Typical Resume Is situated Applicants usually Tell

Have you ever pondered whether there’s a specific point where you might consider “editing” that uncomfortable employment gap on your resume?

“It’s just a minor tweak… it won’t hurt, right?“

Fabricating information on a resume is a prevalent issue among job seekers. Even some of the most “honest” individuals have resorted to lying on their resumes. According to numerous surveys, approximately 43% of resumes circulating in the job market contain falsifications. This puts hiring managers at a higher risk of recruiting unsuitable candidates.

Nowadays, hiring managers invest more time scrutinizing and verifying resumes to ensure their accuracy. This practice is particularly critical for roles where a person’s life could hinge on the employment decision. For positions not directly linked to the healthcare sector, food and nutrition, or industries without immediate implications on human well-being, the risk of resume falsification may seem minimal. Nevertheless, the risk persists, and discovering falsified information can lead to termination.

So, why do certain job seekers resort to embellishing their resumes? One of the common reasons is that applicants feel their skills fall short of the requirements listed in job postings. Frequently, the seemingly “unrealistic” demands in job ads prompt candidates to pad their resumes. They believe that if they get the job, they can perform better and eventually cover up the misleading information added to their resumes.

While this strategy might work for some, not everyone manages to escape scrutiny for their embellished resumes. Some get caught during interviews, while others might elude discovery for a while, only to be exposed later. You might wonder which sections or aspects of a typical resume tend to be padded or manipulated by applicants to secure an interview. Here are a few examples:

Educational Background

Candidates often fabricate their educational history. They might claim to hold a specific degree when, in reality, they only attended a few classes and never made significant progress towards a degree. In addition to falsely claiming a degree, some applicants omit the year they graduated to prevent HR personnel from doing the math.

In addition to these resume lies made by experienced candidates, there are also practices common among recent graduates. Some might inflate their GPA above what they actually achieved. Others assert that they studied abroad or completed internships at existing or non-existent companies. Certain individuals even claim to have received certain honors they never actually earned.

Salary History

Several job seekers exaggerate their previous salaries in hopes of securing a better offer. This often involves adding regular salary to incentives and bonuses. However, potential employers have ways to verify this by requesting pay stubs or tax returns. This helps promptly uncover or prevent inflated salary claims.

Truncated Job History

Apart from manipulation due to lack of skills or qualifications, some applicants modify their resumes out of fear of discrimination. Age discrimination is a common challenge faced by middle-aged candidates. To evade such bias, older applicants might truncate their work experiences and omit dates to avoid revealing their age.

Language and Proficiency Claims

Certain individuals blur the line between familiarity and proficiency when it comes to specific skills and software know-how. Someone might list expertise in programs like Dreamweaver, Linux, and Adobe Indesign when, in reality, they can only open and close these programs. Such falsehoods usually surface during interviews or actual job tasks.

In addition to exaggerating software skills, candidates might also lie about their language proficiency. These claims can lead to embarrassing situations, especially when an interviewer engages them in conversation using the claimed fluent language.

Criminal Records

Job seekers with criminal records are no strangers to resume fabrications. They might believe that an incident from five years ago won’t resurface. However, deeper background checks might reveal their history to potential employers.

After examining the common lies that job seekers tell on their resumes, one question remains unresolved: “Should you lie to secure or keep a job, or should you be honest and face the consequences of telling the truth?”

We can’t blame applicants who resort to lying. In this competitive job market, desperate job seekers might resort to any means to get employed. Nevertheless, as challenging as it may seem, honesty remains the best policy. After all, every lie you tell in the past has the potential to come back and haunt you.