Posted by Mark in Many Human Resources staffers preach the dangers of lying on your resume, and they’re right to an extent. Inventing companies and inflating employment lengths can get you fired or at the very least embarrassed during the hiring process. But employers don’t want complete honesty, do they? There are plenty of facts that are better left private (don’t disclose your religion, age, race, etc.). And employers expect you to put your best foot forward, so show them your very best. You’re giving them a snapshot of who you are; there’s nothing wrong with using just the right lighting to show them your good side on a resume.
So here are 7 “lies,” or careful manipulations of reality that will never get you into trouble (and they have a good shot of landing you a job)
1. Lies of Omission
No one in the hiring process wants to see an exhaustive list of duties from every job you’ve ever had. They don’t even want to know every job you’ve ever had. Think from their perspective: facing a stack of resumes, they aren’t searching for every last detail about you, they’re trying to find good candidates. Scan your resume for anything that doesn’t scream, “Hire me!” for this particular position. If you can’t trim it or modify it to make it relevant and appealing, delete it altogether. If you’re left with more white space than print, don’t waste your time by applying.
2. Take Credit for Team Success
Were you a member of a department that increased sales (or reduced expenses) by 10% for 5 years running? List that among your accomplishments if you were even the least bit instrumental in the success. You don’t need to take all the credit, just show your future employer you be a team player on a winning team.
3. Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics
Almost any job can be converted into numbers somehow: sales, expenses, efficiency, ranking, and especially anything with a dollar sign attached to it. Numbers jump off the page, cutting through the syrupy resume verbiage. If you can fit terms like million, Fortune 500, or any percentage over 100 into the picture, even better. We don’t recommend you fudge the numbers. Just select the ones that are most impressive.
4. Compare Yourself Favorably
Once you’ve found a way to make your job performance measurable by rank or statistics, you need to show how you stack up to your competition at previous jobs or within the industry. Highlight those areas that make you shine. If you aren’t the very best, simply state that you were/are “among the leading performers,” “in the top 3,” or any other attention-getting comparison that highlights your strengths.
5. Marvel at the Ordinary
So you waited tables at a coffee shop for two years, that doesn’t have to induce yawns. Convey your mastery of quality customer service. Let them know about your keen sense of intuition and initiative. Find some way to compress your lump-of-coal job into a sparkling diamond of experience. Prospective employers want people with a strong work ethic; don’t just tell them you have it, show them by describing your experience with purpose.
6. Love Every Job
If you haven’t absolutely fallen in love with one or more of your past jobs (or the one you’re trying to leave) pretend you did. Think of every position you’ve ever held as a fantastic opportunity. One of the single most important traits in an employee is attitude, and a bad one will cover your resume like a foul stench. Your potential boss won’t be able to throw it away fast enough. A positive attitude toward past jobs will help you feel better about what you’ve accomplished and who you are, a perk that will help you throughout the hiring process.
7. Change Your Identity
We’re not suggesting you use a false name on a resume, that could get tricky once you start filling out your tax forms. But it’s helpful to picture yourself as the person doing the hiring. What would you want to read about a candidate? How would you want the resume to look? Why would you hire . . . you? Make your resume match that image, and you’ll be well on your way to that elusive first interview and a chance at landing a job you just might genuinely fall in love with.
Those were some of the “resume lies” you can get by without really getting into trouble. What do you think? We would love to hear your thoughts.
If you don’t mind thinking “out of the box,” make sure to take a look at some of the most creative resumes.
Related Posts
I’m not job hunting but we seek new punters constantly.This is also how t write great sales letters in business.
Nice one my friend. Take good care and get as much joy as you can every day.
1- Lies of Omission- last line should be : If you are left with more white space THAN print.
Fixed. Thanks for pointing it out Eddie. It shows you REALLY read the post
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read what we have to say
[...] See the rest here:Â 7 Resume Lies Employers Will Never Check | Job Search Tips and … [...]
[...] More: 7 Resume Lies Employers Will Never Check | Job Search Tips and … [...]
