Three Common Resume Lies and How You Will Get Caught

Whether or not you have a job as visible as the head coach of Yale's football team or Yahoo's CEO, an alarming rate of people lie on their resumes. There are websites out there dedicated to the art of falsifying information. The statistics are different, depending on who is conducting the study. However, consistently more than 50% of people have admitted to fabricating information on their resume.

Most often, people lie on resumes to make themselves look good - or at least better than the truth! However, with so much detailed information about our private lives now publicly accessible via the internet, there are too many inexpensive ways a company can find out the truth. Let's look at some of the most common lies and see how an employer might discover the true facts about you.

Dates of Employment
It may just be failure to keep good records that keeps you from using the right dates. However, incorrect dates is one of the most common untruths out there. Many people have been unemployed for extended periods of time and want to cover that gap. Although this is one of the most common lies, it is easily verified with reference checks or even a simple check of your resume dates against your LinkedIn profile.

Education
It is perfectly acceptable to list a degree "in progress" or partially completed. However, what is not acceptable is claiming to have completed your degree, when you are in fact 57 credits from completion. Accu-Screen estimates that 16% of degrees are falsified and that 15% of job seekers will also falsify technical training or education. A very simple, inexpensive background check can reveal the truth.

Criminal Records
Job seekers with a criminal history are concerned that their negative law enforcement history will stop companies from making the hiring decision. This fear is grounded in reality, as this can prevent a company from giving you a shot. However, don't completely ruin your chances at landing a new job by lying on your resume or application about this key factor. Your criminal record does show up with the simplest, and most inexpensive background investigation. Therefore, address any convictions ahead of time and tell your (brief) story of what you have learned and how you have changed since your conviction.