The following is a true story: the Recruiting Director of a large litigation firm received an excited call from a local headhunter. The recruiting firm had a candidate with a JD and an MD who was finishing a career with the Army and looking forward to entering private practice in her home town, ideally doing medical malpractice defense. Although the candidate graduated in the middle of her class for both medicine and law, she attended top schools. The individual was even more impressive in person and was even admitted to practice law in the state. A graduate of West Point, the woman got her medical degree from Johns Hopkins and her law degree from Princeton. It was only after an offer was extended that someone remembered that Princeton doesn’t have a law school.

This is nothing new for law firms active in the lateral hiring market. Most Recruiting Directors expect some degree of puffery in resumes especially in the level of experience and the candidate’s actual involvement in specific cases. But a survey by a large executive recruiting firm found that more than half of hiring managers had caught a candidate in a significant lie (uncompleted degree, inaccurate employment dates to hide gaps) during the past year. Another common embellishment involve non-law degrees (MBA’s particularly) and current compensation. 

But some candidates really stretch their list of accomplishments. According to a survey by Career Directors International, the following are the most extraordinary untruths on resumes during the past year:

Law firm recruiters tell us of some routine but outrageous lies told by lawyers seeking a job:

Got a great story about a candidate lie? Send it to us and we’ll pass it along.