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| Top 9 Resume Lies That HR Will Catch You On! |
by Mark W. Avera - March 9, 2008
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Lying is nothing new, and neither is lying on a resume. Last year, the CEO of a New York executive recruitment firm estimated that 40 percent of all resumes are not altogether truthful (story). Employers are not in the dark about this, however. About 40 percent of HR professionals surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management ”reported they’ve increased the amount of time they spend checking references over the past three years.” It was always risky (not to mention unethical…) to lie on a resume, but now it’s getting much riskier. Simply put, the best advice is the negative of the Nike slogan: “just don’t do it.”
According to Forbes.com, here are the Top Nine Resume Lies…and HR departments are looking out for them!
- Lying about a degree
- Playing with dates (to hide anything from jobhopping to a position you were fired from)
- Exaggerating numbers and former accomplishments
- Increasing previous salary
- Inflating titles
- Lying about technical abilities
- Claiming language fluency
- Providing a fake address (common if someone is moving to a new city)
- Padding grade point averages
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| JAskew12 (Ormond Beach Florida) |
on 11 Oct 2008 at 9:10 am |
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As a 26-yr, seasoned HR Professional, I gathered from the comments here that several elements with recruiting, resume writing, interviewing, negotiating - what to say, go, no go, yes, no, maybe are all floating around with indecisiveness, so as with all of you -- here's my two cents worth / take it with a grain o' salt if you will.
For those fresh-outs (Recent grads) w/o experience and need a position to gain it, shine on during any interview you can land by communicating basic STAR resolutions as the value you can bring to the table. Behavioral interviewing skills will enhance your success and Geez Louise, use some common sense by reflecting on your College experience; specifically by relating it to the position. And if you unable to make the transition from Academics to "Real Survival" mode in the job mkt; stay in class until you learn to tie your shoes...We all started somewhere, and I agree that education doesn't replace experience, but education can bolster experience, so....
For those in the job mkt as long as I, or longer, and are caught up in the downturn - there's no doubt you're a survivor - so pick it up and do whatever it takes to make it happen (diversify - improvise - learn new skills/methods - while bridging careers I worked assembly in automotive; learned welding; sold Advertising / sold Autos; sold loans as an originator in finance for Re-Fi's; worked on docks for RoadWay at nights to "Make it Happen," until my career in the HR mkt picked up.
As for RESUMES: Everyone bears the COST burden for unsubstantiated information - think about it, you, the candidate falsify employee information during the hiring process by exaggerating your work/education experiences - you bought the suit ($), spent $ to make $ in order to find a job, then the employer spends money $ from the time 1st contact is made with you up until 6-12 months later and the relo bill is paid @ 25k to move you -- more costs...plus base pay, incentives (stock or not, auto or not) to attract the best talent (you, they think) and ALL FOR NOT. Then, the employer discovers the FINAL REAL TRUTH and has to unfortunately terminate; there goes about 150k down the drain.
Long story short - Ethics: If Integrity and honesty are not in your arsenal of values, do yourself and the potential employer a favor; go elsewhere...OR, behave appropriately by spilling your GUTS out and tell the entire truth about gaps in employment - terminated for theft is a hard recovery for anyone, but addressing it head-on during an interview "shines" the character element we employers seek in talent these days. Believe me, fraudulent activities, and dishonest employees including Executives are not exempt from prosecution these days and club membership is shrinking in those ranks. Job market is tough so don't make it tougher on yourself by giving in thinking you'll get ahead - you'll end up three steps back when it's over..
To lie or be dishonest on any portion of a resume is not worth the paper its written on...your character is worth more than the recycled doc used to exhibit who you're not..so keep it truthful, if you're not the fit -- you're not the fit, move on to other pastures.
Hope you find my twenty cents worth more than the two cents I started out to say.
Good Luck to everyone. |
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| eutiquio b. catimbang jr. (qatar) |
on 26 Sep 2008 at 3:46 pm |
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| the best thing we can help ourselves is to tell the truth. especially when we want to fullfill our dreams in the field of professionalism. |
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| BRETT BARONI (LEHIGH ACRES Florida) |
on 17 Sep 2008 at 10:36 pm |
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| Be truthful about your resume it will pay off in the long run |
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| M Tanna (Palm Coast Florida) |
on 17 Sep 2008 at 9:58 am |
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Sometimes your resume can show that you are over qualified for a position. Now wait a minute. either you are qualified or your not. At a recent interview I arrived 10 minutes early and had a seat amongst all the other candidates there and noticed how none were dressed for success.Some had shorts on, some with tennis shoes and one even was eating the second half of his lunch while waiting to be called.
Of course I was in dress pants, dress shirt and wearing a tie.
After waiting 25 minutes I was finnally called in for the interview (that by the way only took 6 minutes) and after answering a couple of questions by the interview team was asked to list my accomplishments over the last couple of years only to be cut short and told that they were only trying to put a face with a name.Ha Ha!
I have been in this industry for over 30 years and they had a room full of candidates that may have had 6 years experience combined.The interviewing company wasn't lookinig for a qualified candidate they wanted someone they could hire for cheap money. |
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| jeffreywpadgett (Christiansburg Virginia) |
on 25 Feb 2008 at 10:28 pm |
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| Here in Va. employers don't want experience. They want some green dumbass kid who is book smart and can sit for their p.e. in a few months. They throw money at them and a whole room full of the little dummies can't make a decision |
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| Construction Executive (Roanoke Texas) |
on 23 Feb 2008 at 10:22 am |
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I believe we should always tell the truth, regardless of the situation. There is no such thing as a little white lie.
I do not believe that a degree is a substitute for experience. |
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| Collin J. Roller (Riverview Florida) |
on 11 Feb 2008 at 9:21 am |
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| I've never lied on a resume because of the fear of being found out. That doesn't mean it hasn't crossed my mind out of frustration. I was in the Air Force for 20 years, and all I heard my whole career was "as a military member, you're getting the skills employers want". What a bunch of hooey! They don't care what kind of leader you were. If you don't have the skill for a particular position, you're just another person who got out of the military. I'm not asking for special treatment, but at least talk with me so I can try to sell myself. Only one company gave me a chance as a former military member. I got a job with and became a homebuilder. Got pretty good at it too, but as soon as the market dipped, we were let go with zero severance. Sorry to ramble, but feels good to get this off my chest. |
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| Kyle Korte (SYLVANIA Ohio) |
on 28 Dec 2007 at 6:37 am |
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| I feel its almost impossible to land your dream job online... |
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| Bruce A Nemanic (Pleasant Hill, Ca. 94523 Califor) |
on 13 Dec 2007 at 12:30 am |
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| Good character in a person always shows eventually and good people can and usually do get accepted in with good company. |
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