False information on resume - ever do it?

Lying is a false statement deliberately presented as being true. Stretching the truth is the same as telling a lie.

If you state that you have a degree and you don't, you've told a lie. If you state that you have certified training on new hardware/software and you don't, you've told a lie. Degrees and certifications are hardly "goofy details".

I don't believe that telling a lie on your resume is a path you want to travel. I'm sure it looks inviting to lie to get where you want to go, but I strongly advise against it.

Most resumes contain some untruths, a phenomenon that's well known and has been well documented. We hiring managers know this and are consequently forced to waste time ferreting out the lies and the liars.

DO NOT DO IT. You're panicked, and your good judgment is failing you. The object is not to get "past the screeners", the object is to get a job. If you do manage to push a falsified resume through the HR sieve, believe me...anything you misrepresent WILL be found out, especially the kinds of "goofy details" (?) you're talking about. You don't think it's easy to find out if a claimed degree or cert actually exists? You're kidding yourself. The moment your falsehoods are found you've killed any chance you have of ever working for the company in question, or for any of the people who reviewed your resume and know you to be a liar.

I frankly can't imagine a bigger mistake to make during the job hunt process. This one is fatal.

I don't care if you know your stuff. If you start off with a lie, how can we trust you?

I believe in being creative in resumes and emphasising your strengths. But saying you have a degree when you don't or are certified when you are not is a lie.

Many firms will check. My last employer asked me for university transcripts after the first 3 months for their records.

I might hire you with no degree or no certs, but if you lie to me on your job application or with your resume, it is grounds for immediate dismissal in my company.

James

You could be the best thing since sliced bread, save your employer millions a year ,eradicate world poverty, invent an FTL drive and prove the existence of god and still get sacked when you're found out. Not worth it.

out and out lying goes too far..

i know things can be tough, been there and half considered it myself, but its not worth it.

Keep at it..apply for everything that might be of interest..sometimes you never know what you will stumble into..it might not be 100% what you want, but things change very fast and withing months you could be on the right track.

i never believed the "its easier to get a job when you have a job" stuff, till i was in the same position. Once you get some sort of (related) job, you are all of a sudden gaining experience, and are deemed worthy of employment by others.

Keep at it!

don't do it.

it is grounds for imediate dismissal.
and when they find out, you will lose the job.

No matter how desperate you get, don't cross that line. As everyone has already said, it's not worth it. Not only would it affect the current job, it could affect future job hunts as well. (you never know whom is friends with whom [or is it "who"? aack!])

I'm amazed when people lie so blatantly about something so easy to disprove. Lying on a resume is pretty bald-faced and reckless. Goofy details? If you'll lie about education and job history on a resume, what won't you lie about? That's about as reckless as not telling your new fiance that you're divorced. When you're exposed--not if you're exposed, but when--you will get fired. You have to list education on the job application. Are you going to lie there as well? Read the fine print on the application about what it says regarding providing false information. If you're truthful on the application and lie on the resume, somebody will probably catch your lie even before they have a chance to fire you.

Good luck. I hope I don't see a posting from you here in six months asking for advice on how to resuscitate your career after getting fired.

I knew that my antisocial tendencies would be usefull some day. :D

even after 5 years of French in school, I don't speak, read or write the language. the call for it here in BC is minimal.

now if I could learn Cantonese, Hindi, Tagalog, Japanese or Mandarin,then I would have use for the language and not forget it.

I've been in the situation of having to not put information into my Resume, as I had done the job of the person doing the hiring [ Kitchen Manager in restaurants ] and they are notoriously insecure in their jobs. If they knew I had done their job they wouldn't hire me, I would be an "in house" replacement. [ just for the record, I wouldn't take a kitchen manager's job, I hate the being resonsible for the food but not being able to actually cook any of it :) ]

.....need I say more?

Ouvre le guillotine, sil vous plais?

(actually, I think is supposed to be:
Ouvre la fenetre, sil vous plais?

