lying on a resume, is it ok?

[florescent]

I dont know if this has been discussed before. Is "enhancing" a resume a form or lying or cheating. Is it a common practice or just done by people that want to get ahead? Whats an acceptable elaboration and whats out right fabrication?

[Shadowrun]

What difference does it make? If you plan on lying, try to make it believable if you can.

[tarheeljks]

i don't see how deliberately misrepresenting yourself is ok. obviously people do it and you will probably get away it but it's certainly not ethical.

[kerowo]

Of course it isn't. Why would you think it was alright? It's probably a 2 second Google to see all the high ranking politicos and football coaches who not only lost their jobs but pretty much screwed their careers right in the ear because of lying on a resume.

[Fast Food Knight]

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Is "enhancing" a resume a form or lying or cheating.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you kidding me? Yes.

The three companies I have worked for all did background checks which included verifying previous employment, education credientials, GPA, and graduation date. I would never risk it. Time would be better spent actually doing things that you can add to your resume to improve it.

[diebitter]

I work in an industry where they say 'X years of Y' for jobs, and the fact is you don't really need 5 years of something to know it backwards...more like 6 months. So people often stretch their years experience to fit. Doesn't matter much, as long as they have enough.

I was once asked if I had 3 years experience of programming in Visual Basic.Net, and it had only been around 6 months. explaiwd this, and the agent insisted they needed 3 years. Tell me, who but a liar would get that job? (I hung up btw).

[John Cole]

I've known two deans who were fired for lying on resumes.

Hell, enhancing shows iniative, but there's a distinction between enhancing and lying. "Managing staff" might mean you managed one person or a hundred. If you managed one, the phrase is an enhancement; if you managed one hundred, you should spend more time on your resume. In neither situation, have you lied.

Simple rule: if you have to ask if it's wrong to do it, then you probably already know it is.

[Wynton]

This discussion isn't really meaningful without concrete examples. Obviously, there is a judgment call to be made about what kind of claims are reasonable puffery, and what kinds cross the line into lies.

[tuq]

[ QUOTE ]
This discussion isn't really meaningful without concrete examples. Obviously, there is a judgment call to be made about what kind of claims are reasonable puffery, and what kinds cross the line into lies.

[/ QUOTE ]
Exactly.

I think there have been studies done that a staggeringly large percentage of people embellish their resume, which is basically lying, and then there's those that make really blatant, easily exposed lies like the college degree one.

There's also situations where I advise minor things that may be considered lies but which are harmless. For example, a guy I just got an offer for had a nightmare position several years ago that only lasted a month. He and I both agree that it's best left off. That's a lie, right? Also, I don't mind if someone leaves "to present" on their resume because people with jobs are subconsciously more desirable to (some) employers than their unemployed counterparts.

I'm sure there's a few small other ones that I could think up. As a general rule I advise that people highlight their skills for a specific position without misrepresenting them completely.

[Kaj]

[ QUOTE ]
I dont know if this has been discussed before. Is "enhancing" a resume a form or lying or cheating.

[/ QUOTE ]

lie, v., Merriam-Webster
1 : to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive
2 : to create a false or misleading impression

What do you think?