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How do you feel about padding (lying) on your CV/Resumé

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MrChocolate said:
Because I know I can do the job better than most on my field. That's why. If you don't think you aren't even qualified, why would you even bother applying to a job?

Be confident. Think of the resumé just as a tool to open your way in your new job.
The most important thing, is that you stay in your job proving being useful.
Click to expand...

I'm not really talking about big career paths and such, in this climate younger people (like me) have to take anything, it's not a case of "Oh I'm really good in a particular field, I'll go for that"
When you havent had much of a chance to work and everywhere you look needs experience to a certain degree and all you've got to your name is "high school education" as yanks would call it.

When you're applying for things from industrial work to cleaning jobs to bar work there is not a lot you can use to separate yourself from the crowd. In Nottingham a new branch of Costa Coffee recently received 1,700 applications for just eight positions That is how fucking shitty it is trying to find work at the moment.. You have to wonder how many of those applications were honest, how many people slightly bended the truth and how many were lying flat out.
 
MrChocolate said:
Can you do the job that you are applying to?

If your answer is:

- Yes, of course I can.
Congratulations, lie in your resumé, you'll get the job and no one will care.

But if your answer is:

- No, I can't.
Then don't lie.
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This man speaks the truth. As long as the lie isn't too outlandish or too big, or something you can easily be caught out on there's no reason not to.

At one point I had 3 friends who were all using each other as references with completely made up companies. One of them even had the audacity to list Vanderlay Industries on his CV.
 
Tashbrooke said:
I'm not really talking about big career paths and such, in this climate younger people (like me) have to take anything, it's not a case of "Oh I'm really good in a particular field, I'll go for that"
When you havent had much of a chance to work and everywhere you look needs experience to a certain degree and all you've got to your name is "high school education" as yanks would call it.

When you're applying for things from industrial work to cleaning jobs to bar work there is not a lot you can use to separate yourself from the crowd. In Nottingham a new branch of Costa Coffee recently received 1,700 applications for just eight positions That is how fucking shitty it is trying to find work at the moment.. You have to wonder how many of those applications were honest, how many people slightly bended the truth and how many were lying flat out.
Click to expand...

For shitty jobs like retail, bar work etc it really is no big deal and everybody does it.
 
kswiston said:
I don't lie on resumes/cvs because it's exactly the sort of thing that will come back to bite you in the ass.

That said, I will be purposely vague to make experience look better. For instance, I have had a lot of contract positions, often lasting 3-12 months. If I was at a job from Oct 2008 to Feb 2009, I will list it as 2008-2009 on my resume. Not lying (and if they inquire further, I can back it up), but it looks a lot better than making it immediately apparent that I was only in the position for 4 months.
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This. Also list your qualities, and give examples of it if you don´t have the job experience.
For a position as a barman it is important to be a great host. So give examples that proof you are a great host, parties you´ve trown succesfully, the positions you took at school/job/volunteer gatherings etc.. Don´t lie, but prove you have the skills needed.
 
Tashbrooke said:
I'm not really talking about big career paths and such, in this climate younger people (like me) have to take anything, it's not a case of "Oh I'm really good in a particular field, I'll go for that"
When you havent had much of a chance to work and everywhere you look needs experience to a certain degree and all you've got to your name is "high school education" as yanks would call it.

When you're applying for things from industrial work to cleaning jobs to bar work there is not a lot you can use to separate yourself from the crowd. In Nottingham a new branch of Costa Coffee recently received 1,700 applications for just eight positions That is how fucking shitty it is trying to find work at the moment.. You have to wonder how many of those applications were honest, how many people slightly bended the truth and how many were lying flat out.
Click to expand...

With applicant-to-job discrepancies that great, lying on a resume would do very little. It's basically a lottery, with odds skewed slightly in your favor if you're in any way memorable.
 
Incontinentia Buttocks said:
This man speaks the truth. As long as the lie isn't too outlandish or too big, or something you can easily be caught out on there's no reason not to.

At one point I had 3 friends who were all using each other as references with completely made up companies. One of them even had the audacity to list Vanderlay Industries on his CV.
Click to expand...

What about the people that didn't lie, the people who deserved the job just as much as you did

I'm talking from a moral point of view here
 
Tashbrooke said:
What about the people that didn't lie, the people who deserved the job just as much as you did

I'm talking from a moral point of view here
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If I was desperate for work so broke I might lose my house? My kids don't have what they need? I don't give a fuck if someone deserved it as much/more.
 
