Honesty the Best Policy for Resume Writing

As the job market remains highly competitive, hiring managers for companies are looking at resumes much tougher now in an effort to find fraudulent applications, embellishment and lies on the part of the applicant.

Back in 2008, close to half of hiring managers surveyed by CareerBuilder said that they caught a candidate lying on a resume. In a 2004 survey from the Society for Human Resources Management, less than a third of human resource professionals said it was a rare occurrence for a background check to reveal inaccuracies in a resume.

Those seeking for jobs tend to get more creative and less honest when the job market is tough, according to Terri Greeno, the owner of Express Employment Professionals in Crystal Lake.

Some of the most common lies on resumes include extending employment dates to hide unemployment, changing reasons for leaving jobs, increasing skills or abilities, stating unearned degrees, certifications, licenses and awards, according to Greeno.

Greeno said that even though candidates are hard up for work, any falsification will lead to termination of an employee or a candidate being passed over for the open job.

Greeno recalls one candidate who had the experience for the job applied for but lied about a degree he did not have, even though the job did not require the degree. When the employee found out about the lie, the employee was terminated from the position.

A bad hire can be very expensive for companies due to the cost of turnover, recruiting another employee, and lost opportunity. Things could get worse, including lawsuits, lost clients, and workers compensation costs.

“Those are very real costs for businesses,” Greeno said.

Human resource professionals are very observant of diploma mills and other services such as CareerExcuse.com. This company will pose as a former employment reference for $25. Their website says the following: “We will act as your past employer and have our operators standing by to give you that great reference that you need. Join now and you will be able to create a career with a work history and pay range as you see fit.”

William Schmidt, 48, started CareerExcuse.com back in 2009. Schmidt tends to brush aside the moral issues with running such a company but he says he does not help candidates obtain medical, fire, police, government or other high-security jobs.

“I look at it as helping people get back to work,” Schmidt said. “I get calls from people who are really desperate – sometimes I almost feel like a counselor. This is a second chance for them.”

“Our service will always have an element of risk,” he said. “If an employer finds out, the employee will likely get fired.”

Rich Rostron, from OnTarget Resumes in Woodstock, says that candidates can obtain jobs without lying on resumes.

“You shouldn’t need to embellish,” he said. “Craft the résumé so it sells you through your high points.”