Editorial. 'Is that for real?' : curriculum vitae padding

In this editorial, we address the thorny topic of curriculum vitae (CV) padding. The term refers to the practice of misrepresenting one’s achievements or contributions to a particular field, with the aim of inflating one’s record or role(s) for the purpose of securing an unfair advantage over others in competitive endeavours. We are not referring here to the rarer practice of falsifying formal degrees, qualifications and professional registration, although some may regard these as the extreme on a continuum of poor behaviour. It is widely acknowledged that deliberate misrepresentation in CVs is becoming a growing problem (Wexler 2006, Nosnik et al. 2010).