Lying on your résumé is never worth the risk - Sterling Career Concepts

Lying on your résumé is never worth the risk Lying on your résumé is never worth the risk If you’re wondering whether lying on your résumé is worth the risk, just ask Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson. Last week he joined the humbled ranks of public figures who have been caught embellishing details on their résumés. In Thompson’s case, he claimed to have both a computer science and accounting degree when in reality, he earned just the accounting degree. Thompson falls into the two most common items on a résumé to be falsified: education and professional experience. Unfortunately for those out there who are gambling with tweaking the truth, these are the two easiest facts to verify. While you might think you got away with it if your lie isn’t discovered during reference checking, there’s still a chance you will caught down the road, and many companies today have a zero tolerance policy. They will fire any employee caught lying on an application, even if it’s several years later. Back in March 2008 when Robert Irvine, a British-born chef and presenter of Dinner: Impossible on the Food Network claimed false credentials, I wrote about the same topic and still feel as strongly about the topic now as I did then. Falsifying information on your resume is setting yourself up for disaster or, at a minimum, disappointment when the job of your dreams is pulled out from under you. Ask yourself why you are tempted to falsify or enhance your background. If it’s that you’re insecure about your qualifications for a position, there are alternatives, and legitimate ways to position your credentials and downplay a perceived flaw such as the lack of a degree or a short stint at a particular company and still get interviews. Sticking with the truth is still the best method to sound and ethical long-term career management.