Is it worth lying on your resume?
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Following the advice readers have given to recent graduate Dingo, I thought it might be worthwhile recounting my experiences of stretching the truth on resumes. I don't want to get bogged down in an ethical argument, so instead I'll just tell it like it happened and let you make up your own mind.
What happened when I exaggerated my skills
A few years back, I came to Sydney after a while working overseas. I had about a year's Lotus Notes experience under my belt. I'd worked mostly on one project and learnt some important skills.
At that time, there was a lot of demand for people with Lotus Notes skills. Employers were struggling to fill positions. It seemed I'd be a shoo-in for a good job.
However, after talking to a few agencies, it became apparent that the demand was for people with more skills and experience than me. A year's experience wasn't going to cut it. I read up and practised at home, but it was obvious I was a year or two from having what they wanted. I decided to fake it. My resume was based on the truth, but an exaggerated version.
Within weeks, I had a few good interviews lined up. My big hope was that the person interviewing me would be some kind of manager, with even less of a clue than I had.
In fact, that happened a few times during a first interview, but by the time it came to the second one, there was always some technical guy there. Inevitably, I'd be outed as the semi-fraud I was. It was pretty humiliating.
Eventually, I decided to bring my resume back closer to reality. The phone stopped ringing, or when it did I'd get told "Call us when you have more experience". I was at the point when I'd pretty much given up on an IT career, and was starting to look for jobs in other fields.
One evening, the phone rang. It was an agency I'd sent my resume to months before. They had a Notes role at an investment bank. I was a bit wary, having been through this process and come out bruised and battered a few times before, but I decided to go ahead.
I went through an interview with the agency and three interviews at the bank. Rather than faking it, which was obviously going to get me nowhere, I took a more honest approach. I said I had some experience, but was keen to learn more.
When they asked me about something I didn't know, I admitted it, but said I was willing to learn.
Eventually, I got the job. It all went well and I pretty much haven't looked back since. During my time with the bank, I sharpened up my skills. I spent many nights reading up and making sure I became an expert in my field.
I became quite friendly with my boss. He later confided in me that he'd appreciated my honesty. He said he'd interviewed quite a few candidates who'd obviously faked it. He felt they were treating him like an idiot.
So there you go, that's my resume lying story. Take from it what you will.
I've also been on the other side of the table interviewing people who are obvious frauds. I'll recount those stories later this week.
Paul Knapp (editor@brainbox.com.au)
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Get the work doneWhether you fake it or are honest with your skils, at the end of the day you have to get the job done. Faking at times can be necessary because agents won't understand that SQL Server 2005 is the same as 2000 with some extra features. IT Pro, 06/18/2008 10:39:12 PM
"IT pro"?I understand what you mean when you say that, but to say that MSSQL2005 is just MSSQL2000 "with some extra features" is just bizarre... It's virtually a new product, especially if you take into account the BI features and integration with other products in the MSBI-stack. But just if you narrow it down to the RDBMS, the engine is almost completelly rewritten... Mr B, 06/18/2008 11:32:55 PM
Mr BWe as application developers are least concerned as to the internals of any software. All we care is how we use it and what features we use. The main point is i don't think anyone will undergo a training course to upgrade from 2000 to 2005. IT Pro, 06/19/2008 12:42:21 AM
If you don't ask questions, I won't tell liesI must say it seems that you people haven't gone for enough jobs or had enough unemployment experience yet. I have never lied on my resume and have always had to assume the "don't know but I can learn" stance. It DOES get really degrading when you are honest like that and when they ummm and ahhh you practically have to lick future employee's shoes for a pittance. Luckily, years of degradation and unfulfilling work with yukky interviews have cumulated in me landing a dream job with perks most people in here probably don't enjoy - along with truly creative work in a receptive and enthusiastic environment in an innovative company. Pity it had to take 15 years and 4500 interviews (in the 15 years) to find it. But now I have, I can say it was definitely worth it. I wish everyone luck in hunting down something as satisfying. Snu210, 06/19/2008 01:46:41 AM
Is it worth lying on your resume?Yes. Next! brownie, 06/19/2008 02:33:56 AM
not worth lytingSnu210, 4500 interview in 15 yrs, WTF!!. Your either VERY poor with interviews, or your skills are crap. In a slower market even, I recently had 3 interviews, and 3 offers for contracts. As for Brownie, it's not worth lying on your resume. Either you'll get found out in the interview (I had an architect in on 2 of the interviews doing technical questions), or you'll get the job, but then have more pressure as you've told that manager that you've done stuff that you really haven't. It's a lot better to just be honest and say you don't know something, but that you are keen to learn it. Most managers are good. Once you get past doppy recruiters, most good managers will know that IT people can pick up stuff quickly, as needed to do the job. The managers that expect every skill on their extensive list are the managers I don't want to work for anyway. MK, 06/19/2008 03:13:43 AM
DBA...and companies and agents don't lie about the job's they are offering? lies?, 06/19/2008 09:15:58 AM
Snu...luv u 2... Gloomyshoes, 06/19/2008 10:34:15 AM
Resume lying song..Ive always lyed on my resume, its made me rich Sing a song, Suffer .. suffer pull down your pants ha ha ha.. Ha Ha Ha what are you going to do about it he WHAT Are YOU GOING to about it Louder….. What are you going to do about it. Ha ha ha.. Got a house out of it HA HA HA MC Macca, 06/23/2008 09:33:53 PM
historically yesAs someone coming from overseas, I would rather tell a story to answer this. During the mid to late 90's, I went to quite a number of interviews somewhere on this planet and almost all the questions were about my software engineering capabilities. My peers scattered across the globe seldom lied as there was no need to do so. Things changed during the dotcom bust era when skillset requirement was introduced as opposed to analytical interviews. That's when 'lying' started. Almost all of my peers did this just to survive in the market and statistically none of them perished. Yah, it's worth doing it to some degree but I blame instead the introduction of "skillset" to filter out prospective interview candidates. IringB, 06/23/2008 10:22:48 PM
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