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.
Showing posts with label lying on your resume. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lying on your resume. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Three Steps to Recovering from Lying on Your Resume
The latest case of a high profile executive caught lying on their resume is just one of many examples of people exaggerating our outright lying on their resume. In an earlier blog post, I discussed the ramifications of lying on a resume. However, in light of what is in the news right now, let's look at what you can do to recover from a resume fib.
Step 1 - Assess the Situation
If you left information out of your resume and your application, the situation is much more serious. The resume is not a legal document like the application. If you have simply left out the information from the resume, you can explain that you were presenting only the most relevant information on the resume. A customer called me last week with this exact situation. She was facing a pre-hire background check and she had left a short-term job off the resume. When she explained that she had not included a brief, irrelevant position on the resume, all was forgiven.
Step 2 - Come Clean
Many people would say that admitting to an untruth is the equivalent of career suicide. However, the motivation behind admitting the mistake is to own up to your error so that you can begin to mend fences. Would you rather admit the mistake now and have a chance to explain yourself, or have the information come out in a post-hire background check so that you appear subversive.
Step 3 - Ask for Forgiveness and Demonstrate your Value
It is important to apologize for your actions. However, before you go into the meeting where you come clean and apologize, prepare a presentation that demonstrates the results you have (or can) achieve for the company and how you have brought (or will bring) measurable value to the organization. Discuss the motivation behind the lie or omission as the desire to get a chance to work for the organization. Flattery may not be everything, but it does not hurt!
The bottom line is to obviously not put yourself in this position in the first place. If you feel the need to lie, chances are you are lacking a key skill or qualification. Instead of focusing your energy on lying and then working to cover the lie, instead focus on obtaining the skills, experience and knowledge you need to succeed.
Step 1 - Assess the Situation
If you left information out of your resume and your application, the situation is much more serious. The resume is not a legal document like the application. If you have simply left out the information from the resume, you can explain that you were presenting only the most relevant information on the resume. A customer called me last week with this exact situation. She was facing a pre-hire background check and she had left a short-term job off the resume. When she explained that she had not included a brief, irrelevant position on the resume, all was forgiven.
Step 2 - Come Clean
Many people would say that admitting to an untruth is the equivalent of career suicide. However, the motivation behind admitting the mistake is to own up to your error so that you can begin to mend fences. Would you rather admit the mistake now and have a chance to explain yourself, or have the information come out in a post-hire background check so that you appear subversive.
Step 3 - Ask for Forgiveness and Demonstrate your Value
It is important to apologize for your actions. However, before you go into the meeting where you come clean and apologize, prepare a presentation that demonstrates the results you have (or can) achieve for the company and how you have brought (or will bring) measurable value to the organization. Discuss the motivation behind the lie or omission as the desire to get a chance to work for the organization. Flattery may not be everything, but it does not hurt!
The bottom line is to obviously not put yourself in this position in the first place. If you feel the need to lie, chances are you are lacking a key skill or qualification. Instead of focusing your energy on lying and then working to cover the lie, instead focus on obtaining the skills, experience and knowledge you need to succeed.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Truth about Lying on your Resume
Whether you are currently looking for a job or not, unless you live under a rock you know the economy has taken its toll on the job market. It is very tough out there and very competitive. With the unemployment rate still above 9%, many job seekers are taking the approach that desperate times call for desperate measures.
A recent survey conducted by TalentWise, a background screening firm, asked 2,026 adults if they thought it was acceptable to embellish or lie on a resume. Of the adults they spoke to 45% of the adults aged 18-34 years old said it was okay, 27% of people 55 and older said they would embellish the truth on a resume and 34% of respondents overall said they found it okay to lie on a resume.
Truth be told, these numbers are probably lower than the actual facts. Several years ago, more than 60% of hiring managers told the Society for Human Resource Management they found untruths on applicant resumes. The most popular methods of embellishment are dates of employment, job titles and responsibilities, accomplishments and level of education.
Desperate job seekers may decide to do whatever it takes to get their resume noticed and get a job interview. However, before you consider stretching the truth – or even outright lying – on your resume, stop and consider the consequences. Here are some of the potential outcomes of this dishonest approach to job hunting:
• You may be discovered in the pre-screening phase. There are new tools being marketed to companies that enable them to do a preliminary background check of resumes submitted. You would then be “blacklisted” in their company hiring database.
• Your lie may not hold up under the pressure of the interview. Remember, the resume is just step one. Once your resume gets you noticed, you then have to go into the interview and support the resume with details. It is much easier to lie on paper than to someone’s face.
• You may be hired, only to be fired after it is discovered that you lied on your resume. This recently happened to a colleague of mine. They started a new job and inherited a problem employee. It was discovered that this employee left a job off their application and was let go for lying. Problem solved!
• You may not be discovered at all. However, do you really want to build a relationship based on a foundation of lies? Can you live with the knowledge that you got that job, not on your true qualifications, but based on a fantasy version of yourself?
A recent survey conducted by TalentWise, a background screening firm, asked 2,026 adults if they thought it was acceptable to embellish or lie on a resume. Of the adults they spoke to 45% of the adults aged 18-34 years old said it was okay, 27% of people 55 and older said they would embellish the truth on a resume and 34% of respondents overall said they found it okay to lie on a resume.
Truth be told, these numbers are probably lower than the actual facts. Several years ago, more than 60% of hiring managers told the Society for Human Resource Management they found untruths on applicant resumes. The most popular methods of embellishment are dates of employment, job titles and responsibilities, accomplishments and level of education.
Desperate job seekers may decide to do whatever it takes to get their resume noticed and get a job interview. However, before you consider stretching the truth – or even outright lying – on your resume, stop and consider the consequences. Here are some of the potential outcomes of this dishonest approach to job hunting:
• You may be discovered in the pre-screening phase. There are new tools being marketed to companies that enable them to do a preliminary background check of resumes submitted. You would then be “blacklisted” in their company hiring database.
• Your lie may not hold up under the pressure of the interview. Remember, the resume is just step one. Once your resume gets you noticed, you then have to go into the interview and support the resume with details. It is much easier to lie on paper than to someone’s face.
• You may be hired, only to be fired after it is discovered that you lied on your resume. This recently happened to a colleague of mine. They started a new job and inherited a problem employee. It was discovered that this employee left a job off their application and was let go for lying. Problem solved!
• You may not be discovered at all. However, do you really want to build a relationship based on a foundation of lies? Can you live with the knowledge that you got that job, not on your true qualifications, but based on a fantasy version of yourself?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)