It WILL come back to bite you in the behind, just ask former Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson, or former Notre Dame coach George O’Leary.  Both were let go from extremely high-profile, and arguably irreplaceable positions due in part to fabrications or enhancements on their respective resumes.  Research suggests that they are not alone – over 50% of people lie on their resume in some form.

The bottom line:  Submitting a dishonest resume can establish a track record of dishonesty.  Many people believe that that is the only way to get selected for a job.  In some cases, this is the only way THEY can be selected.  We’ve all told a story now and then, colored in a black and white picture, and maybe when it comes to resumes, instead of finishing a contract July 28^th, we’ve rounded to August.  I can tell you from personal experience that none of these are OK – I’ve been guilty of them all.  But think of this from the hiring manager, or company’s viewpoint.  If you’re willing to embellish your resume by adding advanced degree, erasing a 3 month gap, claiming you did the work that the person next to you, or any other tall tale, what are you going to do when quick truth is required?  Frankly, it scares them, and you can easily be shown the door despite positive performance and reviews.

But how?  How are people caught?  So many ways.  In some companies, HR initiatives have been launched to verify existing employees’ pasts.  Whether education, employment, income, etc. these have come to light and proven damaging.  Other ways?  Resumes themselves.  In our business, most companies have ATSs (Applicant Tracking Systems) that collect resumes and store them.  These can be gathered directly from resumes candidates send to companies, or from the internet – job boards, personal sites, user groups, etc.  When recruiters see discrepancies in resumes, they are immediately turned off.

I remember one candidate that sent me his resume at least 2 times a year over nearly a decade.  Each time, it was different.  At times it omitted employment, merged employment at other times, and other times simply made things up.  What he didn’t know for most of this time, was that I knew 2 managers he had worked for, and both pointed out the falsehoods in his resume.   Every time I got his new resume, it was stored in my database, but I ignored him.  One day, he called me and asked why I never called him for assignments despite knowing we were hiring for his skill set.  I replied “your resume is nearly a total fabrication” and pointed out some examples.  Needless to say I never heard back from him.

So what are you to do if you HAVE spun your resume a bit?  It’s really simple:  Come clean!  Make a 100% honest and verifiable resume.  Make notes on why you have gaps in your resume, and be prepared to explain in honest and simple terms.  If you find yourself trying to cover up for something, understand you WILL get caught, so save yourself the time and be forthright.  Understand that if you have to lie to get a job, you weren’t meant to have it.

Why is this such a passion point for me?  2 reasons:  First, it costs me time and money to find out someone I recruited faked an experience.  Second, a long time ago I lied on a resume.  I was not terminated for it, but I realized that I had to remember my lies so I could back them up.  My morality ate away at me, and I ended up leaving as the environment was poisonous – partly due to my fabrications.  Lesson learned.

Back to the point:  With over half of candidates lying on resumes, and there being so many easy ways to discover fallacies people need to know it will adversely affect their careers.  Do us all a favor (and yourself too!) and fix that resume up… it IS who you are.

My .02