Depends on the job I imagine. In my 13 years in the business, they'll know quickly whether they're going to keep you as a bartender, so if lying got your foot in the door, it really doesn't matter. If you can handle the job, they give fuck-all about your experience.
 
LuchaShaq said:
I worked under the table for 3 years, and after I quit my boss was arrested for tax evasion and some other stuff and is still in prison.

That section of my resume is definitely fluffed to hell and back because the one reference I'd have for it is in fucking prison.

Changed job from "college kid who sat at an empty office goofing off for 7 hours and doing paperwork for 1" to "basically ran this guys business from top to bottom but I was a dumb college kid and didn't think of the legal implications of what was asked of me".

Everytime it has been brought up in interviews the interviewer seems impressed with the situation.


So basically only lie if there isn't any scenario possible where someone can catch you in the lie.
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I never knew what to say about this situation. I worked for my dad at his business every summer in high school and never received formal pay for it, but it always seemed to me like actually saying that in the interview was a bad idea. But at the same time, it was pretty much all the experience I had at the time.
 
I know a girl who's resume is pretty much all lies. she does stuff like give herself promitions so for instance she was a receptionist and lists it as manager. She also uses fake businesses as filler and lists skills and experience she does not have.

The result? It has worked out incredibly well for her so far.
 
nopenopenopenopenopenope.

I'd be so paranoid about them knowing.

Tashbrooke said:
I'm not really talking about big career paths and such, in this climate younger people (like me) have to take anything, it's not a case of "Oh I'm really good in a particular field, I'll go for that"
When you havent had much of a chance to work and everywhere you look needs experience to a certain degree and all you've got to your name is "high school education" as yanks would call it.

When you're applying for things from industrial work to cleaning jobs to bar work there is not a lot you can use to separate yourself from the crowd. In Nottingham a new branch of Costa Coffee recently received 1,700 applications for just eight positions That is how fucking shitty it is trying to find work at the moment.. You have to wonder how many of those applications were honest, how many people slightly bended the truth and how many were lying flat out.
Click to expand...

I applied for a casual position stocking and cashiering at a $2 store. At the second interview they told me over 750 people applied for the same position. Its insane.
 
On one hand you can tell the truth, live with a clear conscious, and then slowly drift into poverty as you remain unemployed.

Or you can lie this once, get the job, and then do good things with the money you earn thus regaining a clear conscious.
 
My wife works in HR. She fires people for doing this. Don't do it. I do like to point out when she tells me about it that she did the very same things when she was starting out. The Internet makes it a lot easier to check up now, though. And it doesn't just happen to low-level workers. She's fired bigwigs for even the most innocuous lies.

I interviewed for a temp job and they asked me if I was good with a "ten finger machine" (I swear this is what they said, although apparently they meant "ten key machine," an accounting calculator). I thought they were asking me if I used my hands to count, so I laughed and told them I was an expert at it. I was hired, but I never actually used one in the job.
 
adamsappel said:
My wife works in HR. She fires people for doing this. Don't do it. I do like to point out when she tells me about it that she did the very same things when she was starting out. The Internet makes it a lot easier to check up now, though. And it doesn't just happen to low-level workers. She's fired bigwigs for even the most innocuous lies.

I interviewed for a temp job and they asked me if I was good with a "ten finger machine" (I swear this is what they said, although apparently they meant "ten key machine," an accounting calculator). I thought they were asking me if I used my hands to count, so I laughed and told them I was an expert at it. I was hired, but I never actually used one in the job.
Click to expand...

Can you tell us a few examples of the things your wife has found it in resumes?
 
No, don't lie.

You can portray everything that you've actually done in as positive a light as possible and downplay/omit small things that hurt your chances, but never lie.
 
I tell the truth, mostly because they might want some kind of verification (and I'm pretty awful at lying). Plus if you get hired and can't do things you put on your resume, you're probably screwed.
 
Don't do it - you'll find a place that will give you a chance to get some experience. Lying will only get you caught and then you won't have a reference when you are looking for a better job.
 
Tell the truth, but if you have no experience, start doing extra curricular activities that will give you experience. Learn some programs, do charity, etc. and put that on your résumé. Doing all this extra stuff lets people know you're self motivated and can be relied on.
 
Asimov said:
Well... from my experience, I can only tell you one thing:

You can enhance and fluff the description of your skills and experience, but do not lie about your skills. I repeat. Do not lie about your skills.

