Hey lazy! Are you still looking for a job? Maybe you’re thinking about “embellishing” your work history a little more, then. However, according to CareerBuilder you should be careful, because “49 percent of hiring managers reported they caught a candidate lying on their resume,” usually about things like responsibilities and skills. If you feel lucky, go for it, but there are certain Really Big Lies you probably shouldn’t try.
CareerBuilder.com asked hiring managers to share the most memorable or outrageous lies they came across on resumes. Examples include:
- Claimed to be a member of the Kennedy family
- Invented a school that did not exist
- Submitted a resume with someone else’s photo inserted into the document
- Claimed to be a member of Mensa
- Claimed to have worked for the hiring manager before, but never had
- Claimed to be the CEO of a company when the candidate was an hourly employee
- Listed military experience dating back to before he was born
- Included samples of work, which the interviewer actually did
- Claimed to be Hispanic when he was 100 percent Caucasian
- Claimed to have been a professional baseball player
Now that you know what not to write (apparently “former astronaut” is still okay), here are a few other tips. Apply early, make sure you highlight specific accomplishments that can be gleaned in less than 30 seconds (because that’s probably how long your resume will be viewed), and use keywords:
Hiring managers often use electronic scanners to rank candidates based on a keyword search of applications, so make sure to pepper keywords from the job posting into your resume as they apply to your experience. The terms employers search for most often are:
- problem-solving and decision-making skills (50 percent)
- oral and written communications (44 percent)
- customer service or retention (34 percent)
- performance and productivity improvement (32 percent)
- leadership (30 percent)
- technology (27 percent)
- team-building (26 percent)
- project management (20 percent)
- bilingual (14 percent)
“Nearly Half of Employers Have Caught a Lie on a Resume, CareerBuilder.com Survey Shows” [Marketwatch]
(Photo: Getty)
More From Consumerist
-
Amazon Lies To Customer, Says Company Doesn’t Set Its Own Prices
-
Google Voice Customers Cry Out For Help, No One At Google Hears Them
-
Market Researchers Want To Literally Read Your Mind
-
Sprint Sells Me iPhone With No Coverage, Lies About It
-
Caught In The Middle Of A Game Of ‘Blame The Other Company’
Racism with the 100%. Looks can be deceiving when it comes to race.
@Snarkysnake: 100% agree.But they have to justify that degree or title.One exception though I think many HRs do a good job with the existing employees and problems but hiring new employees no way.
I think most companies spend too much time looking for the ideal candidate.You can’t always categorize certain experiences,skills or degrees.Scary part is that I always see the same companies at jobs fairs with the same requirements.
I’ve seen idiots pass the police/civil service test after being coached on how to answer and getting a politician as reference.The samething goes on in corporate America as well,a networked applicant is told or coached as to what the company is looking for so those things wind up being emphasized on the resume and in the interview.
Lying on resume is one of the dirty little secrets of corporate America,it’s been going for years.I’ve read many a survey where business majors are most likely to lie and probably expect you will lie as well.
@SinisterMatt: I remember that lady,I think it was an Ivy League School.Scarey part is that she apparently did her job quite well:WITHOUT the required degree.
Man if productivity matched the resumes that are turned in there would be no problems in America today.
It’s actually really easy to get into Mensa; the only dumb part of putting it on your resume is thinking anyone will be impressed.
Hummmm, here’s the flip side of what employers lie about…
Lying about the number of work hours required & expecting you to work for FREE whenever asked.
Lying about your chances for promotion
Not disclosing the “REAL” job description (these are often written by professional advertising companies)
Lying about the corporate culture (telling you they only hire the brightest & best team-oriented people)
Lying about how much they can really pay you.
Lying about how their pay scale actually works
Telling you how “WONDERFUL” the management staff is when in reality they hire from for a pool of narcissistic, pre-madonna’s
Lying about the level of confidentiality you can expect
@u1itn0w2day: “Lying on resume is one of the dirty little secrets of corporate America,it’s been going for years.I’ve read many a survey where business majors are most likely to lie and probably expect you will lie as well.”
I actually teach out of a business ethics textbook that says IT’S ALL RIGHT TO LIE ON A RESUME BECAUSE IT’S ALL PART OF THE GAME.
I spend a lot of time explaining to my students how this can get you fired at best and prison time at worst if you happen to be at a place that makes you sign affidavits when submitting your resume!
@mariospants: Not really nope. It’s the racial markers people are discriminating against not where you’re from. If your friend looks 100% white by GOD she should use that to her advantage. If I didn’t look black, I wouldn’t be scrawing african america across any application. But I am so I do.
obviously african americaN, not african america. -sigh-
I was hiring for a technical position and a candidate – who was actually doing fairly well and was personable – listed on his resume that he spoke Japanese. So, in Japanese, I asked him how he was doing and if the drive to our interview was pleasant.
The guy blanched. Color drained from his face. Sputter. Sputter. Ask for a repeat. Sputter. I asked what his name was – which a five-year-old Japanese should know. More of the same.
Japanese had NOTHING to do with the job title, but we killed his candidacy right there.
Don’t lie, even on the non-job-related stuff.
We also called the companies listed to verify employment. And references. It’s stunning how few companies do this. How many of your companies check?
HR is one of the biggest problems with the modern job market. You either meet the invisible standard they’ve constructed behind closed doors, which may or may not have anything whatsoever to do with the day-to-day functions of the position, or you’re out.
But it’s the little things that really let you know that HR is usually the most clueless department in the building…
“We’re looking for an experienced and professional phone service representative, with excellent verbal communications skills. Please apply by mail or fax.”
“Need someone who can troubleshoot internet connections and networking issues. Must be able to demonstrate excellent computer skills, and must be on-call outside of normal business hours in case of emergency. Please apply by mail only.”
@u1itn0w2day: You think the perceived problems with HR might be more about bad management using HR as the bad guys? I’ve had to undo more than my share of bad management decisions. HR didn’t think it was a good idea to hire the hottie for sales…it was some manager with clout.
One little known aspect of HR — most pure “HR” people hate recruiting…it’s a whole different skill set (kinda like sales and marketing — same job family, different skills). I’m mostly a recruiter, and I hate the HR job — whiny employees, time spent on “fairness”, saying “no” all the time…
Is Brazilian considered “hispanic”? Just wondering.