[...] See the article here: 7 Resume Lies Employers Will Never Check | Job Search Tips and … [...]
Hello,
What would you suggest for a mother of 3 children to place on a resume. I have not worked in 17 years due to raising my children. I am recently back in school to become a medical assistant. I have previous work but it was mostly ‘joe jobs’ when I first got married at 18. Then the kids came. I fear going out there and being turned away due to any recent work history. Any ideas?
Hi LVSeeking,
I’ve hired lots of people and seen resumes like yours many times. What I’ll tell you is that your situation is not unusual. It’s not a deal breaker. Be honest. Don’t try to sell your experience as a mom as anything other than that. You’ll only come off looking silly. State your experience and education in your resume… don’t mention the 17 years. In your cover letter, mention that you took 17 years off to raise your kids but that you are committed to finishing out your career. Position yourself like you’re 20 years old looking for your first job. 20 year olds get hired all the time… you’re even better because you have 17 extra years of life experience, but be prepared to start at the bottom.
Another, um, omission, in Section 2:
“just show your future employer you [can?] be a team player on a winning team.”
Here’s something that always works for me:
1) Tell them I’m one of the founding fathers for wonderbread
2) Explain to them that any interview and subsequent hiring of me will be on a new TV reality show to air on fox this winter.
3) Show up to drop off the application naked. It helps, believe me.
Mental note to self: Don’t hire any of the above commenters.
So I create a unique resume for each company…. I will likely lose track of who got which resume.
So then, I go into the interview (I’m interviewed because I edited so effectively), yet I have no clear grasp of what the interviewer really wants (you see, I need to write a half dozen resumes per day) and thus my verbal answers allude to me being over (or under) qualified. Splendid. I spent hours editing a resume, going to an interview nearly an hour away… and I blow it. I’m out almost 7 hours because I flubbed the interview when I failed to adjust my ‘mental’ resume to perfectly match the resume in front of them. Even if I memorized their resume, my response is based on the concurrent stream of facts on either side of the limited bullet item on the resume.
The K.I.S.S principle works good here: 3 or 4 resumes, slightly tweaked in a general direction, but not wholesale optimization for each position.
Stumbled on this, have 10 minutes free, hire people a lot, thought I would thow in my 2 penneth.
Golden rules folks (so many people screw this up it’s not funny)
-Keep it short (vital stuff on page 1)
-Bullet point everything. Your VC will be ’skim’ read along with 20 others.
-Use quality (white) paper, printer and envelope(if posting). If your handwriting is poor, type. At stage one(getting it read) presentation is everthing.
- Write all work history in reverse order
- Covering letter should be bold, honest and positive. If you have a glaring CV weakness that WILL be noticed, address it in your letter. If they are not willing to overlook it, the job was never going to be yours. If however they are in doubt, then they will be pleased that you addressed it and may give you a shot.
-Dress smart. No piercings ‘funny’ socks or stupid haircuts. You MUST look like you are making an effort. If you can’t be arsed for the interview, you definitely wont for the job.
THE most important CV items are:
-Your last position and achievements
-Why you want THIS new job (we really don’t care why you left the last one, as long as you didn’t fire bomb the building as you left)
-Your first referee. Ensure they are*
a) As senior as possible
b) Eloquent
c) Recent
*Remember this does not HAVE to be your last employer,just someone who knows you well (but not family, obviously)
If you know you can do a job, or part of a job, push like hell and be positive. Most employers are looking for a rounded individual who they like and can work with.
Frankly, I can’t remember the last person we hired who ticked every element of the job description. We hire because we believe they will, in time rise, to the challenge and are made of the ‘right stuff’
And finally… drum roll please…
KNOW THE COMPANY WHO’S INTERVIEW YOU ARE ATTENDING!
Why do people NEVER do this? It will give you a massive advantage to know who the key staff are, what they are looking for, and crucially, why YOU might be useful to them.
..oh one last thing, and in keeping with this thread (and i didn’t say this) EVERYONE adds 10% to their resume. If you don’t, you’ll just look 10% worse than everyone else.
Good luck everyone.