I have a job now, but before I got the job, I had an interview with another company. They asked me if I had experience in Adobe FrameMaker (I'm a graphic designer) and I said Yes. And in that moment, they took me to this office and they asked me to show them the basics of this software. Well... it was embarrassing because I never used it before.

But I got a nice save... I told them: "oh, sorry... I got confused... I thought you meant Adobe PageMaker."

But as a personal goal, now I'm an Adobe FrameMaker expert.
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As someone who used to support FrameMaker in a past job.. you have my deepest sympathies. :)

If you have a weak resume, you're probably going to have more success in finding and schmoozing the hiring manager than in submitting a resume and hoping the HR drones don't shred it because it doesn't have a particular keyword.

Lying on the resume is just asking to be unceremoniously shitcanned, and have fun explaining THAT to the next job you apply for!
 
Can't do it.

It's not uncommon for the sorts of jobs I am currently applying for to have the applicant tested on their knowledge. If I say I am an expert in PHP, and someone asks me to write the simplest thing in PHP - I'd be fucked.
 
If you can get away with it then it's fine. But obv don't say you can do something that you have no idea how to do (like that post above).
 
Don't lie. Make the work that you've done stand out in writing. Use good language to describe it in a positive light. You didn't do "X" task, you achieved "X" result, for example.
 
Asimov said:
Can you tell us a few examples of the things your wife has found it in resumes?
Click to expand...

Using friends as references, falsely claiming certification or degrees, fake past jobs. You just can't get away with this anymore. They google everyone and look at Facebook, Twitter, etc.

And never ever look at porn on your work laptop.
 
Do it, just as long as you can cover yourself.

If you think for a second that a company is being perfectly honest with you and will treat you with the most respect than you're an idiot. With the way the economy is now they're looking for the best person that will be the cheapest. Lie as much as you can and be prepared to cover your tracks. If you get the job, great, jokes on them. They can treat you any way they want and you're only option is to quit.
 
gblues said:
As someone who used to support FrameMaker in a past job.. you have my deepest sympathies. :)

If you have a weak resume, you're probably going to have more success in finding and schmoozing the hiring manager than in submitting a resume and hoping the HR drones don't shred it because it doesn't have a particular keyword.

Lying on the resume is just asking to be unceremoniously shitcanned, and have fun explaining THAT to the next job you apply for!
Click to expand...

I'm very good with the software right now. I have created 100+ pages structured documents with tons of cross-references, variables, styles.

But, the problem with FrameMaker is that it is extremely outdated. I have used FrameMaker 8 and now I'm using FrameMaker 11. The only thing that changed is the menus layout, but the core is the same. It feels extremely outdated. The image handling is beyond awful.

I think Word 2013/2010 could be better if it only had a better way to organize documents with separated files of chapters.
 
It would be pretty risky in somewhere with a HR, you could get away with some exaggeration, but total lies are definitely a bad idea in my honest opinion.
 
I never lie but holy hell do I embellish the truth, for example I worked at a place for 2 weeks and then quit but I'll still have that on my resume without adding the date, if they ask I'll obviously tell the truth if not then whatever...
 
The ethics for this are actually not as simple as saying "no don't do it." At least not in the US where the difference between a job and not a job is healthcare for your children. A man's number 1 priority is to his family, so anything goes really when it comes down to that situation.
 
Asimov said:
I'm very good with the software right now. I have created 100+ pages structured documents with tons of cross-references, variables, styles.

But, the problem with FrameMaker is that it is extremely outdated. I have used FrameMaker 8 and now I'm using FrameMaker 11. The only thing that changed is the menus layout, but the core is the same. It feels extremely outdated. The image handling is beyond awful.

I think Word 2013/2010 could be better if it only had a better way to organize documents with separated files of chapters.
Click to expand...

Yep. It started life as a UNIX application, and it's godly at what it does, but it's a complete bitch to master especially if you're used to other Adobe products. Still, it's one of the few word processors that doesn't shit the bed when your page count goes super-high. I used to support FM7.1, but I'm not surprised that FM11 is still the same crusty beast underneath. :)
 
It took me about 5 months to get my first job (I'm 16). Every application I turned in (About 6) I was denied instantly because I have no work experience. I didn't lie in any of them. Was honest all the way. Eventually my honesty got me a job (fastfood place, but hey it's a job). Don't lie. Better to get a job with them knowing you need to be trained and taught, then getting a job and them realizing you know a lot less than you claimed to know.

