Exaggerating a CV is illegal, is understating?

ACG

Have you thought about going into the supermarket and trying to speak to the manager? 

I think the problem is that the german suprermarkets are generally pretty well paid, so you are probably up against a lot more people than maybe the non german supermarkets. 

DigSunPap

Having worked on and off in various pubs and bars for a number of years amongst other jobs, I found it easier to have a CV tailored towards those types of jobs aside from my professional CV. This has usually worked for me but I am unsure if age is playing a factor. You could write a personal statement at the top explaining why you are returning to this type of work as you are looking for a simpler lifestyle.

housebuyer143

My mum worked at Lidl as a 55 year old and it isn't easy. They want you to be flexible and that means being available from 6am until close, stacking shelves, unpacking stock etc. You are not allowed to do nothing. You also are required to scan so many items a minute... They time you. 
She found it very hard and eventually managed to wangle certain hours and till only work, but they were not happy about it. 

There are much easier supermarkets to work at, but as others have said you might be being too rigid in what you want and that's why you didn't get it. They don't like people who have lives and want to work around it. 

ace4500

elsien said:

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. 

Voice of experience back; the reason they tell you for why they turn you down is often an absolute and total lie to cover their rears.

If you hear some extremely lofty fancy explanation like "oh my god, we just couldn't believe it, you were so overqualified" it's total garbage, guaranteed.

If it sounds too PR and too much like a politician said it, it's probably some garbage they fabricated.

lincroft1710

housebuyer143 said:

My mum worked at Lidl as a 55 year old and it isn't easy. They want you to be flexible and that means being available from 6am until close, stacking shelves, unpacking stock etc. You are not allowed to do nothing. You also are required to scan so many items a minute... They time you. 
She found it very hard and eventually managed to wangle certain hours and till only work, but they were not happy about it. 

There are much easier supermarkets to work at, but as others have said you might be being too rigid in what you want and that's why you didn't get it. They don't like people who have lives and want to work around it. 

I've spoken to several Lidl members of staff and they said the same as your mum has experienced, shelf stacking one minute, ordered to man the tills the next. Or even told to go and help out at a neighbouring store for a week or two

General_Grant

Andy_L said:

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

Understating your past experience in order to obtain a job at less than half your previous earnings is hardly intending to make a gain in the way that over-stating the position would be.

The problem may be in giving a job title.  These days many are over-inflated - for example there are an awful lot of "Managing Director" roles in certain financial organisations.
@Grunt_2 - what was your last job title?

MrsStepford

I think it's a bit insulting, to assume that people in lower paid jobs aren't stressed. My husband  worked his way up the hard way and certainly had some awful bosses who pressured him e.g. working all night when that wasn't his job and living on site for sixteen weeks. 

We don't have children together but I'm sure being on call over Christmas for example would mess Christmas up for families even more than it did so, for us. Even just ordinary weekends were a problem if on call. At the checkout in Canterbury, with frozen food and a call to go to Hampshire or Suffolk. 

DullGreyGuy

MrsStepford said:

We don't have children together but I'm sure being on call over Christmas for example would mess Christmas up for families even more than it did so, for us. Even just ordinary weekends were a problem if on call. At the checkout in Canterbury, with frozen food and a call to go to Hampshire or Suffolk. 

Even in my call centre days I was fortunate to only once work for a company that was open truly 24/7 and for Xmas day, Boxing Day, NYE & NYD there were both staff booked to come in and others on call. I was really surprised to learn that its only Xmas Day morning that they struggled to fill the shifts, for the rest of the slots it went to a lottery because far more volunteered than were needed. 

Most volunteers claimed that once the morning was over the rest is a bit of a chore and for NYE they'd get a lot of calls from regular business customers who were also having to work and so some camaraderie. I only worked one winter season for them but my fear of being needed to be on call etc was unfounded.

MrsStepford said:

I think it's a bit insulting, to assume that people in lower paid jobs aren't stressed. My husband  worked his way up the hard way and certainly had some awful bosses who pressured him e.g. working all night when that wasn't his job and living on site for sixteen weeks. 

 I've done both ends of the spectrum, robotic call centre jobs as agency staff with stringent SLAs to hit and no security of work tomorrow if you don't hit your 3m 14s AHT and 30s wrap target today etc. I've also managed £1bn+ deals, navigating the regulatory frameworks, getting the approvals, checking we've done the calcs right and it'll be profitable etc. 

I fully agree that both can be stressful but in different ways. I also think it's possible that someone could find one type of stress harder to deal with than the other. Some may dislike the near constant challenge of hitting KPIs but feel perfectly at rest doing a large deal as its not their money, they're doing what their job is of managing a process and its someone else's fault if it goes sideways as long as they've done their bit. 



As to the OP, would really need to see the CV, there are going to be a lot of questions asked if you see a 30 year progression from Analyst to Senior Analyst to Head of, Director of, CxO and now wanting to go back to the start. Likewise how long since the last job? Does it look like they're looking for a perm role or just out of working looking for anything to span the gap til the next proper job. 

Whilst unemployment is presently low that doesn't mean there aren't lots of people wanting to switch jobs etc. Some may consider that anyone can walk off the street and do shelf stacking or a receptionist job however when employers have the luxury of being able to be picky someone who's done it before will always look appealing, not so much from a reducing the training but from a sticking at it and not finding they hate it and leaving within weeks. 

mark_cycling00

I mean this in a nice way, but you need to find ways to deal with stress and your depression.

Working in a supermarket because you perceive it to be easier isn't the answer.

The grass might be greener but it's still you and your problems sitting on it and very shortly becoming stressed and unhappy about it again.

Within about 6 months, people who win the lottery have exactly the same level of happiness or stress that they had before their win. Sadly that's how humans are.

 If you get the job and a year later you're stressed and unhappy, what now? There's nothing left to drop down to apart from a life on benefits. 

Really try and perceive your situation like an athlete who's had an injury and needs to get back to fitness. Plan it, take small steps at a time and take advice.

Good luck 

ArbitraryRandom

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.

Your description does not match not my recent experiences of managing 18-25 year olds (entry level office jobs and customer service roles) - most young people I work with at the moment are keen to pass probation/their apprenticeships (depending on the stream), progress to the lower levels of management, and have a reliable income/job history to help them secure accommodation (which is much more competitive than the job market at the moment). Average turnover is closer to 3 years than 5 months. 

Based on anecdote and observation only, but the youth of today have had a harder start than a few decades ago, and it does seem to be turning out people who are more job savvy re what they can get from their employment in terms of training and their career paths and are willing to learn/do the work to get what they want. 

My concern with the OP would be that they think they are qualified for a supermarket job just because they have previously held higher paid roles... that would suggest to me they don't understand the role they're applying for and want a hobby that gives them income rather than the job. That is probably coming through in their application/interview.