Lying on your resumeHaha...it' s actually called "bending the truth", or "necessary lies". One bends the truth in order to avoid undesirable situations. I' m totally for the necessary lieis when it comes to facts which do not represent anything jeopardising. I have bent the truth when I didn' t want to offer too many details on why I have left a previous job. I didn' t think they were of great importance, and they weren' t indeed I don't believe in lying about education. What hurts the most when you leave your graduation date off because it was long time ago. Someone inquires about your year, then it happens enough you are not interviewed or hired. Also you tell them you have a policy not to go beyond 10 years. If employers are expecting the truth, then don't hold the truth against workers also!!! It is a Federal crime for age discrimination, has anyone heard of HR manager loosing his job or going to jail? Another problem, if you list skills under contract and temp assignments. Many employers have the stupid impression that these are real jobs, some just recently learned new skills, many only a few weeks assisting a client in a spot.. That does not make you well trained if you did this on the fly. Sometimes mentioning the word programming, that you are a software engineer. AutocCAD, that you know all about AutoCAD, when you can only read and interpret the drawings. The key is to find out what the employer or agency wants. You are not listing lies, but keywords so that you can be hired where you have legitimate done the work, even if if it was done for one day. Example: I have been trying to become a Control Engineer, have the experience in many of the areas, except I can't claim years of PLC programming or designing with AutoCAD. I have either been in manufacturing or service, doing the support part. Many other areas I would be more qualified than a engineer with over 10 years experience. You can't totally shoot yourself out, if the employers don't give you that opportunity. The resume summarizes not just the work history and objective qualifications, but also represents the career "who I have been" part of "who I am." The resume should function to help get an interview and to help guide that interview. A falsehood on the resume is like a promise to tell an even bigger, blatant bald-faced LIE while looking the interviewer in the eye. "Integrity" is the level of integration of our words and our actions -- the amount of consistency between what we say and what we do. Telling lies IS dishonest. But "stealing" is dishonest ONLY if the thief promises not to steal or falsely claims innocense. A thief who has integrity can be trusted to do or not do whatever he/she says; nobody can trust a LIAR. "Character" is demonstrated by what we do when we believe that nobody is watching and we believe that nobody will discover the truth. A trustworthy person has the character to say (when you're not listening) and to do (when you're not looking) the same things that he/she would in your presence. If someone will LIE on his/her resume -- about something which is so minor or obscure or distant that they expect nobody to discover the truth -- HOW could he/she ever be TRUSTED to handle the TRUTH in crucial situations that arise from time to time and fully test one's character?
I have over 15 years experience and am an excellent EA. I lie about having a degree. Since no one I know went to school to be an A s s i s t a n t and now everyone requires a Bachelors, I lie. I come clean during the interview. Do you get hired? If you get hired by someone who knows that they can' t quite trust you 100%, do you really believe that when it' s to his/her advantage to lie to you, that you can trust him/her 100%? I have gotten some of my best jobs after admitting to lying about not having a degree. I have also talked myself out of a job when I admit to the lie. Many companies concede I would never gotten the interview without the degree on my resume, but my references are glowing, my experience and skills are excellent, and I sell them on those attributes. I would never falsify an application or legal document, and in all other things I am honest and trustworthy and have a proven track record. I would have a hard time working for a someone that is so rigid in their thinking that they have no room for compassion or forgiveness. It is pointless to lie on a resume. If you lie and subsequently get an interview, you will either lie to support your false resume, or the interview (and your chances at being hired) will be terminated immediately if you then tell the truth that contradicts your resume. Either way, you lose. There' s an old saying: "Nobody has a good enough memory to be an effective liar". If you tailor each cover letter & resume for each position for which you apply, you might have difficulty remembering what you stated on a particular resume, and what you said on resume screening phone calls. Your sins will find you out.
I've made mistakes with dates, and done the year - year thing instead of the month/year - month/year so that employers wouldn't think I was a job hopper. | |
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Career Tips
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