There’s one simple rule when it comes to lying on your resume: don’t.
Lies, big or small, can wreck your chances of getting the job you want. Even worse, a lie discovered once hired could cost you the very position you worked so hard for.
Yes, it might be tempting. As more employers add a seemingly impossible list of qualifications to even entry-level positions (must have two master’s degrees, speak five languages, have 15 years of work experience, and be okay earning $7.25 an hour), many job-seekers - especially those in the start of their career - start feeling hopeless. Faced with the prospect of meeting an unsurmountable list of requirements, many end up believing that their only path to a good job is playing loose with the facts on their resume.
Background Checks
As story after story involving prominent individuals being caught lying about their education hits the news, employers have become increasingly more careful in verifying credentials. Oftentimes they’ll even engage professional investigation firms to check potential new hires, making the risk of getting caught in a lie greater than ever.
Background searches can reveal a lot more than criminal history. A thorough pre-employment background search will check your education, references, and confirm details and dates of your past work experience.
Lying about education is probably one of the most common lies and yet, one of the easiest ones to catch during a background check. Almost every university in the United States makes the school’s graduation records available through a degree-verification service called National Student Clearinghouse, giving investigators and employers the ability to verify education with a few clicks, potentially knocking you out of contention for the job if the degree you claimed isn’t there.
Another frequent lie is saying you have work experience you don’t have OR claiming you were employed in a position for longer than you actually were. This can backfire in a number of different ways. Many background searches involve calling former employers and confirming job titles, time spent working there, and who you reported to in order to alert your potential employer to any discrepancies. If you made a good-natured mistake in the dates you worked (as many of us do!), you will often be given a chance to explain. However, changing job titles or duties is a sure red flag for employers, and will most definitely put your opportunities with the company at risk.
But arguably worse than getting caught in the background check, is being hired on the expectation of skills you don’t have. Getting hired for a job you’re not prepared to do, or that you don’t have the experience for, can be a nightmare for both you and for your employer.
If there is a job you want and know you can do even though you don’t meet all the requirements in the job posting, don’t let that stop you from applying, just be honest about the extent of your knowledge, situation, and skills. (Not too honest though, read below for necessary lies of omission).
Employers are often looking for intangible qualities like persistence, resourcefulness and reliability, things that degrees and past job titles simply cannot guarantee. Read between the lines of the job posting to see what the employer’s needs really are and make your case – truthfully - for how you can meet those with the experience and skills you do have.
Necessary Lies of Omission
Having said that, there are some things you do NOT need to tell your potential employer about. Sharing too many personal details about your life during an interview not only sounds unprofessional, but also might lead you to reveal information that your potential employer does not need to know. This is the type of information that could hurt your chances of landing the job, and that, by law; the employer is not even allowed to ask about in the first place.
Civil Status and Children
Unfortunately, it’s still a very common practice to ask job applicants, specifically women, if they have children or plan to have them in the future. This is all too often a way to gauge how work-focused the individual will be, whether they can work late, or whether they’ll have to miss work for childcare-related reasons. Not only do you not have to answer this question, it’s illegal for the interviewer to ask.
Health Issues and Disabilities
Unless you need reasonable accommodation in order to do your job, you do not need to talk about your health problems with an employer. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) specifically prohibits employers from asking about or discriminating against someone with disabilities that can otherwise do the job. That includes both physical and mental illness history. Simply stated, your medical history is between you and your doctor, and there is no need to share it with a potential or current employer.
Other things you do not need to share are your age, religion, politics, arrest history, or whether you smoke or drink. Additionally, in the growing number of cities that have banned employers from asking for salary history, you do not have to share how much you earned in the past either.
So how do you answer inappropriate questions if they arise? It’s possible to keep it simple and non-confrontational. For example, “Well, I try to keep business and personal life separate, so this never affects my commitment to my job.” (For more tactful answers to unlawful questions, see here.)
Remember that the job interview process is a two way street – you’re getting to know them as much as they’re getting to know you. If the interviewer insists on an answer to an inappropriate question you’ve already deflected, it’s a good time to consider whether this is the right employer for you.
The bottom line is that the job application and interview process is a delicate balance between honesty and privacy, between presenting yourself in the best possible light and still being truthful about what you can do. Just like employers cannot predict how effective an employee will be based on degrees and credentials, you cannot predict how satisfying a job will be based on the position title. After all, a job that allows you to be honest about yourself and gives you the tools and support you need to succeed might end up being a dream job, regardless of what it looked like on paper.