I hate CV's

I think prosecution or dismissal would only arise if you wittheld something important. To be honest firms see loads of lies on CVs because they expect them and are suitably wary. But I worry that people are unneccessarily wary because of scare stories about the consequences of lying.

The main consequence of lying is being found out. I am pretty sure it is done deliberately by the programme makers for The Apprentice, but there is always one candidate who reaches the penultimate stage but is then found to have fibbed all the way through. Yet he/she got to the penultimate interviews - so what does that say about CVs/application forms.

As a lecturer I was involved in job search guidance modules for final year undergraduates: we put them through mock interviews, with them taking turns on the interview panels, and we assessed their various attempts at CVs and application forms. I was one of the team that observed interviews and fed back notes on each student's performance, both interviewee and panel members.

Basically with your CV, you need to think about how to get your CV on the pile for interviews, as most jobs are inundated with applications, and many candidates are binned early on because of flaws in their CVs or application forms. Your CV has to make an impact, and that generally does mean a lot of bluffing, telling the prospective employer you are the ideal person for the job. So most employers know there will be lies in there, its the type of lies that are important.

First of all have several CV templates, and adapt your CV to every job. Research that job, not just the job particulars. Look up the employer on the internet and look to see what they want you to say. Obviously you don't fake a qualification or blatently lie, but to get your CV in the front of the queue you need to show you have a particular interest in working for them, and have taken the trouble to find out about them.

Do look closely at the job criteria, and if it is not detailed, look up similar job specifications on the internet. You need to make sure your CV meets their criteria. With a standard CV you are going to miss a lot of the criteria. It might be a bit of a lie, but to get interviewed your CV needs to meet their job spec.

Don't write negatives about yourself. Try to give everything a positive swing. OK so that may be a bit of a lie too. Watch out for the "tell us your weaknesses", "tell us your strengths" questions in an application form.

Employers are looking for a lot of things not easy for someone with aspergers or autism to deliver. Even if you don't disclose that, it would be inadvisable to give the impression that you are a great team player if you clearly are not. Or anything else that they would then spot very quickly wasn't true. I'm afraid being on the spectrum means people spot you are odd or different, even if they cannot be certain. But the metaphor "there's no smoke without fire" applies here - if they see oddity, they'll focus on it, give you tasks to see if their suspicions are right.

Although references are a formality, and often don't get scrutinised (the legal caveats mean they are often useless), for people on the spectrum this may make it difficult for your referee. Some employers will tell the referee particular information they want, and it can be really hard for a referee, knowing you, to answer these questions. Again is the candidate a good team player?  Answering no would probably lose the candidate a chance for an interview. It really is hard doing references for people on the spectrum, because so many jobs require social based skills.

So how do you get round this being on the spectrum? I think it sad that very little has been done to provide helpful guidance. I got diagnosed during my last job, so I didn't know my autism status when I previously applied for jobs. I must have asserted I had abilities that people quickly found I didn't have - I was just liucky that in certain areas I have unique skills and that has usually kept me in work.

I think NAS needs to address this. How do you respond in CVs and application forms to the limitations of autism?  I think this is a key issue. Though I had a disability role alongside being a lecturer, and addressed disability as an issue in the job application preparation, I couldn't see a way round this. I'll give it some more thought and respond again.

I think prosecution or dismissal would only arise if you wittheld something important. To be honest firms see loads of lies on CVs because they expect them and are suitably wary. But I worry that people are unneccessarily wary because of scare stories about the consequences of lying.

The main consequence of lying is being found out. I am pretty sure it is done deliberately by the programme makers for The Apprentice, but there is always one candidate who reaches the penultimate stage but is then found to have fibbed all the way through. Yet he/she got to the penultimate interviews - so what does that say about CVs/application forms.

As a lecturer I was involved in job search guidance modules for final year undergraduates: we put them through mock interviews, with them taking turns on the interview panels, and we assessed their various attempts at CVs and application forms. I was one of the team that observed interviews and fed back notes on each student's performance, both interviewee and panel members.

Basically with your CV, you need to think about how to get your CV on the pile for interviews, as most jobs are inundated with applications, and many candidates are binned early on because of flaws in their CVs or application forms. Your CV has to make an impact, and that generally does mean a lot of bluffing, telling the prospective employer you are the ideal person for the job. So most employers know there will be lies in there, its the type of lies that are important.

First of all have several CV templates, and adapt your CV to every job. Research that job, not just the job particulars. Look up the employer on the internet and look to see what they want you to say. Obviously you don't fake a qualification or blatently lie, but to get your CV in the front of the queue you need to show you have a particular interest in working for them, and have taken the trouble to find out about them.

Do look closely at the job criteria, and if it is not detailed, look up similar job specifications on the internet. You need to make sure your CV meets their criteria. With a standard CV you are going to miss a lot of the criteria. It might be a bit of a lie, but to get interviewed your CV needs to meet their job spec.

Don't write negatives about yourself. Try to give everything a positive swing. OK so that may be a bit of a lie too. Watch out for the "tell us your weaknesses", "tell us your strengths" questions in an application form.

Employers are looking for a lot of things not easy for someone with aspergers or autism to deliver. Even if you don't disclose that, it would be inadvisable to give the impression that you are a great team player if you clearly are not. Or anything else that they would then spot very quickly wasn't true. I'm afraid being on the spectrum means people spot you are odd or different, even if they cannot be certain. But the metaphor "there's no smoke without fire" applies here - if they see oddity, they'll focus on it, give you tasks to see if their suspicions are right.

Although references are a formality, and often don't get scrutinised (the legal caveats mean they are often useless), for people on the spectrum this may make it difficult for your referee. Some employers will tell the referee particular information they want, and it can be really hard for a referee, knowing you, to answer these questions. Again is the candidate a good team player?  Answering no would probably lose the candidate a chance for an interview. It really is hard doing references for people on the spectrum, because so many jobs require social based skills.

So how do you get round this being on the spectrum? I think it sad that very little has been done to provide helpful guidance. I got diagnosed during my last job, so I didn't know my autism status when I previously applied for jobs. I must have asserted I had abilities that people quickly found I didn't have - I was just liucky that in certain areas I have unique skills and that has usually kept me in work.

I think NAS needs to address this. How do you respond in CVs and application forms to the limitations of autism?  I think this is a key issue. Though I had a disability role alongside being a lecturer, and addressed disability as an issue in the job application preparation, I couldn't see a way round this. I'll give it some more thought and respond again.