A C.V. is a marketing tool – it should showcase your experience and qualifications in the most succinct and relevant way possible. And that often means being selective in the kind of information that you include or being crafty in your wording.
But that doesn't mean you should lie. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 96% of HR professionals always conduct reference checks on job candidates, and more than half say they sometimes find inconsistencies.
Recruiters get so annoyed by misleading information on C.V.s that "lying or misleading information" ranked as one of the top recruiter pet hates in a survey by C.V.doctor.com.
According to the survey, the most common misleading statements put on C.V.s are:
Inflated titles
Inaccurate dates to cover up job frequent changes of job or gaps in employment
Half-finished degrees, inflated education or "purchased" degrees that do not mean anything
Inflated salaries
Inflated accomplishments
Out and out lies in regards to specific roles and duties
But what if your job is equivalent to a Senior Technology Manager and your job title is "Senior Project Leader"? Is changing your job title on your C.V. to reflect your responsibilities lying?
The crucial line between marketing and lying on a C.V. isn't always clearly drawn. But for those wondering how much exaggeration on your C.V. is too much, heed these tips from 25-year HR opinion leader and workplace commentator Liz Ryan:
1. You CANNOT change your dates of employment.
Were you a contract person recruited full time after a period of time in the job? Say so on your C.V. You can also mention you did contract or consulting work after leaving the company's regular payroll. But the dates must match your actual employment dates.
2. You CAN, to a limited degree, change the titles on your C.V.
Ryan suggests that if your company used odd job titles, it's okay to use an equivalent title that most people would recognise. However this does not mean it's acceptable to inflate your job title to imply you had more responsibility that you actually did.
"You cannot turn yourself from an Assistant Manager to a Manager with a wave of a magic wand," Ryan says. Likewise, if you worked in the purchasing department, you can't write that you were in marketing.
3. You CANNOT mess around with academic credentials.
If you didn’t quite pass the final year of a degree course, say so on your C.V. A professional-development course at a university is not the same thing as an actual academic course – and should not be treated as such. And you cannot change your degree from Chemistry to Business – that is just as serious a crime as inventing a degree, because that's what you're essentially doing.
4. You CAN leave out irrelevant jobs.
If you are willing to explain a three-month gap in between jobs, you don't have to mention that you took a horrible job at a call centre and resigned right away. You also don't need to list every job you've had for the last 25 years. Stick with the most recent and relevant experience.
5. You CANNOT get away with lying if your company went under.
Some candidates feel that they can take major liberties with their C.V.s when they companies they've worked for not longer exist. But thanks to websites such as LinkedIn.com in the U.S., employers can talk to people who worked at your long-gone company and check the facts.
But that doesn't mean you should lie. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 96% of HR professionals always conduct reference checks on job candidates, and more than half say they sometimes find inconsistencies.
Recruiters get so annoyed by misleading information on C.V.s that "lying or misleading information" ranked as one of the top recruiter pet hates in a survey by C.V.doctor.com.
According to the survey, the most common misleading statements put on C.V.s are:
But what if your job is equivalent to a Senior Technology Manager and your job title is "Senior Project Leader"? Is changing your job title on your C.V. to reflect your responsibilities lying?
The crucial line between marketing and lying on a C.V. isn't always clearly drawn. But for those wondering how much exaggeration on your C.V. is too much, heed these tips from 25-year HR opinion leader and workplace commentator Liz Ryan:
1. You CANNOT change your dates of employment.
Were you a contract person recruited full time after a period of time in the job? Say so on your C.V. You can also mention you did contract or consulting work after leaving the company's regular payroll. But the dates must match your actual employment dates.
2. You CAN, to a limited degree, change the titles on your C.V.
Ryan suggests that if your company used odd job titles, it's okay to use an equivalent title that most people would recognise. However this does not mean it's acceptable to inflate your job title to imply you had more responsibility that you actually did.
"You cannot turn yourself from an Assistant Manager to a Manager with a wave of a magic wand," Ryan says. Likewise, if you worked in the purchasing department, you can't write that you were in marketing.
3. You CANNOT mess around with academic credentials.
If you didn’t quite pass the final year of a degree course, say so on your C.V. A professional-development course at a university is not the same thing as an actual academic course – and should not be treated as such. And you cannot change your degree from Chemistry to Business – that is just as serious a crime as inventing a degree, because that's what you're essentially doing.
4. You CAN leave out irrelevant jobs.
If you are willing to explain a three-month gap in between jobs, you don't have to mention that you took a horrible job at a call centre and resigned right away. You also don't need to list every job you've had for the last 25 years. Stick with the most recent and relevant experience.
5. You CANNOT get away with lying if your company went under.
Some candidates feel that they can take major liberties with their C.V.s when they companies they've worked for not longer exist. But thanks to websites such as LinkedIn.com in the U.S., employers can talk to people who worked at your long-gone company and check the facts.
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