Lying on your resume in any way, shape, or form is a no-no. It will make you lose credibility with your interviewer and, should you get the job, may even get you fired down the road. Lying on a resume just isn’t worth the consequences.
Think You’d Never Lie on Your Resume?
Do you think that you don’t need to read further because you’d never lie on your resume? Think again. It’s easy to lie on a resume in subtle ways that you may be totally unaware are dishonest. It’s critical that you take a hard look at your resume and edit any portions that aren’t completely truthful.
3 Subtle Ways You May Be Lying on Your Resume
An incredible 85 percent of candidates flat out lie on their resumes. (This statistic was reported by HireRight’s 2017 Employment Screening Benchmark Report.) Ensure that you are part of the 15 percent of individuals who maintain honest resumes by steering clear of these 3 resume mistakes:
1. Omitting information – Some people think that omitting essential information isn’t lying, but this isn’t the case. On a resume, you should provide all the information that is asked of you. For example, if an employer asks you to provide your degree, and you didn’t earn a degree, don’t leave that section blank. Tell the truth, even if it means it will be discovered that you are under-qualified for a position. Your interviewer may be impressed enough with your honesty to hire you despite your lack of credentials.
2. Upgrading your job titles – Hiring managers understand that job candidates put their best feet forward when it comes to resumes. However, they don’t appreciate it when job seekers upgrade their job titles to appear more qualified for positions. Resist the urge to alter your past job titles. Monster.com contributors wrote, “If you were an HR assistant, don’t call yourself an HR manager. When you lie about your job titles, it’s a big red flag. Any discrepancy is going to pop up on a background check. The employer will wonder what’s the truth and what’s a lie — and move on to the next candidate.”
3. Claiming you have strengths you don’t actually possess – Another easy way to subtly lie on a resume is by claiming to have strengths that you don’t really have. If you indicate that you have stellar customer service skills, you should be able to back that claim up. If you get hired, your manager will expect you to live up to your resume. If you can’t walk your talk, that could be a problem in the future.
Don’t be overly humble on your resume, but be careful to avoid being arrogant or deceitful. Striking this balance takes precision as well as the input of others who know you, your strengths and weaknesses, and your past work experiences. Job seeking is hard enough. Don’t complicate it by lying or omitting the truth on your resume.
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