{"id":7936,"date":"2017-11-06T17:21:46","date_gmt":"2017-11-06T17:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/lying-on-your-resume-do-it-at-your-own-risk-7936\/"},"modified":"2023-09-28T12:57:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T07:27:00","slug":"lying-on-your-resume-do-it-at-your-own-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/lying-on-your-resume-do-it-at-your-own-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Lying on your resume? Do it at your own risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Caught
\n<\/span>A lie, they say, is enough to question all truths. More so if it\u2019s on your resume!<\/span><\/p>\n

The worrisome part is that the number of lies on resumes is going up. The 2017 employment screening benchmark report <\/a>by HireRight, a provider of on-demand employee background screening, reveals that 85% of employers caught applicants fibbing on their r\u00e9sum\u00e9s, a huge increase from 66% five years ago. \u201cCandidates, even at the highest seniority levels, are regularly embellishing their resumes,\u201d the report says. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even Scott Thompson did it. The former CEO of Yahoo! was considered and chosen to be the right person to turn around the beleaguered internet company, but the disclosure that he had \u201cembellished his academic credentials\u201d forced him from office.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like most countries in the world, organizations in the UAE are now getting serious about checking CVs. Employment background checks are becoming common, especially for mid to senior positions, and people who fake resumes are likely to face repercussions. <\/span><\/p>\n

Lying on your resume \u2013 it may be about a qualification or a project \u2013 may not seem like such a big deal, but the consequences could hang heavy over your career. There are just too many opportunities for your life to come out \u2013 from the initial background check to the multiple meetings during the interview process or the reference checks. Just one question can catch you out on a lie, create an embarrassing situation, damage your reputation and put an end to the possibility of you being hired. Being fired for lying on your resume can have long-lasting effects on your professional standing. <\/span><\/p>\n

The top 10 lies on resumes<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\n
\nExperts are univocal on the most common things people spin a yarn or two about on their CVs: education, employment dates, job titles and technical skills.
\n<\/span>
\nA 2012 study by Accu-Screen, ADP and the Society of Human Resource Managers revealed the top 10 untruths employees put on their resumes. <\/span>
\n
\n\u2022 Stretching dates of employment<\/span>
\n\u2022 Inflating past accomplishments and skills<\/span>
\n\u2022 Enhancing titles and responsibilities<\/span>
\n\u2022 Exaggerating education and fabricating degrees<\/span>
\n\u2022 Unexplained gaps and periods of \u201cself-employment\u201d<\/span>
\n\u2022 Omitting past employment<\/span>
\n\u2022 Faking credentials<\/span>
\n\u2022 Falsifying reasons for leaving prior employment<\/span>
\n\u2022 Providing fraudulent references<\/span>
\n\u2022 Misrepresenting a military record<\/span><\/p>\n

How do hiring managers catch a lie?<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\n
\nOver the years, most hiring managers and prospective employers train themselves to spot discrepancies that may be covering up lies. The things they look for include:<\/span>
\n
\nDate discrepancies:<\/strong> When a job seeker lists start and end dates year-to-year and omits the month and year, s\/he could be trying to hide job gaps or attempting to make previous employment seem longer. <\/span><\/p>\n

Lack of degree description:<\/strong> Many people often fudge or embellish educational qualifications, and hiring managers see a red flag if the job seeker doesn\u2019t put the type of degree. A person who says master\u2019s degree is more likely to be fudging than someone who says master\u2019s in communication. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sudden jumps in titles:<\/strong> It\u2019s possible for a prospective candidate to go from being an assistant to a manager, but it\u2019s likely to take some time. If s\/he does it in a seemingly short span or when between jobs, the hiring manager is sure to probe. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unusual job descriptions:<\/strong> Vague and strange job descriptions that seem at variations with the job title or peculiar skill sets that don\u2019t seem consistent with the work at hand may draw the recruiter\u2019s attention. <\/span><\/p>\n

Focus on I:<\/strong> A resume that says too much \u201cI\u201d instead of \u201cwe\u201d raises a red flag. For taking too much credit \u2013 and for almost every project \u2013 showcases that the person isn\u2019t a team player at all and is trying to score points for the accomplishment. <\/span><\/p>\n

How can you set the wrong right?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

All lies are not equal and the type of lie you have put on your resume will influence the way you handle the situation. The lie is a problem for sure, but it need not be a career-ending one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get defensive:<\/strong> If you\u2019ve been caught, getting defensive, making excuses or putting the blame on others is not going to help. Take back control by being truthful, transparent and confident \u2013 a much better path than offering pitiful excuses. <\/span><\/p>\n

Resend your resume:<\/strong> If you feel you’ve been caught out, there’s no harm in updating your resume – tweaking the wording, remedying the dates and so on – and sending an apology stating that you noticed some errors and are sending a revised resume. <\/span><\/p>\n

Tell the truth:<\/strong> This may not seem like the best option, but coming clean may push you up in your interviewer’s eyes, especially if you have a reason for why you added that innocuous lie. Acknowledge, explain and move on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ensure you never do it again:<\/strong> So you were caught in the interviewer\u2019s headlights and handled the glare? But it\u2019s important never to repeat this kind of mistake \u2013 it\u2019s not one that any interviewer wants to come up against. <\/span><\/p>\n

Update your CV:<\/strong> It is extremely important to replace the fraudulent resume with one that showcases your real skill sets and achievements. Take the help of a professional resume writing service<\/a> to create a resume that\u2019s the best pitch for you. Use your cover letter to address the \u201cweak points\u201d in your resume. <\/span><\/p>\n

Withdraw your job application:<\/strong> If the situation seems too bad to salvage, simply withdraw your job application without saying why. Thank the employer for the invitation and his time, and say you’re not interested in the position at this time. <\/span><\/p>\n

Always keep in mind that your resume is a tool that markets you. It gets you a foot in the door for sure, but if the hiring manager were to discover that you\u2019ve been lying to get the job, you\u2019ll be out of the door before you know it. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A lie, they say, is enough to question all truths. More so if it\u2019s on your resume! The worrisome part is that the number of lies on resumes is going up. The 2017 employment screening benchmark report by HireRight, a provider of on-demand employee background screening, reveals that 85% of employers caught applicants fibbing on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7936","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-resume-cover-letters"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7936"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20841,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7936\/revisions\/20841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}