Why you Should Never Lie on a Resume
There’s no law that says your resume has to be 100% accurate. In fact, it’s well-known that many people overstate, or even outright lie, on their resumes. At this point, many employers expect applicants to over-embellish their resumes, at least, to a certain extent. So, if you play a little fast and loose with some of the facts on your resume, who are you really hurting?
You. Lying on your resume hurts you.
Resume Lies are Easier to Find than You May Think
People lie on their resumes because they think they can get away with it. And sometimes they can. But more often than not, their lies are easy to find during the normal due diligence any potential employer does.
A misrepresentation of your title, dates of employment, or job duties probably won’t be noticed on the first reading of your resume. But after you’ve gone through multiple rounds of interviews, a simple call to your last employer can derail everything. Most employers will only confirm job title and dates of employment, but if your resume says that you worked for your company as a Senior Data Analyst for four years and that’s not accurate, your former company will simply state that they can’t confirm the information you’ve given, even if it’s “close enough”. When this happens, your credibility, and your chances for a new job with that employer, effectively evaporate.
Another resume area where people often overstate is skills. After all, skills aren’t as easy to check as employment dates or titles. So, you can get away with presenting yourself as skilled, or even an expert, in something like Excel, right?
Unless, of course, your potential employer uses a pre-employment skills test.
Pre-employment skills tests are becoming increasingly popular with employers because they’re an objective way to screen candidates. Skills tests, when they’re given to all applicants, are equitable and fair. Either a candidate has the abilities they’re presented themselves as having, or they don’t. Skills tests virtually eliminate the potential for discrimination, or any consideration of extraneous factors, like personality or social ties. They’re also a good way for employers to weed out candidates who have overstated their abilities.
Resume Lies are Inescapable
There may be times when a lie on your resume isn’t discovered, and you get the job anyway. Congratulations! Now all you have to do is try to perform well at your job despite worrying that your lie will be discovered. Because if you’ve presented yourself as an expert in an area, your new employer will expect you to perform at that level. If and when it becomes obvious that you don’t know as much about a subject as you originally claimed, your credibility will be severely damaged and the perception of all of your skills and your job performance will suffer greatly.
Lying on your resume is grounds for termination, regardless of how long you’ve worked for a company. It’s not unusual for companies to run a background check on a current employee prior to a promotion or a transfer, and even if you’ve been with your employer for a significant amount of time, your employer is still within their rights to end your employment.
The Truth Shall Set You Free
The reason people lie on their resumes is to make themselves look like a better potential employee. But you don’t need lies to sell yourself. You can update your resume to make it more powerful, write a great cover letter to demonstrate why you would be a good choice for a position, or even take a temporary job to gain strength and experience in new areas. All of this will not only make you a better candidate but will save you from the consequences of lying on your resume.
Let Optimum Staffing Solutions Guide You
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