Actress Jessica Alba at an awards show in Hollywood on Saturday. (Reuters)

London, Oct. 9 (Reuters): If you want to get ahead, be careful just how creative you are with your curriculum vitae.

A study of CVs submitted for jobs in Britain found that as many as a fifth contained “significant lies”, consultancy The Risk Advisory Group (TRAG) said on Monday.

“This year’s results have yet again brought to our attention how unscrupulous candidates can be when applying for jobs and highlight their apparent lack of conscience,” said TRAG’s head of employee screening Sal Remtulla.

Those significant lies might include failing to mention county court judgments, not declaring directorships as well as providing inaccurate academic qualifications.

TRAG’s survey of more than 3,700 CVs submitted by job applicants in 2006 also found more than 50 per cent of them included one inaccuracy or more.

“People are lying more and more,” added Remtulla.“That is a reflection of how competitive the job market is and that encourages people to massage their CVs.

“The serious nature of these discrepancies emphasises the need for heightened attention during the recruitment process.”