Over half (55%) of UK employees admitted to lying or withholding important information when filling out a job application or CV.
A quarter of Brits even named a friend - rather than a boss - as a referee when applying for a job, for fear of what might be revealed about them in their previous post.
The data, compiled by www.Printerland.co.uk, which looked into how honest UK workers are about their employment past, revealed that women are more likely to bend the truth on applications than their male colleagues. However, more men embellish their current salary.
When it comes to why we lie, 23% confess doing it to obtain a higher salary and therefore, claw in more cash.
But it seems that the truth usually comes to light, as 32% of liars got caught out after bagging the job. Of that 32%, just under half were made to take additional training to bring their skills up to scratch, a shocking one in three were forced to take a pay cut, while the same number were fired.
However, 12% got away with telling porkies, even after they were bang to rights.
The poll also revealed that the average British worker has had five jobs since leaving full time education, while 15% struggle to find their perfect position, having been employed in over 10 jobs.
Only 5% of UK employees have stayed in the same position since they left school, and just 34% managed to stay in a company for more than two years before finding a new job.
On the other side of the fence, 61% in charge of hiring or recruitment, said they'd previously suspected a candidate of exaggerating on an application.
In response, three quarters of those grilled the candidate for further details about their CV, while 7% simply binned the application.
Some of the long truths encountered by recruiters include a candidate claiming they spent a period being self-employed, when background checks revealed they were actually behind bars.
Another contender detailed their major responsibility of running a nursery in a school on their CV, but were flummoxed when the hiring manager quizzed them over its existence.
Catherine Bannan, HR manager from Printerland.co.uk, commented: “While we know that some people embellish their previous experience on a CV, it’s shocking to see just how many people lie, and to what degree.
“It’s understandable that a candidate might do all they can to land their dream job, however, as our survey shows, there is a real chance you could get caught out, which can lead to a dismissal.
“It’s always best to be honest on job applications, and if you feel you aren’t good enough for a position, you could try asking the company for training tips to improve your offering.”