Did you see in the Friday yuk a while back where a French teacher asked her class to decide whether 'computer' should be masculine 'le' or feminine 'la'?

also seen it as a kinder garten class was asked if computers are male or female, and they came up with the same answers.

Seems to me that having mandatory French classes in Canada is like having mandatory Spanish classes in the U.S. Or to narrow it down even more, it would be like having mandatory Spanish classes in Texas or California (states with a high population of Mexican immigrants).

James, I did take Spanish in high school, but like your French, my Spanish was insufficient to chat up young Mexican women. The conversation would come to a screeching halt after I said "buenos dias, chica bonita" (translation, "hello, pretty girl") haha

As everyone has said before, if (and when) you are found out, you'll probably get fired.

On your next application, you usually have to state why you left your last job. You very well can't put on "For lying on my resume", now can you? So you have now started a new lie.

Also, think about this. Lying on your resume creates a new personna for you. You'll have to remember your lies, and cover them when questioned. What if you run across someone that went to the same school as you claim to have ? Can you discuss with them the finer points of the University? The Professors? The Student Union?

Remember the old adage- that it's much easier to remember the truth than a well crafted lie?

is consitutional.

Though many (westerners especially) grumble, when the British defeated the French in the French and Indians war (good PBS series on it lately, though very American centric, too much on Washington who was just a young officer), they guarenteed the French living in Quebec the right to use their own language, have their own church and education system in French, even to using a French style legal system (Quebec act of 1760).

Those rights were further upheld in the British North America Act(1867), the legislation that created Canada and acted as our consitution until we created our own in the 1980s.

Spanish in the US never had that long historical tradition, its more of a demographic thing. Was there anything about it in the Texas constituion when Texas became independant?

James

Most organizations require you to sign a non-disclosure agreement. This agreement covers ALL company information, including salary.

Thus, you can tell whomever is interviewing and asks about salary, the following statement:

"My current/previous employer had me sign a non-disclosure agreement on company information, which includes salary. I am sure that you would wish for me honor your company's non-disclosure agreements, as I do with organizations I was formerly associated."

After I've said that to companies and the federal government in the past, no one has asked twice.

You're posting on here trying to get some support for your idea to lie on a resume?? Do you think anyone would actually come on here and say, yeah man go ahead and do it. It got me a job and I'm making 6 figures now. No. Because they'd have gotten found out. Plus, what kind of way is it to start a new job on a lie. That is awfully slimy. What about when you get found out? Have fun finding your next job. So, why did you leave your last job? Well, actually, I'm a low life who lies on their resume and my scam was working, but then I got found out... want to hire me now?

This is the first I've ever thought about Spanish and the Republic of Texas' constitution. I don't think it would be much of a stretch of the imagination to say that there is no way in the world that Texas' constitution would have made any concessions to anything Mexican-related. It more likely (though doubtful) may have been the opposite--where Spanish would have been totally outlawed. Remember that Texas was ruled by Mexico before the war for independence so I'm assuming that before that Spanish would have been the official language in the Texas territory. A lot of Spanish culture carried over and is still present today. Nowadays Mexican-Americans and descendents still speak Spanish regularly but there is no effort to give it special status except that some public schools are required to teach classes for Spanish speakers who do not understand English. To me, that's a crock of crap. Why should my taxes go to support a kid getting an education in Texas and he won't even be fluent in English when he graduates?

Je me rends.

Bumper sticker the other day:

Welcome to the United States
Now speak English

... is to find yourself a gig with an organization that doesn't use the latest and greatest (charity maybe?) and that pays enough to put you through night school to finish that degree. But get the degree in something other than IT or computer science.

Yes it is lying by omission.

No, it is not a lie that employers will fire you over.

