Some 68 per cent of respondents have been tempted to fib, with just 10 per cent claiming that lying in an interview or on a job application has never crossed their minds, according to a survey of 1,500 people by consultant Inventium.

Some 28 per cent admit to using work in their portfolio that isn’t theirs, with 32 per cent saying they have been tempted but haven’t had the nerve to carry it through.

Another 28 per cent have told future employers they left a job out of choice, when the truth is they were sacked, and 22 per cent are loath to say they’ve recently been made redundant for fear of it making them sound expendable.

Graduates are the least likely to lie believing their qualifications will speak for themselves, with the recently unemployed most likely to tell an untruth to get back into the world of work.

People stepping up the career ladder, especially in the media and design are the most inclined to produce false supporting documents in a bid to climb the career ladder, according to the research.

A spokesperson from Inventium says, ‘Lying in a job interview or on a job application form is a pretty easy thing to do. More often than not, it’s not premeditated, it just happens. The lies are often small ones which will have very little bearing in whether a company decides to take a person on.

‘Employers do become frustrated and annoyed when a new recruit starts and he or she doesn’t live up the hype. After all, they’ve invested in the person they thought they were taking on and if that person doesn’t perform as they expect, they’re unlikely to see out the probation period.’