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Lying on Resumes and in Interviews
By Pat O'Donnell
© June 22, 2008, all rights reserved.
The simple answer? Don’t do it.
- I have seen national studies that claimed about 70% of resumes have “mistruths” in them.
- Other studies state 25-50% of resumes have “embellishments” (an exaggeration but not lie.)
The most common lies:
- Length of employment gaps
- Titles
- Degrees completed
- Salary
- Reason for leaving
- Not mentioning a job from which you were fired
- Taking credit for an idea developed by the team
- When career started (age)
- Size of business or projects managed
- Rank as a sales person or total revenue you represented
- Claiming to be “Consulting” when you were billing zero hours
I could quote more studies, but the point is: Recruiters and Hiring Managers EXPECT there to be many lies in resumes and in the interviews we have with applicants so we look and listen for them.
Easiest to detect
The one I hear most frequently is about salary/bonus. I ask people their current salary and bonus in a very deliberate way and listen to how they handle it. I can hear the long, pregnant pauses while the speaker is trying to figure out how much they can increase the answer since I gave them a chance to. The process varies if I called them versus when they called me. Rarely does the speaker need the same length of time to answer other questions. It is one of the lies that are easiest for the listener to detect. And it is a very good indicator of whether I should trust the other answers I hear will hear from the same source.
Legal penalties
I called a lawyer I know who specializes in employment law for his knowledge of possible consequences. There are apparently no formal legal penalties in Minnesota for lying in the job application process, but lying on a job application certainly is a ground for immediate termination (not that the employer necessarily needs grounds under the employment-at-will doctrine). Call me (anonymously if you wish) for a referral to him.
Situational stress
We also know that lying increases:
- In a recession as the stress of finding a job increases
- As age of the applicant increases because the stress of finding a job increases
- If an applicant was a poor fit for a job and it ended very badly
- If the applicant is not good at articulating their value to their past employers
So what do you do if you are tempted to lie? Don’t. Instead, take a few steps back in your process and analyze which hiring manager SHOULD want to hire you and why. Have you done enough homework about the companies you are targeting? Do you know for which roles you are most marketable? Have you done enough selling to show the hiring manager why you are a must-meet-applicant? Instead of applying to 200 companies, figure out the 15-20 companies for which you will be one of the most desirable applicants and tailor your pitch to discuss why you are indeed worth knowing for that role.
Illness
A woman who just finished with a long illness called me today and asked for advice on how to handle the gap in her resume. Illnesses and disabilities are complicated and deserve their own very long article but don’t hide the gap or offer a lie. On the other hand, don’t volunteer more information than is necessary, especially if disabled. Talk to a certified disability job counselor for advice if that applies to you.
In the case of the woman who had been ill but was not now disabled, I told her to simply say she had been on sabbatical for an undefined personal issue but was now ready and able to work 40 hours a week without distraction. She needs to carefully research the clients who would be thrilled to have her for what she does know and have a very polished selling statement ready to offset fears related to the unexplained gap. She should have strong testimonials ready. If necessary, she could offer to work for them on a contract-to-hire basis or discounted pay scale until she establishes her value in the present time-frame. She still may have trouble “getting back in” but she shouldn’t compound doubt about her reputation/ability with a lie. If there is no fear the illness may return, you could offer a doctor’s note to show you are fully recovered.
Topics: Branding + Positioning, Career Strategies, Interviews, Recruiting, Resume, Salary |
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