It's more along the lines of tuning your resume to reflect what the employer wants from your experience than adding something that isn't true.
If I'm applying for an IT job, I don't list the positions with restaurants, yet that is 20 years worth of skills I have available, most of which are directly applicable to every job.
[ meeting deadlines, multitasking, teamwork, high pressure environments, customer service skills, problem solving... ]

Why would anyone hiring for IT department want to know which restaurants I worked for, in the hiring process? They wouldn't. During the interview a few examples of problem solving under pressure from them show where the skills were developed, which is enough information for them. [ Naturally also some examples from IT related work as well to show that I have managed to transfer the skills to IT needs. ]

Good one!

Our HR department hires a background check service that checks everything for everyone regardless of the position. I've seen a couple new people leaving with heads hung low.

Never have, never will

It's not the letting those of French descent have their own language.

it's the forcing us to learn something we have zero use for that causes most of us from western Canada to get pissed at the federal government and quebec.

My own opinion:
IF someone from quebec want to come to BRITISH Columbia, they better know english if they expect to communicate with anyone. [ population of BC is approx 2 million, the francophone population is roughly 20 thousand. ]

You should consider reevaluating your value system. I've learned that a person is who he is, regardless of the role he's filling. A liar is a liar, whether that be at home or at work. A cheater will try to pull one over on a boss, a wife, or a golf playing partner. You are who you are, and you just revealed yourself to the cyber-world. And my guess is that you somehow reveal yourself to others around you as well.

But there's hope. You just have to decide what kind of person you want to be, and reinvent yourself to be that person.

Are you [b][i]STILL [/b][/i]looking for a job? You've been looking for a long time, haven't you? Or are you looking again? That alone should provide a clue to you that you might need an attitude make-over. And perhaps you should stop drinking. You might be better off without it that you are with it. When all things around you seem to be going wrong, the best place to look for the answer is inside of you.

Hey Mark hate to say that I disagree with you on the spanish/Texas thing. I am from Iowa and have lived here in Fort Worth for almost ten years and can't count the amount of I.T. jobs that said "must speak both spanish and english".
Even in those cases when I applied, just as soon as I admitted that I did not speak spanish I was turned away.
Just last week the Star Telegram had an ad for the large clothing company Dickies, same thing "must speak and write spanish fluently"

Streatching the truth is one thing, but claiming you have a qualification that you clearly do not is and out-and-out lie.

Stretching the truth is one thing, but claiming you have a qualification that you clearly do not is and out-and-out lie.

Remember, degrees are conferred by government legislation. Falsifying these types of records could land you with a prosecution.

If you say you have a degree they will expect to see it sooner, rather than later. Needless to say that could and will lead to trouble. If you know your stuff and got what it takes to stand out among the crowd, I would suggest you explore other alternatives. One would be to get express, inexpensive certifications from sites such as Brainbench (http://www.brainbench.com). They might not be CompTIA, Cisco, or Microsoft certifications, but they're close enough to the real thing and they can be considered by employers. Check it out and you'll see what I mean. Believe me, this is a lot better than "stretching the truth."

In all my jobs, NOONE has ever asked about credentials. What got me thinking, was we had someone who got fired cause they were here illegal.

It's a friggin dog eat dog world now. They want to hire the person with the most titles for the least $$$ - let's get real. Besides - we got people in China who get our jobs for a bowl-of-rice a day. Reminds me - why do my kids buy HOLLISTER junk for so much $$$ - it's made in the same friggin place as the Walmart crap - think about it.

I also learned that any employer is only interested on what you did the last 10 years max. When you have 10 or more years experience it's just impossible to put everything on your resume. I don't see that as a lie at all.

Having done my share of proposal work, I have found that far too many resumes understate people's capabilities and accomplishments.

A resume is a sales document. No, do not claim exprience that you do not have, but fairly report the the experience you do have. Those extra little accomplishments may make the difference between you getting the job or your company getting the contract.

Also, do not limit your resume to some arbitrary page count. Everyone should maintain a master resume including all work history and expect to tailor it to the specific job.

