When it’s OK to Lie on Your Résumé
If you’re reading this article you are either a) looking for some good advice and tips on how to lie on your résumé or b) wondering who in their right mind would ever recommend lying on a résumé. Well, sorry to disappoint you but you’re not going to find either. In fact, you’ll find quite the opposite.
In this down economy with more and more people looking for work it may be tempting to lie on your résumé especially if you have gotten little to no response when you send it out. Whether it be omitting a job and changing the years of your other positions to cover it up, fabricating education and degrees or stating you have experience that you don’t have – these are all a big no-no!
Employers can and will check the accuracy of your résumé, especially if you are in the running for a position. In this day and age of technology it’s very simple and fast to check out someone’s background. Everything an employer needs to know can probably be found on the internet or with a quick phone call. You might be saying desperate times call for desperate measures but when you run the risk of tarnishing your professional reputation you may want to think twice.
Let’s say you decide to ignore my advice and lie on your résumé. Let’s say you get your dream job because of it. Now let’s say a few weeks, months or years down the road it’s discovered that you didn’t go to that college, don’t have the credentials or never worked for a particular company. You can probably kiss that dream job good-bye as well as any references from your employer and you’d better hope that your boss doesn’t put the word out to the industry and effectively ruin your chance at a different position.
If you lie on your résumé not only do you stand to lose out on any current positions but any future ones as well. Social networking makes it easy to communicate on both a personal and professional level so a lie discovered on your résumé can easily be shared. One exec to the next, “Hey, I know you’re looking for a butcher, baker . . . and I just wanted to give you a heads up in case this guy applies. You’ll want to verify the information on his résumé because when he applied here he lied and said he worked for ABC Company but he never did. Maybe he’s changed it by now but I just wanted to warn you. You’d be surprised how much people share in the industry. Social networking has done exactly what it says. It has created vast networks of professionals ready and willing to help one another out.
If you feel like your résumé is lacking due to your experience or education then you need to play up your strengths so that potential employers can see in spite of that you can bring value to the company. Sometimes it’s hard to see your own value and that is when it is time to call in the professionals. Professional résumé writers can look objectively at your résumé and pull out accomplishments and experience that you don’t even see. It’s worth the investment if it gets you the job and keeps you from lying on your résumé.
For a free resume analysis send your résumé to info@greatresumesfast.com. Visit our website at Great Resumes Fast or check out resume samples here.
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About the author
Jessica Hernandez, President, CEO & Founder of Great Resumes Fast
Hi, I’m Jessica. I started this company back in 2008 after more than a decade directing hiring practices at Fortune 500 companies.
What started as a side hustle (before that was even a word!) helping friends of friends with their resumes has now grown into a company that serves hundreds of happy clients a year. But the personal touch? I’ve kept that.
You might have seen me featured as a resume expert in publications like Forbes, Fast Company, and Fortune. And in 2020, I was honored to be named as a LinkedIn Top Voice of the year!
I’m so glad you’re here, and I can’t wait to help you find your next perfect-fit position!
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[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jessica Holbrook, Econo Lodge, IMasterfeed, LinkedIn Tips, K and others. K said: @EconoLodgeSD When it's OK to lie on your resume. http://bit.ly/5d0tRF Hint: it's NOT! […]
I wholeheartedly agree with you. I have been on hiring teams for IT contractor resources and have seen an ongoing problem in the last few years. Candidates lie on their resumes – either on their own or from the company submitting the resume. One candidate had listed a series of projects he had worked on which were exactly the experience we were looking for. I noticed a problem when the dates for one disagreed by a year or so from the dates when I had worked on a different area of the program. A short query on our internal project list showed he lied about several. Other candidates lie about companies they have never worked for. It wouldn’t be so bad if at least they knew where the offices were located, or in one instance, that the company went bankrupt and belly up two years prior to the dates listed. It seems to be fueled by automated systems and recruiters who are overwhelmed and programmed to look at keywords only – so people put these triggers on the resume even if they’ve never had experience with the relevant skillset.
Unfortunately, many of these instances come from international candidates, particularly in one ethnic group. I understand that there are different cultural approaches to ethics and what one group sees as wrong, another views as a practical approach to getting an interview and job. However, it’s really backfired as none of these individuals were hired.
Because this appears to be so rampant in our local market, I have been considering investing in a background verification service for my own resume. Has anyone seen value from this?
Right on! 🙂
“Employers can and will check the accuracy of your résumé, especially if you are in the running for a position.”
Also, if you are honest and something on your résumé still doesn’t seem to add up, be prepared to talk about it during the interview or even earlier. For example, if two of your positions and/or degree programs did in fact overlap in time, be prepared and confident instead of started and confused when the interviewer mentions it or the recruiter calls you back to ask what happened.