms race.”

As more candidates begin exaggerating their experience to get through the first round of applications, others feel compelled to follow suit just to compete. If your modest, truthful CV is sitting next to one that claims major wins and bold results, guess which one gets the interview invite?

The job market has become so competitive that candidates feel they need to market themselves like a brand, even if it means bending the truth. And once exaggeration becomes the norm, honesty starts to look like underachievement.

The Problem With Exaggeration

Here’s the catch: even if exaggeration gets your foot in the door, it can backfire quickly.

Many employers now include assessment tasks, technical interviews, or probationary periods where you’re expected to demonstrate the exact skills your CV claims you already have.

If your CV says you’ve built digital marketing funnels or led stakeholder engagement projects—but you can’t speak confidently about the strategy, tools, or results—you’ll be exposed.

Exaggerating may help you get shortlisted, but it sets you up for an incredibly stressful experience later on. You’ll constantly feel the pressure to “prove” yourself, and imposter syndrome can creep in fast.

And let’s not forget the long-term damage: if your performance doesn’t align with expectations, you risk damaging your professional reputation early on.

What’s the Alternative?

Instead of exaggerating on your CV, a far better route is to create the kind of experience you wish you had. And yes, this is possible—especially with the rise of experiential learning.

At ELE Hub, we offer hands-on experience programmes that allow you to practice real-world skills in safe, structured environments. You take on defined roles in projects with expectations of real employers—whether that’s managing timelines, gaining customers, running campaigns, or coordinating with stakeholders.

These aren’t just hypothetical tasks—they’re tied to tangible outcomes.

You’ll have stories to tell in interviews that are actually true. And because you’re supported through the process, you’ll have the confidence to speak about them in detail.

This approach helps you:

• Build genuine portfolio evidence

• Develop skills in real contexts

• Create accomplishments you can stand behind

• Enter interviews with clarity, confidence, and credibility

  
  

When you’ve taken the time to build experience the right way, you won’t need to exaggerate. Your results—however modest—will be authentic. And that’s ultimately what leads to sustainable career growth.