This could be the shortest blog ever: Don't lie on your resume! Why? Because you will get caught! End of story! End of job opportunity! A lie may potentially even negatively impact future job opportunities!
Instead of ending the blog here, however, let's take a few minutes and dig a little deeper to look into why it may be tempting to lie and also why it is a terrible idea.
Why is it Tempting to Lie on Your Resume?
Face it, finding a new job can be tough. In many cases, there are hundreds of job applicants for the job you are applying for. You may be rejected numerous times before an offer comes your way. In fact, you may not even be called in for an interview. This is discouraging and demoralizing.
You may wonder why the other candidates are beating you out for the job. Is it because you didn't get the top grades in college? Do you not have the right job experience? Is there a small career gap that is holding you back? Is your current job title not good enough? When you start thinking of these potential issues holding you back you may be tempted to 'tweak' your resume a bit to 'fix' the issues.
Maybe you decide to round up to a 4.0 even though you didn't really earn a 4.0. Or you decide to exaggerate your job title a bit to make it look more appealing. Possibly you choose to slightly modify the work experience dates to lessen or remove that career gap.
Resist the Temptation to Lie!
While it may seem tempting to make these 'small tweaks' to make your resume more likely to get accepted, Revision Resume HIGHLY recommends you resist the temptation. The odds are that lying on your resume will be caught. Consider the ways your stretching of the truth can be easily identified:
Potential employer may check your social media accounts and notice a discrepancy in the work experience dates you have listed.
College transcripts will show your real grades.
When hiring managers call your references, they will find out your actual job title and work experience.
During your interview you will have to provide support for all of the details listed on your resume. It is likely you will get tripped up and reveal that the information was not truthful.
The outcome will be the same no matter if they find you have lied shortly after reviewing your resume or after you have had the interview: your job prospects will disappear. In fact, it is possible that other job opportunities will be impacted if the recruiter for one job talks to the recruiter for another position. And, you can forget about applying to that company again in the future. It is even possible that should you get through the interview and be offered the position without being caught, you get fired once the dishonesty has become apparent.
Companies don't want to hire someone that has proven to be dishonest. They would rather hire an employee that has been completely transparent about their history even if it isn't perfect than a candidate that has lied on their resume.
There are better ways to handle the perceived issues with your resume. Ways to deal with career gaps are discussed in this blog. When looking at your work experience, keep in mind that volunteer roles can be included if they are relevant. This can help bolster a situation in which your current or previous job does not align perfectly with the job you are applying for. You can also look to increase your experience by taking professional development classes.
Part of creating a resume is making sure it emphasizes what you bring to the table. You are unique and offer skills and experience that are beneficial--you just have to demonstrate it on the resume!
This is what Revision Resume specializes in. As part of our resume creation process, we conduct a 1:1 interview with you to learn more about your background and qualifications. We then highlight those unique attributes on the resume we create for you. Contact us to get started!
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