Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | NXg | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest |

THIS & THAT

Avoid temptation to pad up resume

With the economy taking a downturn, resume frauds have reached new heights. There is no shortage of surveys pronouncing them rampant across the corporate world. An astonishing fact, revealed by these surveys and reports of some investigations abroad is that even the top brass indulge in such activities. But irrespective of their levels, the fraudsters have to face the consequence- the future of their career is bleak.

Most individuals who lie on their resumes do not have any intention to commit fraud. They just get carried away by self-promotion. And in the attempt to ‘embellish’ their resumes they land up fabricating facts. An example is using fancy job titles like ‘head’ in place of ‘in-charge’. Clinton D. Korver, the co-author of the book, Ethics for the Real World, points out some more such fabrications:

• Candidate claiming a degree he has not completed

• Using higher job title

• Claiming team achievements as individual achievements

• Exaggerating job description

• Inflating the number of people directly reporting

However this only leads to self-deception. He says, “These are called rationalisations - constructing a justification for a decision you suspect is really flawed. By devising specious but self-satisfying reasons for acting you purposefully blur right and wrong. You create a story that is seemingly legitimate, but upon any close examination doesn’t hold up. Rationalisations are insidious because you begin to fool yourself. You develop habits of distorted thinking.” Other repercussions of lying on resume can be from demotion to getting fired.

Recruiters today are so used to resume fraud that they implement a range of techniques like research into the person’s profile on the Internet, tracking his online networking activities and conducting background checks to ensure that the information provided by the candidates are in compliance with the facts. So, any fabrication has every possibility of being exposed. And in times like now, a small blotch on record can damage the person’s career to any level.

So how to avoid falling into the trap of ‘embellishment’?

One way is stepping into the shoe of the hiring manager. Go through your resume with a neutral perspective and identify the areas that can raise doubts. Then ask whether you as a manager would consider the assertions in it as facts, after you investigate the real picture.

For example, if you mentioned in the resume that you are a postgraduate even before the results are out, the hiring manager would see it as confidence, if your record was consistently good. But if you have multiple failures on your report, he might see it as deception.

Second, question yourself if you are comfortable showing your resume to anyone including your previous employer and people in the educational institutions you have mentioned on the resume. If you are not, it is better you re-check the truth-value to your assertions. Consider reframing of words and sentences to get nearer to truth.

Another way is to ask your previous manager. Investigating at the previous employers is the most common verification method employed by recruiters. So talk to your previous manager if it is right to state the information, as you want to.

He may advise you on a better way to present yourself. Sometimes discussing your perspective may change his perspective of your role. He might start seeing you as a more valuable resource and pass the same message to your prospective employer during the reference check.

One thing you should remember while applying to a company is that you chose the company because you respect the company, its values and beliefs.

Then ask yourself if you would cheat your prospective employer, colleagues and friends. This would definitely help you overcome the temptation of fabricating the facts.

In case there is something in your record that might affect your chance of getting the interview calls, you can choose to omit it. An example is a two-year non-relevant work experience. But you have to mention it when you are offered the job. You can always say that you omitted it to maximise the space for more relevant details for the specific role.

Landing a job soon on the basis of false information is costlier than getting one late. So be honest in building your resume. Seek the help of others to overcome the temptation of padding your resume.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail