The biggest resume lies you must avoid

When you have been on the job hunt for a few weeks, watching from the sidelines as people less talented than you get hired right off the bat, you might want to stretch the truth a little bit on your resume to catch the eye of a hiring manager. You are not the only person to feel this way. In fact, studies have found that over 55% of people lie on their resumes.

While you may think that you’re being quite deceptive and clever in your lies, a trained hiring manager will spot your exaggerations right away. Some of the most common lies on resumes are:

• Lying about mastery of skills that the applicant only has a basic knowledge of
• Making up experiences to match the job description
• Omitting past jobs/employers by stretching dates on other job entries
• Using false job titles instead of the actual positions
• Stating false reasons for leaving a job
• Claiming to have a degree from a prestigious university instead of their own

What are the most common resume lies that you must avoid?

Fear of not getting called for interviews or not being qualified enough for the job has many job seekers lying on their resumes. However, these lies are considered red flags on a resume by recruitment professionals. Here are some resume lies that you must avoid at all costs:

Embellishing your education

If you started an online course at a certain institute but never completed it, you shouldn’t list down the qualification on your resume. Employers check the credentials on your resume when they screen you. While having a rich education section for your resume is important, you shouldn’t lie to make up for qualifications you don’t really possess. Instead, enrich the education section of your resume with professional development qualifications, honors and awards, and relevant extra coursework.

Stretching dates

Having a career gap on your resume is not a crime for which you will be punished during a job search. If you took a year off from work to take care of a family member or to volunteer across the globe, list it in the career summary section of your resume. Also, it isn’t wise to hide your short stints by stretching dates on the other job entries on your career summary. Confused about creating a work experience section that suits your work history? Read this article!

Making up skills you don’t have

Just because the job description calls for 35 different technical skills, you don’t need to list them all in your resume to qualify for the role. Any lies you fabricate about your job skills in the key skills section of your resume will painfully unravel during a technical interview, embarrassing yourself in front of the employer. Only list the skills that you truly have on your resume, no matter how insignificant they seem.

How do employers catch lies on resumes?

In this digital age, it isn’t very difficult for an employer to check whether you truly have the qualifications you claim to possess. Here are some ways that your lies will be exposed to potential employers:

• Background checks: Most hiring managers will definitely contact your previous employers to verify whether you have entered accurate information on your job application.
• Social media research: If your resume says that you graduated from Harvard but your Facebook shows that you attended a community college, you will lose all credibility in front of the employer.
• Skills assessments: If you are applying for a position that requires you to have a certain skill such as designing, coding, or writing, an employer can easily test your skills before hiring you.