When it’s OK to Lie on Your Résumé

If you’re reading this article you are either a) looking for some good advice and tips on how to lie on your résumé or b) wondering who in their right mind would ever recommend lying on a résumé. Well, sorry to disappoint you but you’re not going to find either. In fact, you’ll find quite the opposite.

In this down economy with more and more people looking for work it may be tempting to lie on your résumé especially if you have gotten little to no response when you send it out. Whether it be omitting a job and changing the years of your other positions to cover it up, fabricating education and degrees or stating you have experience that you don’t have – these are all a big no-no!

Employers can and will check the accuracy of your résumé, especially if you are in the running for a position. In this day and age of technology it’s very simple and fast to check out someone’s background. Everything an employer needs to know can probably be found on the internet or with a quick phone call. You might be saying desperate times call for desperate measures but when you run the risk of tarnishing your professional reputation you may want to think twice.

Let’s say you decide to ignore my advice and lie on your résumé. Let’s say you get your dream job because of it. Now let’s say a few weeks, months or years down the road it’s discovered that you didn’t go to that college, don’t have the credentials or never worked for a particular company. You can probably kiss that dream job good-bye as well as any references from your employer and you’d better hope that your boss doesn’t put the word out to the industry and effectively ruin your chance at a different position.

If you lie on your résumé not only do you stand to lose out on any current positions but any future ones as well. Social networking makes it easy to communicate on both a personal and professional level so a lie discovered on your résumé can easily be shared. One exec to the next, “Hey, I know you’re looking for a butcher, baker . . . and I just wanted to give you a heads up in case this guy applies. You’ll want to verify the information on his résumé because when he applied here he lied and said he worked for ABC Company but he never did. Maybe he’s changed it by now but I just wanted to warn you. You’d be surprised how much people share in the industry. Social networking has done exactly what it says. It has created vast networks of professionals ready and willing to help one another out.
If you feel like your résumé is lacking due to your experience or education then you need to play up your strengths so that potential employers can see in spite of that you can bring value to the company. Sometimes it’s hard to see your own value and that is when it is time to call in the professionals. Professional résumé writers can look objectively at your résumé and pull out accomplishments and experience that you don’t even see. It’s worth the investment if it gets you the job and keeps you from lying on your résumé.

For a free resume analysis send your résumé to info@greatresumesfast.com. Visit our website at Great Resumes Fast or check out resume samples here.