Resumes

[raindance]

Some companies have extremely strict policies about resumes, and others less so.  Some expect every job, gap in paid work, and qualification, no matter how "insignificant", to be listed including, with respect to qualifications, grades for individual subjects.  

I'm not asking people to reveal their misdemeanours in this respect, but I wonder how my fellow DDers feel about leaving things out of their resume?  If you had, for example, left a job after a few weeks, how would you explain that on your resume?  Would you say, "I was temping then", or would you be truthful and say something along the lines of, "That job didn't work out, and I learned a lot from that experience ...". Strictly speaking, an "adjustment" to the absolute truth is lying and in many companies, if discovered, people would be fired.  

If you would be comfortable with "adjusting" your resume in this way, would you be equally happy to receive an "adjusted" resume if you were responsible for recruiting staff?  If you had the responsibility of recruiting staff, what do you think a strictly-less-than-truthful resume tells you about a person, their character and personal standards?  Would you take the line that it is unacceptable or would you think that everyone tells fibs about themselves and it's all about survival .... dog eat dog and everyone for themselves kind of thing.

I'm interested in your views because this is a matter that has come up in my own company.

Thank you for your responses.

Best wishes,

Raindance

[queenbean]

I'm the last person to take a holier than thou attitude, but personally I think it's much better to be honest.  Sure, we've all stretched the truth a little and made a job sound better than it actually was, but I think that an outright lie is a mistake because sod's law says that you'll be caught out at some point in the future.

When it comes to leaving things off your resume, I would (and have) simply give an explanation for a short time with a company.  Any savvy recruiter will spot a break in employment on a resume, and if there's a suspicious gap without any explanation that can ring more warning bells than if the resume were simply to say "unemployed" or "temping" etc.

If I were interviewing someone and found there were serious contradictions between what the person tells me face to face and what is detailed on their resume, I really don't think I would hire them.  The message to me would be that the person clearly thinks it's acceptable to lie to cover up something, and that's not the person I would want working for me.

QB

[msmarieh]

I would not lie about qualifications, such as my certifications, my academic experience, my job skills. I would also not lie to say that I had a job I didn't actually have.

However, if you choose not to include information about a job, such as a job where you left after a matter of days or weeks, I believe that is your choice.

Too darn bad if a company expects every job to be on there. People drop off older jobs to save space, as well, yet no one thinks anything of that.

The purpose of a CV / resume is to display your talents and experience and hopefully to get a foot in the door for an interview.

Marie

[raindance]

Thanks, Queenbean.  The situation that I have described concerns an applicant for an assistant admin post with inconsistent employment dates, a fictitious claim to have attended a prestigious training college and a glaring gap in employment history.  I do wonder how people think that this is something they can get away with.  It's a bit disappointing and doesn't bode well for their future prospects.

Raindance

[countrigal]

I think it also may depend on your past work history.  In my case, as versatile as my work history has been, I would only include those jobs that are actually applicable to the work I'm trying to get.  Now, if all my work history applied to the position I'm applying for, then I would give the last xx jobs, keeping the resume down to the 1-2 page limit.  And oftentimes I only give months and years for the positions, so a couple of days or 2-3 weeks missing would not be as obvious.  Now, if I was asked specifically about that time, I'd own up and state that there was cultural issues (or whatever) that made me move on.  Also, during the interview I would be more than open about the work experience that I may have left off due to not applying to the position I applied for, or for any work experience that may have applied that didn't fit due to length constraints.

CountriGal
Peer Moderator

[misslynn]

Never lie on a resume, at some point it will come back to haunt you.  Recall that recently the CEO of Radio Shack was forced to resign because it was discovered that he had lied on his resume.  Ficticious information is an automatic reason to not hire someone 100% of the time, no matter how well they interview.  

However, I'm with countrigal that I don't think *every single* bit of employment needs to be accounted for.  Own up to it if asked, but if it's not relevant then I don't see the point in putting it on there.  For example, a lot of years ago when I was working part-time with my current company, I was also temping as an receptionist/clerk for a couple companies.  I don't put those on my resume though, there's no gap in employment and not something that I feel I need to call out.

[gee4]

Rain,

If in doubt, leave it out!  Employers are not interested in short stints where you didn't stay.  I have just filled in gaps (truthfully) on my CV with temp jobs I have done.  Some dates have run on, while on other occasions there have been gaps.  But if you can tweak your CV slightly to cover those gaps then it looks much better.  However I have never lied about qalifications or jobs - the others are right, you will def be found out in time.

Good luck!

G

[raindance]

Dear Gee,

This matter involves someone who has recently applied to work in my company - my remarks above don't relate to me.  But thank you for your comments.  

Raindance

[mlm668]

The claim for training not actually received would concern me but as for the gap in employment there may be a legitimate reason.  The year I had my oldest daughter I lost my job a month before she was born.  I originally planned to stay home with her until she was old enough for school and then return to work part time.  Of course that didn't work out and I ended up having to go back to work when she was four months old.  That put a 5-6 month gap in employment on my resume.  Perfectly legitimate reason for the gap but a prospective employer won't know that until I get in there in the interview and explain it.



Michelle

[adminbydesign]

I agree with gee4 - it's better to explain the gaps later than to remember the fabrication.