Liar, Liar, Career on Fire!

Last month I was helping a client, who reminded me of Tommy Flanagan in the Jon Lovitz pathological liar sketch on Saturday Night Live.  In draft one of his Résumé, he exceeded sales by 12%.  Draft two, he emails me, “Actually it was 23% and I was Producer of the Quarter, yeahhh, that’s the ticket.”  By the final draft, he was asking me to report that he doubled sales and was National Producer of the Year.  I had to tactfully ask my client if indeed he was certain of the facts and reminded him of the consequences if he, ahem, stretched the truth like taffy.  My client, who probably also invented taffy, paid no heed.  So, I sent him along his way with my best admonition.

Doesn’t “everyone” lie a little on a résumé? So, what can happen if you stretch the truth?  The answer is no, everyone does not lie.  The consequences are serious.  It may not catch up with you until after you are hired.  Picture this:  You quit your comfortable job for a better position with much greater growth potential.  You start the job and you love it!  It’s what you imagined.  Then four weeks into the job, you get the call to Human Resources to tell that there are discrepancies regarding the type of degree you earned and the title you held at your first job.  Next, you are escorted out of the building.  It’s a small world and the news spreads like wildfire.

So, let’s say you just want to fudge the sales figures a little. Nothing major, right?  They can’t uncover that information.  However, somehow they do.  After interviewing you, your prospective manager hops on LinkedIn and connects to find that your numbers don’t add up.  The manager thinks, wow, if she would lie about that, should we take a chance when we have ten other candidates equally qualified? 

It’s not worth it – especially when you probably have the credentials and accomplishments to succeed without exaggerating.  If you have trouble uncovering your accomplishments, talk to a professional résumé writer.  For more advice, check out these blog entries.

How to Explain Being Fired

Brand Yourself New and Improved for Career Success

Résumé Help:  Uncovering Achievements