Resume and Interview Tips
Resume dishonesty. It's a more common occurrence than one might think. People lie on their Resume all the time. In fact, up to 30% of applications contain false material and information. That's a huge number, considering that 45% of potential employees have a criminal record, bad driving record, workers' compensation claim or bad credit history. People lie all the time about, sometime trivial stuff. According to Forbes.com, the top 9 most common Resume lies are the following:
1. Lying about getting a degree. Just because a person attended a certain school or university, does not mean they finished. Many people, although they may be partially trained, do not have the full credentials they claim to have, for a specific trade.
2. Exaggerating numbers. Many people exaggerate how much money they earned for their last company. The problem with this is, the new job with have the same expectations, which could lead to resentment and bitterness.
3. Increasing previous salary. This becomes a problem when the new employer asks to see a previous pay stub. Then the applicant is caught in their lies.
4. Playing with dates. The new employer probably does not care the exact year when the applicant said they graduate, they will in fact, care about two things; that the applicant did indeed graduate, and that the applicant lied.
5. Inflating titles. If an applicant claims they worked as a manager then the new employer would, presumably, think the applicant has different abilities (like the skill to work well with others, by being a leader).
6. Lying about technical abilities. If a job requires a certain computer skill, an applicant lying about their proficiency produces the same effects as exaggerating numbers does... plus embarrassment.
7. Claiming language fluency. Many people claim they are fluent in a language, just because they took 1 or 2 years of it in high school. Sure, it might be enough to get by on vacation, but in an office which requires interaction with foreign language, it definitely is not enough. Plus, some employers test applicants on their foreign language fluency, which can lead to again, embarrassment.
8. Providing a fake address. Not only does this cause problems where to send a paycheck, but this also can cause a huge misstep in the background screening process. Many companies use a social security trace to verify a person's past residential history to find criminal convictions. The real address will show up on the trace.
9. Padding grade point averages. People will claim they graduated with honors or earned a 4.0 (among other things). However, the truth will be revealed by a simple call to the school.
While it's not a crime to lie on a Resume, there are plenty of resources out there to verify the information provided. A background check will weed out not only those with a criminal history, but also those who lied on their Resume. And in any case, if a person is willing to lie during the application process, what else could they be capable of?
Kelsey Lutro
Internet Marketing Specialist
