Pongo Resume

There’s a scene in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump in which the title character, played by Tom Hanks, admits to telling a “little white lie,” which his mother (played by Sally Field) said was OK to do as long as it didn’t hurt anyone.

Forrest, though limited in IQ, clearly knew the difference between a little white lie and a whopper. But when it comes to your resume, either one can disqualify you from getting the job. Even if you do get the job, chances are good the lie will eventually be uncovered, and you’ll be shown the door, hurting both your career and your reputation.

Here are three notable examples of resume truth-stretching:

• As MIT’s former dean of admissions discovered last year, a lie can come back to bite you many years later. She resigned after admitting she had “misrepresented” her academic degrees on her resume when MIT hired her - in 1979.
• More recently, Robert Irvine, host of the Food Network show Dinner: Impossible, did not have his contract renewed by the network after he sautéed his professional background a bit, specifically with previous claims that he cooked for the British royal family and at the White House (The network said it might revisit its decision at the end of the season).
• In 2006, the CEO of retailer Radio Shack resigned after he admitted that his claim of holding two college degrees was two more than he really had.

If you’re compelled to lie about, embellish, exaggerate, or misrepresent anything in your work history or educational background, here’s one word of advice: Don’t. There’s just no substitute for telling the truth. And technology is more likely to uncover a lie today, since so much personal data is available on the Internet, and many employers are using Internet searches to help verify data applicants submit on their resumes.

And if the lie is uncovered before the employer makes an offer, the employer will likely not tell you; they just won't hire you, which leaves you open to repeating the lie the next time you send your resume.

Interviewing expert Michael Neece, who has reviewed thousands of resumes in his 20+ years in the staffing and hiring world, says there are legitimate reasons job candidates might lie: One is to protect themselves and their former employers. "For instance, if a candidate told the truth about being fired and subsequently filing a sexual harassment lawsuit," he says, "it might disqualify the candidate while implicating the former employer." Painting an ex-employer in a negative light is one of those “red flags” that can go up in the job-search process. Still, it's better to find a neutral way to tell the truth.

If the truth hurts (or could hurt your chances at landing a job), the best strategy is to stick to the facts in as unbiased a way as you can. If, for instance, you were let go because of a personality clash, or if you and your boss had a difference of opinion over the reasons for your exit, explain the situation matter-of-factly in the interview, keeping your emotions in check. Instead of saying, "My boss was a micro-managing control freak who wouldn't let me tie my shoes without asking first," try something like, "I was released because my independent, get-it-done style - which I and my other employers have always considered to be a strength - just didn't mesh with the new supervisor's hands-on management style."

A lie or exaggeration on a resume is just plain stupid. And, as Forrest Gump liked to say: “Stupid is as stupid does.”

Have you ever been compelled to lie on your resume to land a job? Or do you know of someone who has lied on his or her resume? Tell your story here.

What about the employer lying to employee-with fraudulent inducement and/or misrepresentation? Honesty works both ways; both USA employers terry nickel dime their employees. SInce the average employer is a work-addicted baby boomer, that is the way it is. During this horrible economy, no one is hiring anyway, unless you are hire by the traditional american methods: nepotism, croenism, have right last name, gender, and other fraudulent means top "obtain" (not earn) employment. Remember from the Bronz tale movie:; The working man is a sucker.

If I did lie on my resume, it's all about survival. I embellished my resume in my last job knowing that if I'm honest I will not get the interview and be hired. Therefore, I "rolled my dices and took a chance." I got the job, passed their background check. I worked in my last company for about about 1.5 years and was a a considered an outstanding employees. Unfortunately, I got laid off because budget cuts.

Will I do it again? Of course!!! It's all about survival. I don't feel bad for being dishonest on my resume. In our country, we have some dishonest politicians, city officials, CEO's, employers, employees, etc. who far out more unethical than those who "lied on their resumes." What a joke!!

I look at a resume as a test exam, or a college assignment. You give the instructor (an employer) the right answers. That's what they want to hear. As for concerns of background check(s), you take your chances and try not to leave a paper trail.

Tyron, you have an interesting point. All I can say is: Do what you got to do to survive. If it takes some embellishing on your resume to land that job, do it for survival. Just make sure after you get hired in a new company that you proved to them you are a good employee. In that way, there will be no need for them to do another background check. Good Luck!

@ Ross -- Thanks for your comment. Yes, we all want to present our best selves in the job search process. But with all the information available today, a hiring manager can more easily catch you in a lie.

Now, what's the difference between "lying" and "embellishing" in the job search? Here's the way I see it: Embellishing is pumping up your skills and qualifications, as long as you believe them to be true. Lying is writing or saying something about your background that you know is not true.

Bottom line: We do what we have to do, but how much of a risk do we want to assume by being dishonest?