Why Common Resume Lies Had Been So Popular Till Now?

Exaggerating your resume facts to match with the job description is a calculated risk you must avoid for preventing termination in the future. However, if you tactically avoid the red zones that the hiring manager focuses on, it is easy to evade being caught as well as secure the dream job. To do so, you can use the following most common resume lies that are safe and free of legal liabilities.

Most Used Common Resume Lies

It is punishable by law to lie on a resume about degree and candidates must never cook up the education section in a resume. Hence, if you tiptoe around the rules, it is easy to avoid termination as well as outsmart the other candidates in a jiffy at the hiring desk.

· Exaggerated Skills

It is common to see candidates who lie on a college resume. Often, hiring managers do not scrutinize their skills unless it is technical. Most candidates exaggerate the most on their resume skills section. Hence, it is better to embellish your soft skills than any hard skills. Avoid listing foreign languages that you are not proficient in, as most HR Managers use computerized tests to evaluate the language proficiency of the candidate.

· Professional Titles

Another widely inflated section in a resume is that of responsibilities, duties and professional titles with over 50% candidates faking the same. As most HR Managers avoid digging into the professional title once your reference is approved, leveling up your professional title at the past job can actually give you a promotion at the new job!

· Employment Dates

Most candidates lie on resume about the experience to prove longer tenure, age or even for disguising history of job-hopping and career switching. It is not wrong to stretch your tenure if you are sure it will stay a secret or will not be repeated. As it takes thorough background checks to reveal mismatch in the dates, candidates can modify work experience dates slightly to make the profile impressive or seamless to the hiring manager.

· Inflated Summary

As the summary statement decides whether the employer reads your profile, it is important to create an enticing summary statement in the profile. To attract the reader’s attention right away and to outwit the other candidates, lying can seem easy.

· Hollow References

Yet another common lie seen on popular resumes are fake references that add nothing but content to the page. Often, candidates add fake references on a resume. It is important to ensure that your reference contacts are available as well as real to prove your authenticity to the HR Manager. If you submit a reference that does not respond to the inquiries of the HR Manager satisfactorily, it is hard to win over the reader.  Call your references before adding them to the resume to ensure that they are a good fit to recommend you for the job.

· Embellished numbers

Spanning from business metrics to sales reports and total growth rate, there are many lies on resume achievements. In fact, expert resume writers advocate that quantifying your achievements is the best way to attract the attention of the reader. However, it is important to assess your hyperbole to ensure that you are not claiming to have built a multi-million dollar company overnight!

· Fake Contact Information

Yet another common lie in a resume is about your contact information. While some candidates provide fabricated addresses to prove a closer location with the employer, others do so to evade background checks. In any case, fake contact information is definitely a no-no in a professional resume.

· Dramatized Salary Information

In case your employer requests salary information, which is wrongful in standard resumes, it is better to exaggerate the salary to avoid being downplayed during hiring. Quoting a bigger salary package or combining incentives to your older salary are the commonest tricks to lie on the resume salary section as it helps to avoid being paid low in your next job.

Tips to Get Away with Common Resume Lies

Is it okay to lie on a Resume? Definitely not! Nevertheless, did you know that up to 33% of people actually lie on their resumes? In fact, the percentage has increased up to 53% since the recession! The following is a clever set of resume lies with loopholes to ensure that you’re not caught red-handed.

1. Research, Research, Research

How to lie on a resume and not get caught?

It is acceptable to inflate a soft skill but when you claim to know JAVA while you don’t, termination is the quickest solution for the hiring manager. You can also learn computer software that you’re acquainted with, to pass elementary tests by the employer. It is best to be realistic in the resume and candidates can do so by assessing popular resume samples for facts.

2. Give a Round Figure Salary

If the employer requests salary documents, it is best to give a rough range of salary as your expected remuneration than sticking to a fixed amount. The same will help you evade being specific about your exaggerated salary in the past job as well as secure a good salary in the future job.

3. Testable Achievements

You must always list accolades and accomplishments relevant to the job application for avoiding termination on the first day. By listing you’re a native Italian, while all you know is “Grazie” or “Ciao” might not work well, in case the Hiring Manager decides to test your linguistic skills. Hence, it is safe to lie on resume achievements that you are good at.

4. Revamp the Skills

Yet another important section in a professional resume, skills section is seen with the most common resume lies. Listing skills relevant to the job will impress the manager and coax him to question your abilities. Candidates can add exaggerated Volunteer Service or Soft Skills that are not provable, to establish the authenticity of the candidature.

5. Avoid References that can give Away your Disguise

Fake references pave the road, straight to doom. Hence, it is important to list references that are relevant and available to vouch for your candidacy. In case you do not find any valuable references, resume liars advocate listing your own phone number in an incognito mode, to act as a reference.  This way, candidates can establish their best points as well as avoid negativity from real references by referring to themselves.

6. Revise the Vocabulary

Finally, it is important to understand the resume lies are on the rise and hence avoid being too far-fetched or easy to catch in your fabrication. To do so, you must proofread the document for meaning, typographical or plagiarism errors!

Conclusion

It is not wrong to exaggerate your skills and achievements, provided you stay within the sane limits of inflation. However, lying about a degree in a resume is a punishable legal offense. Hence, use the above tweaks to bulletproof your exaggerations in the resume to avoid getting caught red-handed or fired!