Lying on your resume

What is it that makes humans lie? Is it the need to feel important, gain position or even earn more money? Whatever the reason, another CEO of an international company has been caught for lying on his resume.

Have you checked your resume for inaccuracies or exaggerations lately?{{more}}

According to ABC news, David Edmondson, the now former CEO of Radio Shack an international chain of electronics stores, indicated on his resume that he held college degrees in theology and psychology. The truth was, he only attended the college for two semesters and did not have such degrees. Mr. Edmondson resigned amidst fire from the board.

When will people learn? Padding your resume, exaggerating, taking creative license, whatever you call it, it’s still all the same and rarely if ever does it go unnoticed.

In the event you’ve forgotten the rules of writing a successful resume, here’s a little refresher course.

1. Make sure all the information on your resume is accurate

2. Don’t ask family members with different names to be references, unless you truly did work in the family business.

3. Use strong verbs to describe what you accomplish but do not go over board. If you answered the phone in a small office with one or two lines that’s different from managing multiple phone lines as in 5 or 10 lines.

4. Don’t just list tasks, demonstrate how your contributions impacted your employer. Did you increase sales, streamline a system that saved the company money etc?

5. If there are gaps in your resume, be truthful but please spare the details. No one needs to know the fine points if you had major personal problems or medical issues

6. Do not use titles that are inappropriate for the tasks you performed. In other words you are not a manager if you fill in for a colleague for a short period of time.

7. Review your resume for grammatical errors, as it will end up in the garbage if it does.

8. Get to the point. Don’t waste time and effort with flowery language, be clear and concise.

9. Keep it professional. Do not include your age, marital status, previous pay rates, and your citizenship. This information does not belong on a resume.

10. Your resume is your marketing tool to get you a job so take the time to craft it and alter it for different industries.

• Karen Hinds works with companies and professionals to develop their competitive edge through effective communications, image management and customer service. Send comments and suggestions to Karen@KarenSpeaks.com