Underselling your skills and experience deprives you of potential income and deprives companies of potential expertise. Fully and proudly state your experience.

Hey,

Go ahead lie. Just make sure your resume is always updated, cuz once they find out you will need it again.

On a lighter side you can always list lying as a hobby on your resume.

;-)))))

I've worked with and for a number of people over the years. I can usually spot a college grad (and one who isn't) a mile away. So can a good screener. Interviewees with 2-year and 4-year degrees tend to present themselves differently and have a better command of written and oral communication skills.

There are a plethora of reasons for not stretching the truth:
1) You could lose a shot at the new job. They may ask for a transcript or call to verify themselves.
2) If it is found out, your credibility is definitely damaged. IT folks tend to network well and the word would get out. Your future in the area of IT would probably be ruined.

If the degree and certifications are that important to a screener, then step up to the plate and go get them.

But never, never try to bluff your way in. It will eventually bite you. The only question is when and how badly.

If I put my medical background on an IT application, I couldn't get anyone to look at me for any IT slot. Back then Unix people made more money than a GP (MD).

There also was no overhead in comparison. It seemed to me that there was no limit to how much easier life would be once I left the Marines to go strictly to IT.

It really isn't a problem when people find out you have additional skills that they didn't ask about. (I fly, also)

It is when you don't have skills that you broadcast.

Some people assume you have no real education, I especially love a education PHD demanding I call them Doctor. I rarely use the Title. Since it isn't in my area of work I find it irrelevant, and not worth me using.

Tim

Si vous avez la desire...

si vous plait...

Tim

...you have no regard for the people who put the blood, sweat, tears, and money into getting a real degree, are too lazy to get one yourself, and would rather lie about it because you think the degree does not really matter. Consequently you make it more difficult for those of use who really do have a degree to get a job, because your actions promote distrust in the job market. Find a job you are really qualified for, or bite the bullet and get the degree and certifications.

I've lived in Texas my entire life. Never really HAD to speak Spanish to get anything in regular life or a job done. And I grew up in South Central Texas where the population is 50% Mexican-American. Being fluent in Espanol would have been slightly helpful when I was in high school working for local farmers who had a migrant worker or two. And it would have been helpful once when I was in grade school and I got ganged up on by a bunch of Mexican kids. They spoke English. My speaking Spanish to them may have helped me get out of a jam. Well, on second thought, I was a smart aleck. Probably would have made things worse.

Resumes explained:

In my time I've seen lots of styles in Resumes. I've also been to several conferences where the preparation was explained at length. But I have discovered on my own that 'Resumes' can be as different as you and me, in content, style, format, and presentation.

But I will say this. Resumes must always be prepared in such a manner, that reading it is pleasurable, informative, coherent, and well presented. All information obtained therein must be verifiable, substantive, and correct.

Padding must be avoided as much as possible, except for an addendum explaining a certain skill, which you feel is worthwhile highlighting, for the position you are applying for. Maintain a sensible and coherent flow. Make the language simple and avoid verbosity.

And in your conclusion, it is always wise to state any specific skill, craft, or experience, that would make you an asset to the organization.

Thank you,
Derryck.

and as a relative junior to yourself with a mere 25 years of employ, there's no way I can include everything on my cv even if it was germane. Damn thing would be a book and it would get binned.
Anyway in my experience as a developer the more skills asked for, the less that are required.

only to get in the door. The very first thing I did in the interview is tell them I had not yet completed my degree. I then did a quick 3 minute skills list, explained what I knew about their operation from my research, identified a possible solution to their latest problem (told to me by one of their tech people who I called) and asked if they still wanted to talk to me. I got hired so I never had to do it again.

Yes, it is lying and you need to correct it up front. If the HR group sets the requirements without knowing what skills people without degrees can have, then I see it as a way to get my foot in the door.

I won't have to do it now but I ashamedly did once upon a time (and I have to admit it still bothers me cause it is wrong).

when not including data it's a lie, as the data given isn't complete.

