When You Lie on Your Resume Would You Get Caught?

When You Lie on Your Resume Would You Get Caught?

Lie on Your Resume: Lying on your resume can be tempting when you’ve sent out many resumes and just aren’t getting interviews. You start to get discouraged, stressed, and probably a little angry. Keep reading to know several ways employers discover the truth behind your resume lies as well as what you can do instead of lying.

What Is A Lie On Your Resume?

There are different types of lies, but they can be divided into two categories: lies of commission and lies of omission. Lies of the commission are false statements such as lying about where you attended college.

Lies of omission are more common than lies of commission and include not telling the full truth, such as stating that you are college-educated when you attended but never earned a degree. It is estimated that 40% of people lie on their resumes, and three out of four employers have caught a lie on someone’s resume.

The most common parts of resumes to lie about include education, previous dates of employment, and previous salary. Other common lies include:

• Exaggerating numbers, such as increasing revenue 50%
• Inflating titles
• Lying about technical abilities
• Claiming language fluency
• Using a fake address

Human resources departments and recruiters frequently check for lies in resumes but rarely tell candidates if they caught them lying, as they simply do not hire a person who lied.

Lying may also cause you to be flagged as a “do not hire.” If you’re hired and get caught, the consequences can be dire, costing you your job and reputation and possibly resulting in legal action.

Depending on what you lie about and what your job is, it can affect other people, such as a former government official who lied about his experience in disaster relief and botched the response to Hurricane Katrina.

HR departments and recruiters most commonly check exact dates of employment and whether or not the employee was fired or laid off. They may or may not check job duties and titles.

Everything else on the resume is typically ignored unless a problem arises later on in the hiring process, or once the person is hired but not living up to expectations.

Ways Employers Discover Resume Lies.

1. Your Alma Mater Can’t Confirm You Graduated

Claiming to be a Harvard graduate when you really have a degree from a no-name state school is one of the worst things you can lie about on your resume, according to hiring managers surveyed by Hloom.

And while some employers will take you at your word when you say you went to a fancy school, others will check on your educational background by calling the school directly or using a service, such as the National Student Clearinghouse.

Sometimes, its interested third parties who clue an employer into a lie, such as the student journalists at a Kansas high school who discovered their new principal had inflated her educational credentials.

2. You Can’t Pass a Skills Test

It’s easy to say you’re proficient in everything, from conversational French to coding, on your resume. But proving you have those skills is another thing entirely. Employers realize how simple it is for people to exaggerate their skillset, so don’t be surprised if you’re asked to demonstrate your talents.

An interviewer might ask you a question in the language you claim to be fluent in or give you an on-the-spot quiz. Failing such a basic test is a sure sign that you’ve either stretched the truth or overestimated your abilities, both of which are likely to take you out of the running for a job.

3. Dates Don’t Add Up

Roughly a quarter of resume liars are fibbing about their employment dates, according to Office Team. If you’re tempted to cover up a resume gap by fudging employment dates, don’t do it. A quick call to your past employer is all it takes for someone to find out that you got laid off back in January, not June.

Trying to cover a gap by listing your job history by year, rather than month and year, is also suspicious and might prompt a hiring manager to do some further digging. If you’re worried about a resume gap making you look like a slacker, fill it with volunteering or consulting work, not lies.

4. Your Resume and Cover Letter Don’t Match

A sparkling, error-free resume paired with a messy cover letter is a red flag that a candidate is not being totally honest. Such a discrepancy suggests you got a helping hand with your C.V. or maybe even stole another person’s work history to pass off as your own.

Being unable to recall key details of your experience and jobs during an interview is another huge giveaway that you’ve fabricated your past employment.

5. Your Job Titles Are Too Good To Be True

Two years out of college and already sitting in the C-suite? Expect an interviewer to ask some pointed questions about your responsibilities to make sure you’re actually telling the truth about your title.

Inflated job titles will also come to light if the prospective employer calls your ex-boss to confirm your past employment. That’s when the promotion you gave yourself from marketing intern to senior marketing manager is going to be revealed.

6. You’re Vague about Your Skills and Experience

Job candidates might stretch the truth by using vague terms to describe their skills and experience. Perhaps the reason that as long as they’re not spouting an outright lie, it’s OK.

