In such a challenging job market, candidates will try
anything to gain a leg-up on the competition. One of the easiest ways to make yourself
appear more marketable overnight is to lie about or embellish content on your résumé.
According to HireRight.com, 34% of job
candidates lie on their résumés. While this
might seem like a great idea at the time, you are setting yourself up for a
humiliating experience down the road. Here are 4 common lies found on résumé and the
consequences if you get caught.
1.) Education: Lying about education is one the most common
fibs found on résumés. This makes sense because
many times having a specific degree or certification is required to be
considered for a position. Some educational
lies include embellishing a major/minor or even lying about a degree you did
not earn. With the power of background
check technology now better than ever, uncovering lies about education is very
easy. Bottom line - you will get caught.
Consequence: Termination at any time even after secured
employment. Take a look at the example
below. Radio Shack CEO David Edmondson
learned this lesson the tough way as he was fired for lying about a degree he
did not earn. David
Edmondson resume article
2.) Accomplishments: Lying about your work accomplishments
might make your résumé “pop” but could also come back to haunt you. Do you think the 3 references you attached to
your résumé are the extent to which your new company will dig? Think again.
Some companies go as far as to contact former colleagues of yours via
LinkedIn to confirm your story.
Consequence: Any major discrepancy with your story and
chances are you won't be considered for the position. Worse yet, your lies could surface in the
future like they did for former Notre Dame coach George O’Leary. O’Leary lied about his football
accomplishments on his résumé and because of this lasted only 5 days as coach
bringing embarrassment to the Notre Dame program and to him. George
O'Leary resume article
3.) Dates of Employment: With gaps in employment under more
scrutiny than ever before it can be tempting to close the gaps by lying about
your dates of employment. However, similar
to education, fibs about dates of employment are very easy for future employers
to verify. My best advice here is to be
open and honest. If you took some time
off to stay at home with your children explain that in your cover letter. If you walked away from a job you didn’t like
to travel or take a break and had the money to do so, tell that story and
explain your thought process for doing so to avoid looking careless.
Consequence: If a company does a background search and
verifies discrepancies in your employment dates the chances are you won’t be
considered for the position. If you get
the job and you lied about your dates of employment on an official company
application you could be terminated at any time. How could this happen you ask? Well, if your company is sold or acquired, a
new HR team has the right to review your application documents and confirm
everything is in order.
4.) Technical Skills: Lying about technical skills is just
downright stupid. You aren't really
gaining that much and there is a good chance you'll be exposed during interview
process. My best friend works in IT and
is a hiring manager. He has experienced
numerous situations where applicants apply for a position and claim to have
technical skills but do not. He exposes
them quickly after a few technical questions on a phone interview. Instead of lying about your skills a better
idea is to apply for jobs that are within your skill set or slightly above your
skill set. You don't need to know every
skill or piece of software a company is looking for but you should know some or
most.
Consequence: Most likely you'll be exposed in the
interview process. If you manage to pass
the interview you’ll find out quickly which skills you are lacking. You might be able to study up and get by but
most likely you'll embarrass yourself.
This one probably won't result in termination as most skills can be
learned but it still isn't worth the risk.
Conclusion:
Improved technology and refined background search technology
has made it very easy for recruiters and hiring managers to uncover fibs. Ironically, background technology has improved
the most in the areas where job candidates lie the most. Think again before choosing to lie on your résumé.
So what should you do instead? Lying about or “embellishing” content on
your résumé should be avoided. Instead,
use your brain and think of a more creative way to restate the facts present on
your résumé. Be strategic about how you
order your content and your bullets (I prefer to separate the “roles and responsibility”
bullets from the “measurable accomplishment” bullets when adding content under
past and current jobs. Next, I bring more significant responsibilities
and accomplishments to the top of each grouping so the reader sees the good
stuff first). If you struggle with
writing seek out a friend that excels with the pen or contact a résumé writer
for additional ideas.
Aaron Rehberg is a
career coach, résumé writer, and is the founder of Rehberg Careers Inc. His background consists of 9 years of
leadership positions in the Fortune 100 and an MBA from Indiana University. You can find out more about Aaron and Rehberg
Careers Inc. at www.rehbergcareers.com
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