BUT, extraneous information that isn't requested by the employer being removed isn't a negative.
It's not seen as a lie by society, outside of a court of law. [ the oath being: the truth, the WHOLE truth... ]

It's an accepted form of dishonesty, just like diplomacy is.

How would you feel if you took the job, with a nice benifit package they SAID they had. Then you find out they really weren't a Fortune 500 company, didn't really have a 401K, (but did have a coffee can for change), didn't have as many customers as they said, and only paid 75% of the Medical plan?

That's basically what you are doing.

The IT job market is very tight to begin with. Lying or stretching the truth is a very quick way to be terminated if you are hired, but more than likely your resume will be deposited in the nearest trash bin when you are discovered as a fraud. HR & screeners will verify college degrees, and most vendors have websites where a prospective employer can validate the certs that you have listed.

One thing to consider is that IT is a mature field. Given my own experience in job hunting, I doubt *VERY* seriously if you will find employment in IT without at least at BS in MIS/CS, five yrs of experience in IT, an MCSE 2k with security and messaging, CCDP, CCVP, RHCE, and preferably a CCIE. Even with those qualifications, if you live in certain areas of the U.S., it could take 6 months to a year to find a position. Consider another field other than IT as you are wasting your time based upon your lack of qualifications!

it will show up in your background check (which includes employment, EDUCATION, and criminal), trust me, I know *GASP*...so you can cross that out.

Instead of lying, state a future date when your degree will be completed. For example...

University of
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
Expected Graduation: April, 2007

How does that work? That is assuming you will finish of course...

Second, I admit I cheated on a resume (exact same thing you are proposing) and it showed up on the background check and needless to say I was promptly fired...but thats not what I learned (yes yes, cheating is bad) I learned I actually had some sort of a conscience...cause I felt sooo guilty during those 2 or 3 weeks of employment...in fact I was planning on quitting...go figure..who knew...this conscience thing actually bothered me!!

I haven't cheated since and never will, its just not a cool thing to do. There are better alternatives...good luck!

Is there a definition? If one added an extra month to his/her experience time for a particular job is that "stretching the truth"? I always thought of that as lying. I am asking because I don't know....what exactly is stretching the truth? How do you uh...stretch something something intangible as Truth?

What do you have to lose? I am serious...go ahead and do it...the worse they will do is fire you. Case closed, you move on to the next job.

In the whole process you might actually learn something about yourself...who knows!

Desirous of complete information and thinking an expert opinion would help, and because I'm very concerned about this issue since I always do everything totally honestly and ethically and would never want to be thought of in any other way for any reason, I consulted with several senior recruiters I know to get their views.

These are people who are at such firms as Korn Ferry, Challenger Grey, and Russell Reynolds. They're mostly retainer recruiters, some contingency, and all work to recruit mid-level managers through the highest level of senior executives.

I asked five different individuals, and every one of them said the omission of credentials and/or qualifications from a resume is not considered either dishonest or unethical. Three of them were a little quizzical as to why one would do that, and I explained it was mostly a matter of resume length and applicability of the skill or experience to the situation. They all said in that case it was a perfectly acceptable practice.

Thinking this particular group might be considered to have suspect ethical motives (they don't, but I like to be thorough) I also asked a half dozen or so colleagues in as many different companies who are all hiring managers what they thought. Every one of them said they had personally omitted credentials for the same reasons, and would not look upon a candidate who had done so any differently than someone who submitted their entire autobiography in place of a resume.

Submitted to this discussion thread for what it's worth.

Yeah I've taken a lot of ribbing for being from up north! But I love it here, been almost ten years and I have NO plans to ever leave.
I'm told by many folks in Fort Worth once I make it an official ten years here I am a real Texan.
I just hope that I never have to go to Dallas -)
Just kidding man.

