How Much Should You Lie On Your
Resume?
Which one of these people are
you?
You read the help wanted ad and the job seems
perfect for you. You seem perfect for it too. You have
got all the qualifications they're asking for. Oh, wait.
What does that say? Hmmm. They want someone who has
experience with that. “Well, I can do
that,” you think to yourself. “I just haven't done
it before. But, I'm sure I can learn.”
Most of us have had thoughts like this float
through our minds. However, each of us may choose a
different course of action. Let's take a few
examples:
Job
Searcher A says: “Oh well. I guess I don't
qualify for this job.” He or she moves onto the next help
wanted ad.
Job
Searcher B says: “O.K., so I don't have the
experience they're asking for. I can just make something
up. After all the last company I worked for isn't in
business anymore. This new one will never find out what I
did or didn't do there." Job Searcher #2 is just a few
keystrokes away from adding fictional responsibilities to
his or her resume.
Job
Searcher C says: “It's obvious I don't have
the experience they want but I do know I can easily pick
up the skills I need to do the job. The only thing I can
do is take a chance and apply for the job anyway. I'll
use my cover letter to explain that I don't have the
required skills but I am willing to do whatever is
necessary to acquire them. I'll explain that I do have
related skills. What have I got to lose
anyway?”
What if you get caught? We’ll address the issue
later in this guide. For now, let's focus on
the key ways of getting your resume prepared for
battle.
You have 30 Seconds to Grab Their
Attention!
Resumes are all about presentation. Some hiring
manager is going to scan your resume and make a
determination in about 30 seconds or less, whether or not
you're qualified. After all, if you don't get to the
interview, you can't possibly land the job,
right?
Were you ever beaten out of a job because a
competitor padded his résumé? Let’s go to the stats: In a
poll of 150 hiring executives at large companies, the
execs estimated that nearly 30 percent of all job
candidates fudge on their résumés. It’s actually worse
than that, says Patricia Gillette, a San Francisco lawyer
who has investigated hundreds of résumés while defending
companies against former employees. "Probably 90 percent
of the time, people lie on their résumé," she says. “We
figure that means 60 percent of the job force lies and
gets away with it.”
If you're eager to write a great
resume, and cover letter to help you ace the job interview and
get the job click
here!
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