How much truth is in your resume?

Let’s admit it… Some people don’t tell the strict truth when it comes to resumes. None of those people are here, of course. But I’m sure we all know people who do lie on their resumes. I’ll volunteer a “friend” of mine. His resume is perhaps only 85% strict truth. The rest is all elaborate… well… half-truths.


“A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most.” – George Bernard Shaw

100% gospel truth!

Still no job though :frowning:


Ignorant since 1972

I don’t see a reason to lie… got 3 certs and years of experience. Why would I want a job I’m not qualified for? Would rather be overqualified and comfortable than in a position I don’t know how to handle. Then again, it’s probably different in the computer field where know how matters than in a brain dead field like sales or marketing…


http://www.madpoet.com
I am human, and I need to be loved
Just like anybody else does

Mine is 100% true. I’m a chicken and I’m always afraid they’ll catch me if I lie.

Mine’s 100% true, but I’ve never been asked for one until after I was hired.

My resume is also 100% true. Maybe that’s why I can’t find a job. All the losers out there who lie about what they know are getting the jobs I’m after. And since they lie, they look more impressive than I do.


There is one safeguard known generally to the wise, which is an advantage and security to all,
but especially to democracies as against despots. What is it? Distrust.
– Demosthenes

Joe Cool

Yeah, I keep mine accurate. I’ve interviewed people with puffed resumes and they usually lost the job. If you’ve done one small thing well, I’ll give you a chance to do greater things. If you describe yourself as a real hotshot problem solver and the most exciting problem you’ve tackled is reformatting a W-2 with a three week lead period, I’m probably going to wonder what other padding you’ve included. With that in mind, I don’t bother padding mine, either.


Tom~

100% unvarnished truth.

I yam what I yam, and that’s all I yam.

The problem with lying is that there is so much to remember. For that reason alone, my resume is 100% honest. (I am a horrible liar, which dooms me in the business world)

I interview people all the time and I always assume there is half-truths in their resume. So…I check them out :slight_smile:

If someone lies creatively and makes me laugh, they get an interview before other qualified people. They don’t always get hired because I always want the best people, but they do get an interview. I want people that can take the stress of our Internet company and still laugh at the end of the day.

trisha

Frankly, I’ve got a great resume, but I’ve never sought employment via such. I’ve, in my professional life, sought engagements solely through personal contacts. Period. The resume is always a Human Resources paperwork afterthought. Today, filling out requisite paperwork for new job: Reason for leaving last employer: “You bought me out and hired me.”

Mines true, I got scared into realizing that most companies I’m looking at have the resources to research it. And friends I know working for the company claim they infact do. So, better safe than sorry, and I think I can get the job w/out lying. Lying just puts me at risk of losing a job, I might otherwise get.

Mine is the 100% unadulterated truth. I have only held 3 jobs since I got out of the service in '82. Security Guard, Dental Technician, and Pipefitter.

I keep mine current and honest (anything under 100% honest is a page of lies), although it’s been years since I’ve been asked for a copy.

Nowdays the employment picture is more casual and involves people who already know my qualifications and track record.

My move to the private sector–at the end of this semester–involved a phone call from a man I haven’t seen for about a year or so; and he simply said, “We need you. How much will it take to get you?”

Sure, it’s an ego stroke, but it’s also a relief as well.

After all the hard work of the past 28 years, it’s nice to just sit down over dinner and talk about the real job that needs to be done instead of dealing with a bunch of HR types.

When I interview prospective employees, I take an unusual approach. I tell them to forget the résumé, and we take a walk to the nearest restaurant. The conversation along the way has a tendency to be very revealing.

I usually try to talk them out of wanting to work for us–because if I can, somebody else will later.


Kalél
TheHungerSite.com
“If our lives are indeed the sum-total of the choices we’ve made, then we cannot change who we are; but with every new choice we’re given, we can change who we’re going to be.”

Mine is 100% true, but I have another friend (really, it isn’t me) who was living in Ireland but she was also from Australia and she tells whoppers on the resume figuring that no one can be bothered to ring Australia and what she doesn’t know she can learn.
I am way too chicken for that. Can’t tell a lie to save myself, so wouldn’t go for it, but she has done really well for herself, lucky cow.

“Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is like expecting a bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.” Dennis Wholey

Every word is true, including “the” and “a”. Lying on a resume is asking for trouble; why would you want to risk getting a job for which you are completely unqualified?


It’s my duty; my duty as a complete and utter bastard.–Arnold J. Rimmer.