Resume Lies

Your resume is what speaks volumes for you before the dream job interview.  It’s what gets you the interview phone call.  Your resume is your marketing tool to sell yourself to an employer even before they ever meet you or speak to you.

Since a resume does all of the above, many people tend to embellish substantially on their resumes in order to get that phone to ring.  The problem is being able to produce the documents to prove what you print on your resume is true.

The most common resume lies are manipulating dates because of gaps in employment, increasing grade point averages, exaggerating job duties in previous jobs, inflating job titles, increasing previous salaries to get more money offered, and even lying about having diplomas, and degrees.

Some people lie about having technical skills such as proficiency in software programs and even fluency in another language.  Imagine lying on your resume saying you are fluent in Spanish.  It would be really embarrassing to show up at the interview being asked to speak in Spanish and all you can say is “hola, no, and si.”

According to the Society for Human Resources Management, almost 40% of human resources professionals surveyed last year have reported they have increased the amount of time they spend checking references over the past three years.

Telling a few lies on your resume is getting riskier.  Employers are getting smarter about verifying information on resumes.  Sure the job market may be challenging with lay offs and unemployment on the rise.  However, spicing up your resume with a little lie here and there will eventually catch up with you. 

Does your resume tell the truth?  Tell us what you think about lying on resumes by adding comments below.

Credits: www.forbes.com  Photo: www.oldmp.com