I don't get it. Everyone I know does it. I have done it myself on many occasions, and to be honest I don't give a shit if it means I get the job

For the record Lee didn't lie, he simply exagerated the truth. What is wrong with being mechanical with the truth? I saw a quote once that stated that if everyone told the truth on their CV's, there would be 99.9% unemployment.

If you want to get somewhere in life you have to tell a few porkies IMO. Nothing wrong with that at all!

I think it is because many like to knock a winner in this country and the lie on the CV is a great excuse to knock Lee

Are you a politician? Reminds me of a Cabinet secretary in the 80s during the Spycatcher trial who claimed he was 'being economical with the truth'.

On "Breakfast" this morning he said it also said "Unfinished" beside the entry on the CV and that "eagle-eyed" viewers should be able to spot it.

Probably not the correct etiquette but quite far from what he's being accused of.

G

there's a big difference between lying about your hobbies and lying about your academic achievements on your CV. if you're caught out, it shows you're not a particularly trustworthy person and to lie on a CV that is helping you get on to a television programme just shows complete naiviety lol. still, it's Sir Alan's prerogative to have a proven liar on his books

(I did not post the above, honest)

well it looks like he didn't lie about getting a qualification and to be honest once you reach his age most employers don't care about your eduction and I can't see what relevance his attendance on a catering course had to do with the job he was applying for - I've got a CSE in Physics never helped me with my career

While I agree that everyone embellishes their C.V, there is a big difference between what the majority of people get up to (i.e - I have conversational French and am a regular theatre attendee) and lying about academic achievements or time spent in academic establishments. If you get a job and it's later found out that you lied about your qualifications, you can be fired for that.

However, it's my understanding that Lee did not lie about the qualification exactly. However, he suggested that he spent a lot more time in third level education than he actually did, which I think is a reasonably big deal. Claire was robbed.

I assume you are not an employer then.


Assuming you have checked with "everyone you know" then you must associate with low achievers and liars.



You might if it means you subsequently get sacked. Or prosecuted for obtaining financial advantage through deception.


He lied.



Because it makes a mockery of the entire recruitment system. Bigging yourself up or phrasing things to make them sound grander than they really are is not the same as LYING about your educational background.


A 'humorous' acknowledgement that it does go on. Does not make it acceptable in a professional environment.


You could try working hard and improving yourself. Very sad that you think like this - instead of going out and getting a qualification in order to help your career, you would rather lie about it and hope you don't get caught.

What if doctors and paramedics lied on their CV? Accountants? Dentists? Electricians? Plumbers?

All potentially putting people in danger and breaking the law. After all, what is wrong with the plumber saying they are CORGI registered even if they are not, eh?


On another level, it encourages a workforce of liars who do not have the knowledge or ability to do the job. The entire professional world dumbs down. The economy suffers.

And, of course, the rat race simply changes from the best and brightest to who can tell the biggest (or the most) lies in their job application.

I don't think its because he lied on the CV, its the fact he didn't admit it straight away when he had been caught out. I think it would have shown a lot more integrity if he had admitted to lying because he felt the educational section of his CV was a bit bare.

However, I feel the spelling/grammar errors were ridiculous as the document should have been spell-checked before submitting into the Apprentice! In normal circumstances any candidates sending in CV's like that wouldn't even get to the interview stage.

And this makes his actions even more stupid and unbelievable. Most people have cottoned on by now that Suralun is not in the least impressed by qualifications. If anything, he sees them as a disadvantage.

He is only 30. That is very young in the working world and seniors would be looking at his education to weigh up against his relative lack of experience.

I sort of understand his "shame" at not having a futher education I've had a couple of jobs where once employed people have asked what University did you go to and when I reply none (I started work at 16) they've looked down their noses at me

And if they find out about it later, they can dismiss you for it. Lee is a very very lucky boy that it came out when it did.

A perceptive point.

I suspect it is more than shame at not having paper diplomas in an east end setting which does not value paper diplomas.

It could be the accumulation of Lee's painful personal memories when all through school and in his social life his dyslexia is daily laughed at. He cannot improve his spelling to save his life, so he tries to big up his academic background, not to advance himself to where he does not belong, but simply to give himself some reassurance and mental shield against constant pain and embarassment -- his uni career proves he isn't that bad.

Only a dyslexic can tell us what life is like.

Can't dyslexics use spell checks?

Lee has dyslexia? How do you know?

Since I'm 16 I've decided that I won't do any work and live off the dole for years then when I eventually have to get a job I'll just tell blatant lies on my CV (which is A OK according to nearly everyone here since apparently "everyone does it" and only the evil "workshy students" who are "classist" disagree with it) an i wont haf 2 spell or anythink sinc i dysleaxic eve whan spel checkrs exst evrwher. honist, innit.

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Good luck but you may find it only works on the telly.

Clare Balding last week(?) on BBC2 10pm immediately said Lee was an undiagnosed dyslexic. The way Lee misspelled, not misspelling phonetically, but the way the letters are jumbled up in the wrong sequence, is I believe the dead giveaway of dyslexics. The views of those who really know are of course welcome.

when was Lee on the dole for years

That may very well be the case but it still doesn't mean he can't use a spell checker and then get someone he knows can spell to check through it again for him.

My son, although not technically dyslexic, has a condition that results in problems with writing and spelling. He is at college and has a huge amount of written work to do on his course but he always makes sure everything he does is checked by someone before it is handed in. He was amazed that Lee would submit a CV or application unchecked when he knows he has problems with spelling.

I'm getting mightily tired of hearing that old chestnut of justification: 'Everybody does it.'

No, they don't. I'm damn proud of my CV without ever feeling the need to be economical with the truth, and it has got me some pretty good jobs.

What's all the fuss about? Probably the fact that in British social culture, dishonesty is viewed as a pretty despicable trait, that's what.

Lee's appointment as Sr'Alan's new apprentice sends out a message that it's fine and dandy to cheekily embelish your CV (but only if you really really want the job of course) and belittles the commendable learning process that Claire so obviously went through during the last three months.

Disappointing...but then, Sr'Alan's rarely chosen the better candidate in the final, has he?

not if he started work at 16 or 18 he would have been working at least 12 years by now - I know that after my first couple of jobs no one really cared about my exam results they were more interested in my work history

I never insinuated that he was but the attitude here seems to be what is the point of hard work and grafting if you can just lie your way through life with no repercussions?

It's not exactly setting a good example to people is it? But then I suppose the business world never has.