There are ways to improve your CV, but lying isn’t one of them. Take a look at the most common lies people tell on their CVs.

Lying on your CV is very tempting, especially if you're entering the job market for the first time or are having no luck in landing an interview. But, what if during an interview a potential employer asked you to use "your skills", like saying something in Spanish and you couldn't even recall Ricky Martin's  La Vida Loca? Lying on a CV, will leave you embarrassed and red-faced when the truth comes out. But that's stating the obvious, right?

Here are a few other common CV lies that jobseekers still persist to include in their job applications, and one's you should avoid:

1. An exaggerated education. According to Refcheck Advanced data, a leading company in pre-employment and background screening solutions, the most common CV lies are found in the education section. These include non-existent matric certificates, inflated educations and incomplete degree. When your employer or colleagues ask questions related to your background, things can quickly backfire when you find that you have to create new lies to cover the initial lie.

2. Stating skills that you actually know nothing about. If an employer has hired you based on the fact that you have a particular skill, chances are that you’ll have to use the skill sometime during your job – and if you can’t, what then? If you can’t do it, don’t include it on your CV.

Related to: 5 ways to improve your CV

3. Listing fake references. Many times candidates list friends or family as references – don’t. If you get caught out, and you most likely will, your reputation won’t last in your industry and your friends and family may get into trouble too.

4. Your reasons for leaving are not true. If you were fired from your previous job, don’t lie about it – employers check. If you know this is a tough question for you to answer, figure out how best you can tell the employer. Focus on what you learnt from the experience and not why it happened. Explain to the employer what you'll do differently and how you will be a better employee because of your experience.

5. You exaggerate your position and responsibilities. The interviewer probably called you because your responsibilities and title were similar to what they were looking for in a candidate. If you can’t do the job you’ve listed, don’t lie about it on your CV. 

Read: 6 silly CV mistakes

If you need more tips on how to write a CV, you've come to the right place. Stick with Careers24 and soon enough, you'll create a CV that will get you noticed - for all the right reasons.