When I’m on the hunt for a new job, I type my resume specifically for that job. It seems to work well for me to take the information from the companies website where they mention the job requirements and “the ideal candidate will” have these qualities.
I use that as a mold and fit my resume into it.
If I don’t have a certain skill or quality mentioned.. switch it with one that I do have.
Well, some people have to resort to such tactics, and some are naturally awesome. Just happy to be the latter.
This might sound radical but it works.
Refer to your LinkedIn profile in an email and go to an interview entirely without a paper resume. Carry a smart leatherbound daybook to “take notes”. Know everything about the company and its competitors that can be found on Google. Know the products and say exactly what you will do for the company.
Even if you are applying to be a janitor, the fact that you fully expected them to print your resume off LinkedIn will get you higher pay and “lead janitor” status…or considered over qualified.
Also…if you are applying for a management position, say at the interview “My wife needs to know if we’ll be attending dinner tonight or tomorrow night with you or one of the other VPs”. This is a closer line. It shows confidence and puts them on the spot in a good way.
liked the article, good post. reached here from SU
Ugh, I’d rather just be homeless than go through all this insincere sucking up.. good article though, in that it exposes the reality of resumes a little more clearly.
i got fired for something i didn,t do how do i get around that?
Nice article and some good replies as well ; )
I would like to add:
Why should someone employ “you” if you are not able to fake err write your application the way that they kinda “have to hire you”.
Now this might depend on the kinda job somehow, as there is something like being “over-qualified” as well.
But your first job for the job is to win the application-race and get invited for a personal interview.
Let me repeat a former reply: “check the company” !!!
cant be stressed too much: soak up their language and beat them with their own words.
double-check if you really want to work for them buggers…
find out in advance if they’ll plan to make any kind of (application-) tests with you, and prepare for that if possible.
and – please
find out if they get good comments from former workers,
meaning: if they suck – dont work for them!
In the end they make more money with you working for them, than they pay you -
so its a good idea to check if they are really worth it ; )
Workers unite !!! B ))
Workers unite… tat tat ta ratat tat tat let’s volt in wakekekekekeke… sorry got carried away. Anyways to business. I don’t think these are called lies, in business it’s called your sales pitch. Now some though inhow to write a resume. Just keep it clean and professional. No grammar errors, no I and me statement, and use specific figures when you can. Keep your qualification relevant to the position you’re applying to.
For real interview tips:
http://afewtips.com/articles/business/general-business/tips-for-a-first-job-interview
Never Lie – They don’t need to check you will let them know it’s not truthful.
I assume every resume has lies in it. I read the resumes to uncover the lies much as a detective would analyze a crime scene.
The people that get an interview are subtly tested — for their email responses, their timeliness, the email address name, their voice mail message quality. We also put candidates through a variety of online tests — including intelligence and behavioral/personality profiling tests.
And finally, in the interview process, we put on the detective hat again and look for clues that suggest this person is lying about his or her past experiences.
Those people who are more honest about having bent the truth in the resume, but then level about their real capabilities, tend to do very well in the interviews. Most people lie on paper, just to get in the door. If a company’s HR process is thorough from resume to interview, the quality candidates will always stand out…
[...] 7 Resume Lies Employers Will Never Check http://applicant.com/7-resume-lies-employers-will-never-check/ [...]
[...] 7 Resume Lies Employers Will Never Check: While you shouldn’t fudge key information on your resume, this post will tell you how you can choose to highlight or omit information so that your resume works to your advantage. [...]
Great article!
I thought I’d share with you a great new, free tool to help job seekers: http://www.preverify.com
PreVerify is a free tool with which job seekers can conduct their own accurate and professional employment verifications. Following the quick and simple registration process, simply send your PreVerify request to your former and current employers to complete online at a time that is convenient for them to do so. No more interruptive phone calls, just an employment verification that can be used over and over again, forever.
Rather than crowd this email with a bunch more words, attached are two recent articles that talk about PreVerify:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/08/prweb2645354.htm
http://www.killerstartups.com/Web-App-Tools/preverify-com-preverifying-employment-histories
Best,
Very interesting article. I personally did not find this article helpful but I know other people will!
