Lying About Your Resume
About one-third of all job applicants lie about their background in their resume. On the other hand, roughly two out of every five respondents have also lied during their interviews.
Job hunters who doesn't tell the truth are taking an unknown risk. It's much easier to do background checks these days. Employers may resort to the internet and there are professional background-check services most companies can now rely on to verify the truthfulness of information applicants give.
It's sometimes hard to say whether an embellishment becomes an outright lie. Applicants are of course free to write up resumes that are tailored for the job vacancy and that may sometimes mean highlighting certain background aspects more than others.
However, applicant should realize that employers should be able to verify some level of truthfulness in the information job hunters give to prospective employers. Any time a recruiter is able to uncover a lie is always damaging to applicant's potential of being hired.
When writing or talking about education, employment dates, job titles and technical skills, applicants are advised to stick to the facts. These are pieces of information that are very easy to look up these days.
The internet has also made it easier for recruiters to go beyond the references people list down in their resumes. Personnel departments often rely on LinkedIn – for example- to find other people who may provide good information about job applicants. Recruiters are very much aware that most applicants will only list down people who can represent job hunters in their best light.
Even if false credentials end up getting you the job, these lies may soon be back to haunt you. Writing down skills you never had can get you in trouble when the job actually calls for you to demonstrate those skills. If imperfections come up in your resume, try to figure out a good way to work around them. For example, if there have been gaps in your employment history, it would be nice for you to be able to write things like volunteer work you did during those times or maybe your own project that allowed you to display more of your skills to other people.
Try to make sure that job descriptions and titles match each other. If you have been asked to fulfill dual roles in a company, make sure you indicate both in your resume and that your former employer can validate such information.
Previous salaries that are too low may need to be explained as well. Make sure you know how much you should have been earning.
And if you want to be able to talk about a technical skill, be sure you took the time to learn it. Even if that means attending classes, then go for it.
Employees, Human Resources | Gloria Gamat | 27 June 2010 |
