Ever Lie on a Resume?

Check out these findings from the Wall Street Journal:

About 20% of job seekers and employees undergoing background checks exaggerate their educational backgrounds. In a 2004 survey of human-resource professionals, 61% said they "often" or "sometimes" find résumé inaccuracies when vetting prospective hires, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

I've never lied about anything on my resume (especially my education -- I've never had to). But maybe I have made something seem bigger than it really was. That's not what they're talking about though, is it?

Anyway, I thought I'd ask all of you: have you ever lied on a resume?

Comments

[matt @ Thrive]

Like you, I never had to lie about my educational background. But I most certainly try to project the best level of what I've actually accomplished.

I have actually caught job applicants in a few fairly elaborate lies. I remember one fairly young applicant for an internship that essentially tried to give us the impression he had attended college as a student, rather than working there as a janitor. Apparently, it didn't occur to him that we Google all our applicants. *grins*

[Krazy Eyes]

I've never personally lied on a resume but I once worked for a company who discovered that their mid-six figure salary CFO had lied about virtually every single one of his accomplishments and education on his resume (including his Harvard MBA which helped explain why he had ben driving the company into the ground financially). How does this sort of thing happen? Worse of all my company couldn't legally go into detail about why he was fired and I'm pretty sure he went on to become a CFO at another company.

[TStrump]

Honesty is always the best policy ...
I worked at a company for only 7 months about 10 yrs ago and then it went broke.
I had to put it on my resume and to this day, I still have to keep explaining what happened as the employment term was less than one year.

[Miss M]

Nope, never lied. I've never had a reason to either. I am always amazed at the stories of big CEOs being fired for lying on their resume. I would think the company did a little digging before hiring their top guy. My current employer is the only one who has ever asked for college transcripts. My best friend lies on her resume, she is a class or two shy of having a degree. She's never been caught, yet.

[fivecentnickel.com]

Nope. Never.

[poor boomer]

I have never lied on my resume, but I am seriously considering removing any mention of college on my resume. (I think listing my degree actually makes meless desirable to employers.)

If I remove any mention of college, would that be lying on my resume?

[guinness416]

I've never lied on my resume. If you have to you're doing something very wrong, although I think bigging up your achievements is probably okay. I read that Jack Grubman (the corrupt Salomon analyst of dot com boom fame) lied about going to MIT instead of Boston College until well into his career.

[Bryan]

I have never lied on my resume, or in an interview but in hindsight I feel that I should have.

I had a 4 month gap in my resume that seemed to make it difficult to get a new job. Interview after interview they would ask about the gap and I would tell them I was out of work and did various temporary assignments, etc. And they never seemed to like it.

I feel like I should have closed the gap, maybe the interviews would have gone better. I just can't bring myself to lie, especially speaking from the perspective of an interviewer.

[Andrew]

I have never flat out lied but I have exaggerated my education and credentials before.

[Greg]

I am always puzzled about people who lie about easily verifiable facts (even more so by companies that do not verify easily verifiable facts).

There is a difference between lying and fluff. Anything i put on my resume I can back up, but I always present in the best light i can.

Poor Boomer: The purpose of your resume is to get an interview. Leave off any information that does not pertain to the position you are seeking. If asked, do not lie. If you have any doubt after you are hired, approach HR and have your file updated.

Bryan: When I list jobs on my resume, I list years (ACME 1989-2000, Enron 2001-2004). Unless asked specifically, leave it off. When hired, have a detailed list of former employers to place in your file. Were the odd jobs with a temp agency? Only one listing for the the 4 months. Self-employed? Same thing. If you must bring it up, frame it as a way to choose the right job, maintain your finances, etc.

I worked a s contractor to a federal prosecutor for four years. The contract was purchased four times. On my resume, I show four years with the federal prosecutor. In the interview I explain that each time the contract changed hands, the client asked me to stay; working for four different companies was on paper only. It comes across much better than if the first impression was that i job-hopped every year.

[Craig]

I am like you. I have colorized things I have done to make them seem more important than they really are, but never would lie. Especially about education. Nothing good can come out of that.

[Di Eats the Elephant]

I have not lied, but I am now writing and have seen job offers from companies looking for Harvard (and other Ivy League) schools with writing degrees who will then write or edit essays for other potential students to use to get into these same schools (or others). I consider that cheating in a big way and wonder how many folks have gotten into good schools (or any school) by hiring someone to write or edit their supposedly original essays. Has anyone ever heard of this before or know someone who did this?

[Liz]

I have never lied on resume because if I was caught I could potentially lose my bar license if someone chose to report it. I have "fluffed" the duties of my retail jobs but nothing to where you can't tell what I did. I have never put accomplishments on my resume that I have never actually achieved. I have some weird gaps in my history (mostly school, but one job I quit). I explain it honestly (I hated the job and desperately needed a change in work environment). But if you're honest and not job hopping you should be able to clarify your resume in an interview.

[Lola Getz]

I've never lied on a resume because of a fear of being caught. However, just yesterday I discovered that a first cousin of mine, a woman who has had (inexplicably in my view) a number of extremely high-flying jobs in her life has been lying about her education from the very beginning of her working life. I was never able to figure out how she landed the jobs she did with no degree but now I know that she's been saying from the beginning that she has a degree in psychology when she never went to college at all. In fact, she was a flight attendant and during the years she was supposedly doing a degree at a university in Atlanta, she was actually working for Delta in New Orleans. There have been enough years since then and she's climbed the ladder so high that I guess she feels no one will ever challenge her on it.