Common Resume Lies to Avoid

Job searches are competitive, and everyone wants to set themselves apart. The thought of lying on your resume can be alluring – so alluring that a recent survey from ResumeLab reported that 93% of respondents said they knew someone who had lied on their resume, and 36% admitted to doing it themselves. When specific questions were asked to ensure that subtler resume inaccuracies (ways of “stretching the truth”) were also included, that number rose to 56%. This suggests that these practices are so commonplace that they may even happen accidentally.

Moral implications of dishonesty aside, the ramifications should be concerning even if examined strictly as a business strategy. When you lie on your resume, you make a high-risk move for your career – can the rewards compare with the value of your reputation? Even if a perceived lie on your resume is the result of a misunderstanding if potential employers are given reason to believe that you can't be trusted, why would they want you to work for them? And how much would you want to work at a company which – knowingly or unknowingly – has a pattern of hiring dishonest people?

Whether you're a job seeker who wants to avoid common lapses in judgment or a hiring manager who wants to stay on your toes, here are three common resume lies, how they're caught, and how to avoid telling them inadvertently.

Education: Candidates may lie about where their degree came from, completing a degree they only partially finished, or use phrases like “graduated with honors” when they don't apply. Some even fabricate entire degrees.

Why it gets caught: It's surprising that this kind of lie persists because it's also one of the easiest to catch. Employers need only to contact the school to confirm a degree.

They may also ask candidates to order an official transcript to confirm a degree, GPA, or other academic credentials. Because official transcripts come straight from the school to the employer, any previous falsification is obvious.

Avoiding Misunderstandings: Falsely claiming to have a degree from an institution is particularly blatant and unlikely to be overlooked or tolerated. There's no wiggle room for lying on your resume in this way to be viewed as an error or overestimation – it's simply a misrepresentation of credentials.

On occasion, candidates list only the name of a school from which they received some training (but not a full degree) on their resume without further explanation. This is outside the usual convention and will usually be interpreted as a degree by hiring managers (and considered a sure sign of an intentional resume liar when investigation shows otherwise). If you'd like to list a course or training program you completed, be sure to represent it properly and list the nature of classes or certifications next to the name of the school to avoid looking like a fraud. 

Skills: Faced with a list of skills requested on a job application, candidates may give into the temptation to tell potential employers exactly what they know they want to hear. This can take the form of blatantly claiming to have skills that they do not, or it may happen in less flagrant ways. Candidates may exaggerate their abilities or list a program or tool they've used only a little among their proficiencies.

Why it gets caught:  If a skill is of true importance to the position – and if it's listed in the job description, it should be – hiring managers test the skills of candidates. They ask questions that true practitioners of the skill would know, administer online tests, or request an in-person demonstration, all of which both reveal and embarrass pretenders. Even if the vetting process isn't this thorough, it often doesn't need to be – if the candidate is hired without the necessary skillset, this becomes obvious quickly.

Avoiding Misunderstandings: Not always a sign of intentional deceit, this kind of falsehood can creep in due to wishful thinking, uncertainty regarding what qualifies as proficiency, or a desire not to err on the side of underrepresenting actual qualifications. Even so, it can come across as credibility-damaging dishonesty all the same.

To avoid this kind of misunderstanding, both job-seekers and hiring managers should communicate and clarify the expectations surrounding specific job tasks during the interview process. Instead of rating skills on a numeric scale or counting on yes or no answers, have a discussion about how the candidate has used relevant tools in the past and what exactly they'll be needed for on the job.

Previous Work History: Knowing that previous experience is prized by recruiters, some candidates lie about their accomplishments. They may fabricate entire jobs, or inflate previous job titles, responsibilities, or accomplishments.

Why it gets caught: Employers verify the positions you say you've held with previous employers, and may also contact resume references, clients, and former coworkers. LinkedIn and other social media make it easier than ever to verify previous work and talk to people who may know you.

Avoiding Misunderstandings: The exact definitions of job titles can be subjective, and responsibilities can change or encompass more than one title, even if one's official title doesn't keep up. Some companies may even shortchange employees on their official titles in an effort to downplay their contributions and suppress wages. Job seekers might try to compensate for these factors by listing the title of the job they felt they actually performed. Within reason, this is sometimes considered acceptable.

If you choose this route, be certain not to misrepresent yourself or do anything that could be misconstrued this way. Focus on accurate descriptions of your work, don't use names for specific positions you never held, and be sure to discuss your official titles and their meaning frankly and honestly in interviews. For more advice on dealing with a job title mismatch, click here.

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