Fake It And You’re Busted

It’s easy to dream up qualifications & work experience that you think will bolster your CV. But, the repercussions of faking facts can be professionally devastating.

You learnt early in life that lying was bad. Despite such early conditioning, adulthood has probably taught you to see things in slightly greyer tones. In a resume, everyone wants to present his or her experience in the most attractive light possible, but information can’t be fiction. Whether you’re exaggerating job accomplishments or creating complete fabrications, lying is simply a bad idea. It might be one of the dumbest and most damaging things you could do in your career, but, surprisingly, a lot of people do it. According to the Society of Human Resource Managers, more than 53% of all job applicants lie to some extent on their resumes.

Recently a national daily reported that Wipro had fired some employees for faking their CVs and also filed police complaints against head hunting agencies that helped such applicants. Such incidents have also been reported about technology majors like IBM. “This trend is seen across sectors but is more rampant in technology companies (IT and ITeS) as they are always on a hiring spree and pressures to ramp up lead to compromises on the quality front,” says Kapil Murdia, who works with a global executive search firm.

If you think that this may only be prevalent at the lower levels, a recent incident involving David Edmondson — CEO of RadioShack, a US-based electronics retail giant, for 11 years — comes as a shocker. He admitted to lying about his educational credentials on his resume and was asked to leave by the board of directors.

Tragically, those who don’t lie on their resumes stand to lose jobs to those who do. That’s where most candidates go wrong and are tempted to give in to peer pressure or exploitation at the hands of a head-hunter. In times of temptation, it is important to remember that it is what you do with the document, rather than what the document can do for you. A resume is only a marketing tool.

“I know many people who have faked work experience that they don’t really have in order to join at a senior level or to negotiate a higher package. It’s no big deal in our sector,” says Lakshmi Bonata, 24, a business process executive with Bangalore-based Honeywell Technologies.

Aside from any moral or ethical implications, chances are that you will get caught when you lie.
Here’s how:

Your current employer can easily call your previous employers. It may be just to get information for transferring your provident fund, but if you have lied about your previous job profile or work experience, you’ll get busted.

Even though you’re changing jobs, you’re probably not changing industries. Companies in the same industry often have common forums. Employers often belong to the same professional associations or have common networks. An offhand mention that you were the sales executive, not the sales manager, and you’ll be cleaning out your desk.

If you lied about your degree, your company may check your college’s alumni list. Or someone at the new company will really be an alumnus and you’ll get busted.

If you think you are really creative and can invent previous experiences or employers, modern day information networks, investigation firms, reference checks make humiliating you quick, easy, and cost effective.

“My friend got away with it, so can I,” is usually the starting point when candidates begin thinking of tampering with their resumes, says Ravdeep Manchanda, a recruitment manager with a leading BPO, which hires candidates for telephone sales and customer service. The only way a ‘fake’ can get through any hiring process is if the process fails.

The demand-supply equation in the ITeS and IT sectors has resulted in companies relying heavily on recruitment consultants. These consultants stand to earn anywhere between Rs 4,000 for placing a front line associate in a call centre to over Rs 50,000 for an executive with five to eight years of experience.

“We usually conduct telephonic interviews for call centre associates and hiring candidates is quite tough as the numbers required are large and there are pressures to ramp up from the client. We were shocked to learn that some consultants were actually providing scripts and FAQ guides to candidates to crack these telephonic rounds,” says Ruchika Malhotra, a telephone recruiter with a US-based BPO, which operates call centres in India. The recruitment firms have their counter ready and claim that it is hypocritical for a prospective employer to insist on applicants being entirely honest while they regularly conceal relevant job details.

The prospective candidates are sandwiched between the companies need to hire candidates in large numbers and the malicious intentions of recruitment consultants to make the most of this situation.

“There’s nothing wrong with putting the best possible shine on your actual experience, but fabrications will eventually come back to haunt you. It’s stupid really. It just depends on how much a company wants to spend on checking backgrounds. Most people get by because companies don’t look that hard. It’s more common than you would think,” says Malancha Barua, a senior HR manager with a transaction processing BPO. There are a lot of “little white lies” on resumes and applications. A whole lot have to do with reasons for dismissal and covering up gaps in employment. Most large companies use a third-party to do background checks. Most do degree confirmations and employment checks. Minor things are usually overlooked. For example, some employers will choose to overlook a lie about possessing advanced computer skills as long as that does not become a handicap in your job; but a fake degree or phoney job history will definitely get you busted.

In this maze what should a candidate ideally be doing? Are there any alternate ways of polishing one’s resume while remaining truthful? Here’s how:

Go for certified professionals and pay well. Don’t go for manpower consultants or head-hunters who believe that ‘fool proof’ is spelled ‘full proof’.

Avoid consultants and recruiters who promise a job without multiple interview rounds. Ad campaigns like “Get a job offer instantly, only one HR round” are very common. Tread with caution when you see such offers being doled out.

Don’t sign any documents without reading them thoroughly; some manpower consultants may even fake the written assessments on your behalf in order to get you the offer letter. The short-term approach may land you in big trouble later.

Don’t rely just on recruiters and ad responses as your primary job-search strategy. Use networks and referrals to make contacts at your target companies. Do more than the typical ‘job applicant’ and take some initiative, it will surely get you noticed.

Have confidence in your actual credentials. Most people who lack confidence feel that their perceived shortcoming is screamingly obvious to everyone, because they themselves are so focused on it. Usually it’s not that noticeable or is a small blip. Lead with your strengths and be ready to discuss why you don’t have a degree or a skill, if asked.

Be sure your resume focuses on what you have accomplished and what you’re capable of doing. The verbiage that you use could make a huge difference. Focus on accomplishments. “Supervised 10 people on a project that finished three weeks before deadline and saved a large amount for the company” sounds a lot better than saying “I was leading a team of 10 employees”.

In a job, you do not have ‘duties’. You have ‘responsibilities’ and ‘accomplishments’. Anyway, no hiring manager cares about what you were supposed to do. They want to know what you contributed. So make sure to highlight your value and contribution to the organisation.

Personal interests can indicate a skill or area of knowledge that is related to the goal, such as photography for someone in public relations, or carpentry and woodworking for someone in construction management. This section can show well-roundedness, good physical health, or knowledge of a subject related to the goal. It can also create common ground or spark conversation in an interview. If you have been published in any trade magazines, it can establish you as a subject matter expert in your domain.

If you have any education or work experience, you can present these in a way that employer’s will find attractive, without having to fabricate anything. You could list educational qualifications, i.e., degrees first, followed by certificates and advanced training. Set degrees apart so they are easily seen. Put in boldface whatever will be most impressive. Don’t include any details about college except your major and distinctions or awards you have won, unless you are still in college or just recently graduated. List selected course work if it will help convince the reader of your qualifications for the job.

Lying on your resume can come back to haunt you — sometimes even many years down the road. Don’t fall into that trap. Instead, reduce the issue by being creative about marketing yourself and don’t let perceived obstacles stall your search. So cheers to all those honest people out there who are sticking to facts and demonstrate integrity when it comes to applying for jobs.