If you can, just list as many extracurricular activites, on volunteer work, that you've done. Better than having nothing!
 
Is it retail? lie all you want. A salary job in which you need a resume and they do background checks? Do not lie they will find out eventually. A retail manager could give zero shits if that kid was lieing on his app, a manager at a big company not in retail would be pretty fucking mad.

In retail it's fine you don't need experience really. In a big salary job, y'know you need actual experience and aren't so easily replaced.
 
Kinitari said:
Can't do it.

It's not uncommon for the sorts of jobs I am currently applying for to have the applicant tested on their knowledge. If I say I am an expert in PHP, and someone asks me to write the simplest thing in PHP - I'd be fucked.
Click to expand...

i just had a phone screen recently and I had technology on there that i haven't worked on in 5 years. The first 15 minutes was going one by one over every piece that i haven't touched in a long time, like they fucking knew it
 
minimum wage wage jobs.. I see no problem with lying. It's not like you'll be in a position of importance. Forging degrees/qualifications though however.. nope.
 
gcubed said:
i just had a phone screen recently and I had technology on there that i haven't worked on in 5 years. The first 15 minutes was going one by one over every piece that i haven't touched in a long time, like they fucking knew it
Click to expand...
I've had phone screens that walked me through each each item on my resume too. One of the purposes of phone screens is to make sure you aren't bullshitting your resume, or had someone else write it for you.

Not having worked on something in a while isn't such a bad thing though, since you've actually worked on it. You can probably just be honest and say that you haven't worked on it in a while, but you can probably pick it right back up once you shake off the rust.
 
Akuun said:
I've had phone screens that walked me through each each item on my resume too. One of the purposes of phone screens is to make sure you aren't bullshitting your resume, or had someone else write it for you.

Not having worked on something in a while isn't such a bad thing though, since you've actually worked on it. You can probably just be honest and say that you haven't worked on it in a while, but you can probably pick it right back up once you shake off the rust.
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yeah, but nothing kills momentum of a 30 minute phone screen like 10 minutes of "i havent worked on that in a while, all i remember is this"
 
There's this guy in my graduating class whose cheated his way through the major and hasn't learned jack shit. President of various clubs and what not. Anyway over the summer he had an internship with one of my friends and the boss asked why the cheating guy is so useless. My friend explained the situation and the cheater never got a return offer. Made my day as most engineer interns seem to get offers.

Don't lie and cheat. Not worth it
 
gcubed said:
yeah, but nothing kills momentum of a 30 minute phone screen like 10 minutes of "i havent worked on that in a while, all i remember is this"
Click to expand...
Ouch. :(

Can you prepare for the interview by going over each item in your resume and thinking of something to say if asked about it? And if you really don't remember anything about a skill, you can brush up on that particular skill in advance.
 
Ultima_5 said:
There's this guy in my graduating class whose cheated his way through the major and hasn't learned jack shit. President of various clubs and what not. Anyway over the summer he had an internship with one of my friends and the boss asked why the cheating guy is so useless. My friend explained the situation and the cheater never got a return offer. Made my day as most engineer interns seem to get offers.

Don't lie and cheat. Not worth it
Click to expand...

I'm thought the point of the story was to not be a snitch.
 
Lying is how most people become bartenders. If you can't lie, you're just not cut out for the job.
 
Lie through your teeth as long as you can back it up. I know lots of people that have and they have great jobs.

If you don't someone will, why shouldn't you?
 
I've known people who lied their way into top business schools, medical schools (although they just made up extracurricular activities; they didn't forge grades or test scores), somewhat high-level salaried positions, and highly coveted entry-level jobs for people with graduate degrees. Some of these people were genuinely effective, intelligent, and hard-working and lied to get a boost. Some were useless and pretended otherwise.

Maybe they got caught at some points and experienced some short-term setbacks, I dunno. As a whole, though, lying has worked incredibly well for them. They were all quickly able to leverage their fake credentials to get real ones.

Avoid lying because it's morally wrong, not because it's ineffective.
 
Fucking do it. I work in a department where half the resumes don't get through HR to us and my boss ended up hiring some fucktard who who might be old and responsible, but completely lacks in social and technical skills. If some of the better candidates had buffed up their resumes, I would be much happier.
 
Well, I got some advice to use colorful language to describe myself in a job-seeking class. The man running it had a point since most of us Finns would have a CV filled with "well I don't really know anything, but I've been working here and I've had these courses and classes" otherwise.
 
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