Writing a resume is tricky business because it requires us to describe ourselves in an apparently “objective manner,” yet knowing that we are in a competitive process and need to surpass other candidates. How can you be objective when your own future is at stake? Rachel Zupek, from Career Builder, listed nine commonly found resume lies:

1. Lying about what degree(s) you hold: This is a pure lie and there are simply no excuses for it.
2. Exaggerating numbers: Well… if you know the exact number and you still go ahead and lie about it, it’s technically a lie. But how can the recruiter find out about this exaggeration? Does the exaggeration go to the core of your competency? By how much do you exaggerate? It’s a matter of degree I guess. I would qualify lies at the borderline of exaggeration as “soft” lies. A lie remains a lie however.
3. Lying about previous salaries: Nowadays, a salary is not everything. It’s more about the “compensation package,” which includes benefits, bonuses, etc. So if a recruiter asks you about your salary and you feel that it is not very high and want to include your benefits in there and give a number that more accurately reflects your compensation package… it’s your decision. If the recruiter asks, you should have your justifications ready.
4. Changing dates: It depends. If you worked at a company for 2 years and you write on your resume that you worked there for 5 years, that’s a lie. If you were unemployed for 3 months in-between jobs and you’d rather show back to back employment… it’s debatable.
5. Inflating titles of positions held: Depends on whether you had a specific title or not.
6. Lying about technical skills: This can be a very dumb mistake as, even if you end up being hired, you might also end up being fired just as well. Some people, however, don’t lie on purpose on this issue. They just think they are better than they really are…
7. Lying about language fluency: Same as the above. What you consider “fluent” or “working knowledge” might not be perceived as such by others.
8. Providing a fake address: This happens when people apply to a position which would require relocation. They don’t feel their application should be affected/ declined by that fact.
9. Padding grade point averages: Well, again, when dealing with specific numbers, lies can be more easily caught… especially when the recruiter ends up asking you to submit your transcripts.

Again, a lie is a lie… and the best would be never to have to lie. The problem, however, is that we don’t live in a perfect world. Overall, however, there are many degrees of lie. Some are simply unjustifiable and some are at the borderline of “exaggeration.” Use your own judgment and always be ready to justify whatever you write down on your resume.

The above discussion was mainly focused towards job seekers, but employers/ recruiters are also to blame as they sometimes tend to push the envelope too far in asking all sorts of questions which can be a real turnoff and very intrusive.

* The article by Rachel Zupek also discusses some cases of high profile people caught lying. This may be a good deterrent!

Infamous Resume Lies, MSN/ Career Builder

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 14th, 2007 at 2:46 pm and is filed under Resume Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.