It's a No-Brainer: Don't Lie on Your Resume

Hiring decision-makers surveyed for the book, Top Notch Executive Resumes identified this as one of their Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves: Resume contains lies or misleading statements or misrepresentations. Despite high-profile individuals whose resume lies have been publicly reported, and despite the increasing use of background checks, lying remains rampant on resumes. A recent study conducted by J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc., a provider of risk and regulatory management solutions, revealed resumes lies about past employment (the largest category), education, professional licensure and certifications, and military service.

It’s just too risky to lie because you will probably get caught. Hiring decision-makers are far more attuned to falsehoods than before, and many employers are doing background checks. It doesn’t even take an official background check to uncover lies; ExecuNet’s 15th Annual Executive Job Market Intelligence Report pointed to more than a third of executives who have found problems, such as misstated academic qualifications and falsified company or title information, through simple online searches.

Don’t be tempted to lie, stretch the truth, or misrepresent the facts. That weekend certificate program you completed at Harvard isn’t the same as a Harvard MBA.
See all 30 peeves: executive resume peeves 1-10 in Part 1, executive resume peeves 11-20 in Part 2 and executive resume peeves 21-30 in Part 3.