But savvy interviewers will spot people who aren’t quite as knowledgeable as they initially appear. “Using ambiguous phrases like ‘familiar with’ or ‘involved in’ could mean the candidate is trying to cover up a lack of direct experience,” noted OfficeTeam.

In other words, claiming to be familiar with event planning because you sometimes pick up doughnuts for the weekly staff meeting isn’t going to fly.

7. Your Body Language Betrays You

You might think you’re an impeccable liar. But subtle body language cues in the interview could be giving away your resume lies. “A lack of eye contact or constant fidgeting may suggest dishonesty,” noted OfficeTeam, though those behaviors aren’t guarantees of dishonesty.

Touching your nose, looking down when you’re answering a question, and turning your body away from the interviewer are other ways you might inadvertently signal that you’re not telling the truth, according to the Los Angeles Times.

8. Your References Don’t Back You Up

If you’re a skilled liar, you might get away with embellishing your skills or past responsibilities in an interview or on your resume. But you won’t necessarily be able to count on your references to back you up. An honest reference will reveal the real extent of your job responsibilities or the truth about your so-called accomplishments.

Even if you find a reference willing to go along with your charade, the interviewer might do some extra digging on their own, reaching out to mutual connections or independently contacting your old boss or co-workers to find out what you’re really like.

And remember, no laws are restricting what an ex-employer can say about you, despite what some job seekers might think.

9. A Google Search Reveals the Truth

Seventy percent of employers snoop on candidates before offering them a job. You better hope that what HR finds on social media or as part of a basic Google search matches what you have on your resume.

Of employers who decide not to hire someone after researching them online, 27% did so because they discovered the candidate had lied about their qualifications, CareerBuilder found.

A little Nancy Drew-style sleuthing is all it takes to discover that your alma mater is a diploma mill or that the company you claimed to work for last year went out of business a decade ago.

10. The Employer Conducts a Background Check

Not all employers conduct formal background checks. But if you encounter one that does, it will sink you if you’re being untruthful. If a prospective employer conducts a background check and discovers you’ve lied (either directly or by omission) about your work history, criminal past, education, professional certifications, or other key facts, don’t expect a job offer.

Try These Out In Lieu Of Lying On Your Resume

Lying on your resume might be tempting. But, hopefully, these tales have helped you to see why it isn’t advisable. However, there are some things you can do to make your resume a little more appealing that isn’t against the rules. Here are a few quick tips to consider:

• Polish your real resume for success. There’s so much you can do to maximize the impact of your resume to propel your career forward. Lying on your resume is unethical and it will almost certainly backfire. So, instead, focus on updating and polishing your resume as best you can.

Get in the habit of adding new skills and qualifications as they come up so that you don’t have to remember them later. That way, when decide to look for a new job, your resume will be ready to go.

• Be mindful of the gaps. Holes in your resume can send the wrong message. Thankfully, there are some things you can do to help close resume gaps in the right way and without lying.

First try adding anything that helped you grow during your time away from the workforce such as freelance or contract work, training, and education, or volunteer work.

Finally, be ready to explain any gaps that do remain when preparing for an interview. Ask yourself how you grew as a result of your time away and how that wisdom benefits you professionally today.

• Generate a profile statement. Showcasing your skills first on your resume is a great way to grab the attention of hiring managers. If you don’t already have an objective section on your resume, consider creating a profile statement so that you can lead with your skills.

Profile statements help to showcase your talents and the specifics ways you’d be an excellent fit for the job and the company.

• Concentrate your efforts where they’re most likely to pay off. Instead of obsessing over your resume, direct your time and attention toward aspects of the job search process that are most likely to pay off in the end. Dig into networking, for example.

It has proven to be one of the most effective ways to get hired. Some estimate that as many as 85 percent of open positions are filled through networking.

However, in most cases, the risks of telling a big lie on your resume aren’t worth the potential reward. Most job seekers are better off telling the truth on their resume. When you lie on your resume be careful so you don’t get caught. This can be helpful to your friends too, kindly share it with them on their social media handle.

CSN Team.