This is how i got all my jobs….lies….lies…lies
Wait, wait, wait… “you be a team player on a winning team” seems correct to you?
Uhm… wow. Maybe you should have someone else fill out YOUR resume’s for you in the future of your grammar skills are that terrible.
wow, Lillth, thanks for the helpful response.
What was your point again?
When I scan resumes, I usually scan for a few important keywords, such as “full sets of accounts”, “Autocad” (or other systems), educational qualification, professional qualification.
If the resumes do not have these “must-have”, I will just delete it.
Usually can delete 80% of the resumes in first round of selection.
Remember…Honesty in the little things.
Start there and aim for Honesty in everything.
I raised my age to get a temp job for more money – only to love the job and everyone there and stayed for years and had to continue to lie and lie – why I didn’t get my drivers licence, why my family didn’t come to the dinner they held for my ’21st’… I hated it.
NEVER lie – you need a good memory and it will make you sad and end friendships when people you love find out you are a liar.
People who raised money for you and visited you when you were sick.
They will never trust you again and that will make you a miserable person. Its never ever worth it. Trust me.
[...] creative ways to land a job you love in an economy we hate. We link to great resources, provide helpful resume tips, break stories about the state of the job market, today we’re taking a break from that. [...]
[...] 7 Resume Lies Employers Will Never Check Many Human Resources staffers preach the dangers of lying on your resume, and they’re right [...]
Thank you for the good pointers. After 10 years with my last company, I’m laid off at the age of 60 and facing a rough job search. Age discrimination is freely and unapologetically practiced in this region. I have experience from early in my career that is very relevant to the sort of job I’m seeking. How do I present that without making obvious that I started working in 1968?
Hi
I was a computer programmer/consultant doing quite well.Then I became sick and quit working for a period of 4 years.Following this I got a developer job in a company.But I was out of touch and was fired after about 6 months.For the past 6 months I have been staying home and learning and improving myself.With a history like mine do you think there is any hope of getting back into my career.I am not internet savvy- I specialize in databases ,specifically Oracle.
If you get terminated from your last job and a hiring agent calls you about a new prospective job, what do you say when she ask, “Why did you leave your last job?”
Is being “let go” the PC way of saying terminated or should you just tell them you got fired?
It is simple to see that you are passionate about your writing. Great job!
Good day, nice blog post.
[...] 7 Resume Lies Employers Will Never Check [...]
HA! enjoy reading your post. great.
a lot of good points
hmmm… Give particular information and facts to some webpage built from warez haxors.Does not sound wise
My Resume:
I’m druuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunk, whew!
Do hiring managers check with previous employers about what your pay was?
The reason i ask is because sometimes your paid lower then market value and when you go out in the market without lies the hiring manager is likely to demand you take a lower wage.
Not sure I’d clarify this as a lie, but one technique I think works well when prepping a resume – look at your overall experience and tailor your resume to that which you think will respond well with your future employer.
Doesn’t really mean you’re lying but if you’re going for a management-level job, probably good to tote your managerial experiences over your fry-guy job back in the ’90’s.
Howdy. This can be kind of an “unconventional” question , but have other site visitors asked you how get the menu bar to look such as you’ve gotten it? I also have a weblog and am really looking to modify around the theme, however I am terrified to death to mess with it for fear of the major search engines punishing me. I am really a new comer to all this …so i am just not positive just how to try to to it all yet. I’ll just keep working on it one day at a time Thanks for any help you can offer here
In past if you worked at a job with high turnover, go back and see if anyone you know is working there. Are all the managers different? Often times managers rotate.
If this is the case, simply say you were the Assistant/Store Manager of the place. It would take a hell of a time for the hiring manager to determine if that is true, especially when it comes to fast food places when turnover is really high. And at the same time you know all the duties. It doesn’t take a genius to see what the Manager does at McDonald’s or something.
This is my second visit to this blog. We star a new initiative in the same category as this blog. Your blog provids valuable information to work on.