If you ever think that a job you took might not be what you were promised when you first started — a recent survey says you may be right.
A new survey by ResumeBuilder.com found that four in 10, or about 36% of hiring managers said that they’ve lied to candidates as they were going through the hiring process.
The survey of 1,060 managers and business leaders involved in hiring at their company found that the most common lies were about the role and growth opportunities in the company.
Those who took the survey had to be currently employed, 25 years of age or older, have an organizational role of middle management or higher, an income of at least $50,000, and working for a company with at least 25 employees.
Of the 36%, about 75% lie in the interview, 52% in the job description, and 24% in the offer letter, according to the survey.
And do the lies they say they use work on employees applying to jobs?
The hiring managers said it does and that 92% of the candidates they lied to end up accepting the job offer.
Why do the hiring managers say that they lie?
Reasons given during the survey included to protect company information, to cover up negative information about the job and company, to attract candidates and to make the job sound more attractive.
“Lying to candidates undermines an organization’s integrity and is bad for business,” said Stacie Haller, chief career advisor at ResumeBuilder.com.
“Candidates are making decisions based on the information they receive, and deceit only leads to bad outcomes for both the organization and candidate. Honesty not only upholds an organization’s reputation but also is critical for cultivating success for both the company and the individuals it seeks to attract,” Haller said.
But some of those employees that hiring managers say they lie to, don’t last long on the job.
About 55% of hiring managers say they’ve had an employee quit after being hired on false pretenses, as a result of discovering they were lied to in the hiring process, with 14% saying that the employee quit within a week, 35% within a month, and 31% within three months.