Be clear: You mean "you need to lie". When applying to a coffee shop, for example:
The person with a 4 year degree will not get the job. They will leave as soon as something better comes up.
The person with a 4 year gap on their CV will also not be getting the job, as it will be assumed that they're hiding something.
The moment I hit the ground though, I didn't expect my dream job to land in my lap, but I still needed to pay rent. So, I walked into the local internet cafe with the help wanted sign.
Here's how it went:
Me: "Hey, I see you're looking for someone, and I could use a job right now, would you be interested in looking at my resume?"
Him: Dude, I can't pay you more than minimum wage plus a buck or two, you know that right?
Me: Yes, I understand. I just moved here though and it'll probably take me a couple of months to find a job I'm qualified for.
Him: So you're going to be looking for something better right away?
Me: Yeah, but you need a person to help you out, and some of these machines, to be honest could use a bit of a rebuild. Can any of your staff do that?
Him: No, and you're right I could use a person right now.
Me: Well, I could really use the money, and I think we'd both benefit here. I'll give you 3-4 weeks notice and help interview a replacement if you want.
Him: (after a good deal of humming and hahing and a conversation with his wife) Okay, let's do it.
Just like that.
It can and does happen. The retail industry isn't looking for a 3-5 year commitment. Hell, they hire people for the month of December only. Like anything, you need to speak to their needs and address them. In my case, most of the staff he had barely understood computers, and none of them could rebuild and clean out his inventory. I could. He gets that extra service for free in place of understanding that I'm not a long term employee.
Tailoring the resume to the position is a best-practice in job applications.
You emphasise all the customer service style jobs you've had; or you say that you want to get customer service experience with a world leader company that takes service seriously.
Being overqualified, or unexplained gaps fit the bill perfectly. It really does not matter how well tailored the experience, or how impressive the covering letter.
The manager at Starbucks is not a "hiring manager". He doesn't care what's on your resume. He cares about three things: 1) Can I work with this guy? 2) Is he reliable/competent? 3) Is he going to steal from me/screw the other staff/piss off the customers/otherwise make my job more difficult?