Exaggerating a CV is illegal, is understating?

Grunt_2

I'm a 50 year old mentally exhausted burnt out with 37 years work experience and just want a simple job at a simple German supermarket to force me out of the house to get some exercise and meet people. I tried and got turned down. Should I REALLY understate my CV or aim lower? I only wanted 20 hrs a week, not claiming benefits of any sort but thought it might be a bit more positive than 6 months doing nothing....I don't want to state the fact I left my last £50K job with stress and depression 6 months ago.

Browntoa

If it's a simple CV showing work experience etc I don't see the need to mention stress and depression at all . 

If asked at an interview why you left a simple "I spent 37 years in high pressure jobs , I want to something easier for the rest of my working Life 

HampshireH

Are you saying you were turned down due to being in higher paid roles or more technical roles etc?

You don't need to understate your CV but you should tailor it to your applications. So depending on its format;

If you have an opening sentence or two then tailor those skills you are highlighting to be more like what they are looking for  - working as a team and individual, self sufficient and able to adapt, good customer service 

If you have listed key tasks it your role maybe tweak the wording 

For example if I was going for a director role I would tailor my language and experience in a different way as to that if I was applying for a role in a pub.

Because when I worked in a pub (a job I loved) they needed good customer service, friendly language and the ability to be efficient and work in a team, but that director role will be looking for a polished CV with a high level of corporate language of an individual  capable of running that team/department/business etc

You don't need to lie or understate etc just tailor your skills to the role you are applying for if you're worried that was the issue

NCC1701-A

Grunt_2 said:

I'm a 50 year old mentally exhausted burnt out with 37 years work experience and just want a simple job at a simple German supermarket to force me out of the house to get some exercise and meet people. I tried and got turned down. Should I REALLY understate my CV or aim lower? I only wanted 20 hrs a week, not claiming benefits of any sort but thought it might be a bit more positive than 6 months doing nothing....I don't want to state the fact I left my last £50K job with stress and depression 6 months ago.

I suspect you have misunderstood how busy and stressful working in a "German" supermarket can be, and they have interpreted your desire for an easier life as not meeting their desired people criteria. Maybe consider volunteering in a charity shop as a taster to serving the great British public and use that a an example for next supermarket job you try for.

elsien

 A supermarket is not going to believe that someone from a high paid job is going to stick with them, unless you convince them otherwise.
They don’t want to train you only for you to head off a few weeks later when another better paid job comes along for you.

if you were in your job for a long time and you leave it off, then you’re going to have to explain a long gap on your CV which looks even worse.

I had a spiel, explaining the reasons I was looking at lesser paid jobs, that I didn’t want to stay in management because…
although you do need to consider that you were unsuccessful because you just weren’t what they were looking for regardless of previous jobs.
 Did you get to interview stage?

gwynlas

You need to tailor the CV to the job applied for and not expect them to take you on for 20 hours against younger more flexible employees. You can say having  taken early retirement  that you have time on your hands and can commit to a role where you do not take work home with you. The german supermarkets operate a very tight ship and you might find another retailer more accommodating of your needs.

ace4500

elsien said:

 A supermarket is not going to believe that someone from a high paid job is going to stick with them, unless you convince them otherwise.

It's a supermarket, not a mutual fund lollllllllll

What are these comments.

He's competing with 18-25 year olds who spend half the time on their phones bud, who will then leave after 5 months and spend 2 weeks of those 5 months "sick".

It's not that complicated.

If they're refusing him, then there's a reason, probably blatant ageism on account of it being a physical job.

ace4500

Also, there's another reason they might be refusing him, aside from the ageism which is the likely explanation. There's just not that many jobs out there. Sometimes the competition is 20 people per 1 position. At that point it's not even a question of discrimination, which of course is a factor, it's just so skewed to one side that perfectly healthy young people are discriminated against in favor of the slightly healthier and slightly more sociable young person. People act like there's jobs left and right, sometimes not, lots of people stay in their jobs for a looooong time and they are not going to free up that position easily or anytime soon. People think you're competing for 100% of positions any given year, what if I told you at any given time you're competing for the 10% of positions in a average company where one guy just luckily retired or moved out of the country that year.

Marcon

Grunt_2 said:

I'm a 50 year old mentally exhausted burnt out with 37 years work experience and just want a simple job at a simple German supermarket to force me out of the house to get some exercise and meet people. I tried and got turned down. Should I REALLY understate my CV or aim lower? I only wanted 20 hrs a week, not claiming benefits of any sort but thought it might be a bit more positive than 6 months doing nothing....I don't want to state the fact I left my last £50K job with stress and depression 6 months ago.

There are plenty of Christmas temporary vacancies coming up, so why not apply for one of those, making it clear you are looking for a short term role and therefore it would suit you 'ideally'.

It's not illegal (for most jobs) to lie on a cv - nobody is going to prosecute you! It's not a great idea, because if it comes to light (very likely), you'll almost certainly be sacked. If your 'understatement' is entirely truthful and not designed to materially mislead, it shouldn't be a big deal, especially for a temporary post.

elsien

ace4500 said:

elsien said:

 A supermarket is not going to believe that someone from a high paid job is going to stick with them, unless you convince them otherwise.

It's a supermarket, not a mutual fund lollllllllll

What are these comments.

He's competing with 18-25 year olds who spend half the time on their phones bud, who will then leave after 5 months and spend 2 weeks of those 5 months "sick".

It's not that complicated.

If they're refusing him, then there's a reason, probably blatant ageism on account of it being a physical job.

Voice of experience.  When I was made redundant age 50, I was being turned down because they really didn't believe I really wanted a low paid low skilled job after the job I had been doing. That is just as likely a reason as ageism, so shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, lols or not. 

Andy_L

Marcon said:

Grunt_2 said:

I'm a 50 year old mentally exhausted burnt out with 37 years work experience and just want a simple job at a simple German supermarket to force me out of the house to get some exercise and meet people. I tried and got turned down. Should I REALLY understate my CV or aim lower? I only wanted 20 hrs a week, not claiming benefits of any sort but thought it might be a bit more positive than 6 months doing nothing....I don't want to state the fact I left my last £50K job with stress and depression 6 months ago.

There are plenty of Christmas temporary vacancies coming up, so why not apply for one of those, making it clear you are looking for a short term role and therefore it would suit you 'ideally'.

It's not illegal (for most jobs) to lie on a cv - nobody is going to prosecute you! It's not a great idea, because if it comes to light (very likely), you'll almost certainly be sacked. If your 'understatement' is entirely truthful and not designed to materially mislead, it shouldn't be a big deal, especially for a temporary post.

Fraud is a criminal offence

"Fraud by false representation

(1)A person is in breach of this section if he—

    (a)dishonestly makes a false representation, and

    (b)intends, by making the representation—

         (i)to make a gain for himself or another, or

         (ii)to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.

(2)A representation is false if—

    (a)it is untrue or misleading, and

    (b)the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading."

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35