Is Your Resume Fact or Fiction?
/This guest post is authored by Jeri Johansen, PHR, Executive Assistant at Crimcheck. Crimcheck.com provides background checks for businesses large and small nationwide. Crimcheck.com background checks include criminal history, education verification, employment verification, driving records and more.
Ok, so you got your degree and are on the road to begin your career. Why not make your resume shine above the rest with some minor embellishment? Well, for one, gone are the days when you could walk into an interview with a copy of your diploma and that would suffice for authenticating your degree. These days, employers will verify degree, date of graduation and school, at the least. In reality, honesty on a resume is much more highly valued than anything else.
The Society for Human Resource Management estimates that 53% of all resumes contain some form of inaccuracy. Human Resource departments are very aware of this statistic. In my line of work I see all sorts of resume fraud, ranging from the older worker who changes their date of graduation because they think that will help get them in the door, to the recent graduate who states they have one year of managerial experience (while they were still away at college). We won't even discuss criminal records and personal references in this blog, but I could write a novel on the issues that come up during interviews, employment applications, and resumes that immediately rule an applicant out of the pool.
The education portion of your resume should reflect accurate dates, school name and degree type. It will be verified, and these days, verification is as easy as a couple of clicks of the keyboard. Your work history should be truthful regarding non-paid work and internships. Don't try to reflect them as if they were paid jobs. List your job responsibilities accurately, as they will most likely be verified with a phone call to your supervisor.
Employers know that when the job market tightens, resume fraud increases. Employers can afford to be even more selective in selecting candidates. Any false claim or date is a red flag to the recruiter. If the applicant would lie on their resume, how trustworthy could they be?
