Setting: Panel discussion presentation
Audience: Young (25 to 40) professional organization
Topic: Finding a job in a tough market
Question posed to the panel: What’s your view on “revising” a job title to fit a job posting, meaning it’s OK to call yourself a director on a resume because you did what you believed to be director level work but didn’t hold that actual job title.
Most common answer: Not viewed as problem…just doing what’s necessary to get an interview where any discrepancies can be addressed – if they come up.
Oh, my!
To this former HR VP, trading credibility for an interview is a fool’s journey. While the temptation to stretch the facts (whether just a wee bit or a whole bunch) may be attractive when jobs are hard to come by and you’re feeling desperate, getting creative with the specifics of one’s work experience is a no-no.
Plain and simple, don’t do it.
- Steer clear of the lure of jazzing up your resume in an untruthful way to make your background more attractive.
- Be thorough in defining and quantifying your contributions.
- Stick to the facts.
- Don’t manufacture titles and/or experience.
- Avoid creating awkward situations in which you are asked to explain the delta between the data you provided and what the record shows to be factual.
According to Hire Right, a firm that specializes in employee back ground checks: 80% of all resumes are misleading, 20% state fraudulent degrees, 30% show altered employment dates, 40% have inflated salary claims, 30% have inaccurate job descriptions, and 27% give falsified references.
This data may show that you may have lots of company in “reframing” your work history, but is that the kind of company you want to keep? Is that the reputation you want to have?
Where’s the harm in going with the flow to get ahead, one might ask. Losing your integrity is the harm. Your values are your rock, your compass, against which you measure what is important to you in life.
And, that’s how other people determine whether to trust you…or not.
Have you ever experienced someone lying to get a job?
Image source: morgueFile
Jane, so glad I just ran across this post in linkedin. This is an excellent piece of advice. When I was starting out my coaching practice and had more pro bono clients than paying clients, my coaching profile had a clear distinction on my client experience. The Director, Leadership Development for one large corporation who hires external coaches looked at my profile and basically said come back when the tables are turned. He didn’t view my pro bono work to be as valuable as my paid work but I was being honest and maintaining my personal integrity and I’ve never regretted it.
Thanks for this reminder.
Cheers, Glo
Glo – thanks so much for sharing your story! It’s so unfortunate that some organizations/people take such a narrow and misguided view of pro bono work. I salute you for being honest and representing yourself with integrity…that’s being a leadership role model!
Being dishonest can lead to irreversible and unforgivable consquences, it should always be avoided. I do feel that there is an advantage to using flexible language, completely truthful but open to interpretation.
“…The man who intends to make his fortune in this ancient (modern) capital must be a chameleon susceptible of reflecting the colors of the atmosphere that surrounds him–a Proteus apt to assume every form, every shape. Be supple, flexible, insinuating, close, inscrutable, often base, sometimes sincere, sometimes perfidious, always concealing a part of his knowledge, indulging in but one tone of voice, patient, a perfect master of his own countenance, as cold as ice when any other man would be all fire… I do not know whether I am praising or excusing myself, but of all those qualities I possessed but one– Namely, Flexibility.” Giovanni Casanova — (1725-1798)
James – thanks for sharing the quote from Casanova….most enlightening. Reframing one’s work history to highlight another aspect of the work, e.g. focusing on the customer service aspect of a call center job rather than exclusively on call metrics, is smart. Completely rewriting history is dishonest and leads to the “irreversible and unforgiveable consequences” you so accurately point out.