What’s the actual risk of telling a little white lie on your résumé?
Ever been tempted to embellish your résumé just a tad to make yourself more appealing to potential employers? Let's delve into the real implications of this seemingly harmless act, exploring the potential risks and consequences of telling a little white lie on your résumé.
What constitutes a lie on a résumé
A 2020 ResumeLab study found that a majority of job seekers fudge a detail or two on their résumés
- The most common lies are in work experience
- Market has become much more competitive
- Candidates may feel they don’t have a chance at the brass ring unless their submission has everything the hiring company is looking for
- Many candidates feel the job search process has become so impersonal that they lack any connection with the employer
Only 31% of cheaters are caught
Only 21% lose out on a job
- But if a candidate is caught at this stage or later, he or she can kiss future job prospects at that company goodbye
- The ATS identifies that person as a “do not hire” candidate
Cheating can also be discovered during interviews.
A search executive once interviewed a candidate for a top finance job, and the candidate put down on his résumé that he had “taken the company public, and created $75 million in value.” The recruiter asked: “And what was your chief financial officer’s role in all this?”
- The interviewee was speechless. He defined his role as one a CFO would have been responsible for.