Are you enjoying your spring this winter? Do you miss your snowbound Iowa tundra? You've been here 10 years and so should realize that this winter is NOT the norm. Not by any means. Most winters we have a lot of warm days but not every day like this winter. Enjoy it while it lasts. The weather around here changes faster than you can say "I'm a rootin' tootin' Texas cowboy!"

Yeah Mark about the Texas winters. After living here for nearly ten years I can to attest that this has been THE mildest winter yet for me.
And heck no I don't miss Iowa winters!!! Haha they are horrible and bone chilling. But even Iowa has had an above average warm winter, warmest since 1913 supposdly.

hey i agree to you dude stuffs we learnt on our own and having the confidence we can outsmart most techies.... well its the same thing with me so what i did was on my resume i out an additional saying AREA OF EXPERTISE and mentioning few things which i have a good hold on so thats how it goes... but on the other side there is a situation we have to face i mean think we passed the screening and got into it now by chance if we are cracked up the thruth will surely screw our happiness ...... huh

if there's a reason why you don't get past the screeners?

Personally I'm in the final stages of studying for my degree now. If you can already do the tasks required to get you the "goofy details" (wtf btw) then STUDY. Should be easy IF you can already do it.

If you can't manage to achieve them then what are you complaining for?

Put your money where your mouth is and suck it up

While working for an engg. company, I also studied for my Bachelor of Mech. Engg. in an evening college. While I passed in first class in the final year, I could not complete some of failed subjects of the 2nd & 3rd year due to personal reasons. Now I'm confused how to project this in my resume. Otherwise I'm a Diploma Certificate holder in Mech. Engg. and have 20 yrs. of Industry & IT experience. So far I've been honest enough to not to show my degree in my resume but I'm not getting good offers.

Having carried out several hundred job interviews the one piece of advice I would give anyone is don't lie or over embelish the truth on a CV.

The easy way we find out in an interview is start with a question like "Can you give me an example where you did * ?" and drill down from there. No matter how good a liar you are you will not do it consistantly enough not to get found out.

In the UK staff usually go through agencies to find work and if you have once been caught out lying at a client interview are they going to risk sending you to their blue chip clients?

All in all honesty is the best policy if you have the skills you need to look at how you sell yourself and maybe getting some certs to demonstrate those skills you think you have.

Don't lie. As most people here have said, it will come back and bite you.

If you can hold your own against most of the techies on the new stuff, then why don't you prove it? Whilst you're looking for a new job, get your certification and a few more exams under your belt. I don't know if you're working at the moment, but if you're not, I'm sure one of the interview questions will be something along the lines of "What have you been doing whilst you've been looking for jobs?". And if you can turn around and say that you've been passing exams whilst looking for a job, it'll be a huge bonus.

That way you won't have to lie, your future employer will admire your efforts, and you'll feel a hell of a lot better about yourself.

Good luck for the future!

So when asked for your transcripts for the degree you don't have or the certification ID (Microsoft, Cisco, CISSP, SAN, Comptia) all have verification processes to ensure that those that say they are certified are. If you lie and it is checked (I check my applicates because I require a number of certified folks to maintian my MVP and Cisco patner status) - one I am not going to hire you, two I am going to communicate it to my peers at other organizations. Demonstration of knowledge is great, the ability to acquire the certification or level of education shows your ability to document that education. Falsing that information to get ahead - creates serious trust issues - recommend you just sit for the certifications

My resume does not include old, out of date "competancies" and
positions that are either irrelevant for the job and/or give away
my age. Although age discrimination is illegal, it does happen.
Documenting 15+ years of work experience meeting the
requirements should be enough.

On the issue of outright lying--I'll never forget the interview I
was sent on where they kept asking me questions that had
nothing to do with my area of expertise (and that I could not
answer). After about 15 minutes I asked to see the resume the
interview had been referring to. The agent had fabricated a total
lie of a resume for me! I gave the interviewer a copy of my own
resume and apologized for wasting his time. They actually
offered me the job and said they would train me. (I didn't take
the job because I did not want to send my career in that
direction).