Have you ever put something on your résumé that could be viewed as stretching the truth or a full out lie? If you ask any co-workers, you are bound to hear that there is no way that they would do something like that, and some are even upset that you should ask that question. The truth of the matter is around 85 percent of employers caught applicants lying on their résumés or applications. This number is up from just 62 percent five years ago, according to HireRight, a background checking agency for many corporations. Exaggerating the truth or outright lying on resumes isn’t unheard of, but that doesn’t mean it’s an effective way to advance your career.
Looking for a job nowadays is harder than ever. It doesn’t help that we have a worldwide pandemic on our hands, and many companies are merely pulling some chips off the table and waiting to see what happens. This would actually be a smart move, but for the companies who really want to bolster their workforce, this is a great time to add talent to their stables at every level. It goes back to the adage, play offense, not defense during hard times.
If you are looking to hire someone, the question is, how much should you believe in an applicant’s résumé? It’s sad to say that this has become a significant issue in the workforce today, but unfortunately, this problem is just getting worse.
Who is doing this?
Looking at this problem from my point of view, a Generation X’er, I believe it does have a lot to do with younger generations merely looking to cut corners and get a leg up on the competition without doing the necessary work. Lying doesn’t have the stigma as much as it use to in the world, and looking at today’s society, should we be surprised by this melting of morals by younger generations? But wait, looking at the numbers, there isn’t a big difference amongst the different age groups. Does this mean that we, as a society, generally have become less honest and more prone to “fibbing?” Or could it be something else altogether?
This is how we do it
Let’s first look at the way businesses hire nowadays. Most companies are inundated by a large number of applicants for every position they advertise. On average, each job posting is getting a response of over 100 applicants, and recruiters don’t want to go sorting through them all. Because of these large numbers, many companies are forced to use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to take in résumés, sort through them, and narrow down this applicant pool. A little secret in the industry is many human resource departments use this ATS to do the dirty work and get the number of applicants cut down drastically. Companies program precisely what they are looking for with specific requirements for college degrees, years of experience, and salary expectations. Because of this, job seekers have gotten wise to the finicky nature of the technology and are lying on their résumés and applications in hopes of making it to the final group for consideration.
The problem with lying on a résumé is that the odds of getting caught are high. Especially when recruiters are wise to the fact that so many people lie on their résumés, and it’s not if you get caught but when. Many recruiters are skilled enough to do simple searches on social media to determine if a candidate’s résumé is accurate.
An example of this is CEO and hiring manager Dave Davis of Redfly, a digital analytics agency that had a hard time finding qualified candidates who didn’t lie on their résumé. “Our latest round was a complete disaster. It took four months. Candidate after candidate came in and were found to have lied on their resumes.”
It’s just not worth it to lie on your resume, Davis says. “Hiring managers were not born yesterday. A single question is enough to catch you out on a lie. It causes an embarrassment and an awkward situation for everyone in the room.” And once you’ve been caught, you’ve trashed your opportunity to get hired and damaged your reputation. Even if a person is dishonest and slips through the initial screening process, here’s how recruiters spot a liar before hiring them.
How do they know?
They begin with by using behavioral interviewing techniques. By asking detailed questions about a candidate’s work experience, recruiters can tell by the depth of the response if the person is lying. For example, if a candidate claims to have ten years’ experience as a team leader, the recruiter will ask for examples of how the person has hired, trained, and even fired talent. The quality of the responses will show if the experience is real.
Purchasing an online background check is a common practice. It can be easily obtained to validate past work experience, degrees acquired, wages earned, criminal records, whether certifications are current and much more. Companies would rather pay to find out now if a candidate is lying than to have something terrible happen on the job.
Backdoor reference checks are another way some companies research and secretly contact ex-colleagues of candidates to inquire about their performance. Their goal is to speak to someone not recommended to them by the candidate since most references have been coached to say only good things. Instead, the backdoor reference catches the unassuming colleague off-guard and provides the recruiter with a way to validate what the candidate claims to have done on past jobs.
Once recruiters find out a candidate has lied, one thing is for sure, the person is marked in the ATS as a “do not hire,” which ruins any chances of that person getting a job with the company.
Big lies such as made-up employers, job titles, and dates of employment automatically get you bounced from consideration. Smaller lies may go unnoticed but can land you in a dead-end job, and it’s a case of you deserve what you get. In the long run, this can hurt your job satisfaction and be even worse for your career than not getting the job in the first place.
One of the biggest small lies that a job seeker can tell is about their career goals. Many job seekers fear the consequences that honesty would yield, for example, not wanting to climb the corporate ladder. It might be a perception of you being lazy or unmotivated, but in today’s environment, employers can relate to you not wanting to get on that corporate hamster wheel. A great employee is still good for a company, no matter at what level.
Bending the truth about your career goals is unfair to you and your prospective employer. Assuming you get the position, eventually, the gap between what you really wanted and what you said you wanted will grow. Life is too short, and doing things not suited to you or your talents is a waste of everyone’s time.
Chances are you’ve got some kind of online profile with your credentials, endorsements, and recommendations. Online profiles are public, and candidates are less likely to be bold enough to falsely inflate their credentials. The people you’ve worked with in the past know your skills and may get called as references even if you don’t put them in your official list of references.
Why Lie When you don’t need to
If you don’t have the exact skills that an employer is looking for but still think you could be a good fit, make the case in your cover letter and let the hiring manager be the one to decide whether to call you in. “Hiring managers are more open to people with transferable skills these days, meaning you don’t have to necessarily have direct experience in a field to be employed,” says career coach Alex Simon. Let your credentials speak for themselves and make it clear you’re willing to learn if necessary.
“It’s far better to admit that you don’t know something,” Simon agrees. “Passion and eagerness to learn your way into a position is a far greater quality than being a liar. It’s the # 1 quality I look for. Too many candidates sabotage their chances.”
Studies show 80 percent of jobs are gotten via referral, and many companies offer their employees hefty bonuses as incentives for referring good candidates to their jobs. By making friends with employees on networking sites like LinkedIn, job seekers can demonstrate how their personalities and aptitude are a match for the employer. This makes not having an exact match less of an issue. When an employee walks down the hall to the recruiter and says, “I spoke to this guy, and he seems like he might fit in,” the chances skyrocket that he’ll get a phone call. The candidate can now share how he or she is qualified for the role, despite not having the exact requirements.
The correct path
If you’re not sure your resume is going to go over well with hiring managers for whatever reason, there’s a better way to make yourself look good, and it starts with a thorough resume review. If you need help, you can get a free resume evaluation from experts at a state job site office or even an online résumé writing service. You can get detailed feedback to including a review of your résumé’s appearance, content, and a prediction of a recruiter’s first impression. Many experts can help you make the best of what you have in terms of skills and experience without bending the truth. Most of this work is done for free, but if you need to pay a small fee, it’s well worth the investment.