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The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth?
You want to impress the socks off the manager who’s interviewing you, right? You want to be noticed. You want to be the candidate that elicits the “this candidate beats them all” reaction.
But what happens when you think your background isn’t quite good enough? Perhaps your job titles seem weak—they didn’t really define the full scope of your responsibility. Or your education isn’t strong enough—you’re only two classes short of completing that degree. Or your accomplishments seem mediocre—saving the company $5,000 would be more impressive if you added another zero.
This is when you may be tempted to tweak, embellish, or use creative licensing with your resume. Would it really be that big a deal? You know you can do the job. That’s the truth. Your tweaking simply gives you a better chance to prove that.
Think twice before you tweak.
Bill Richardson didn’t get away with tweaking, and he’s the governor of New Mexico. His claim to have been drafted by what is now the Oakland A’s baseball team wasn’t true. It created a bit of a PR nightmare. And George O’Leary resigned after five days of being hired as the Notre Dame football coach. Why? He claimed he had a master’s degree in education and had played college football for three years. Neither was true. It’s quite amazing. Both of these gentlemen have very impressive resumes and have rightly earned a great deal of respect in their professions. Their resume tweaking was unnecessary.
So what do you do if you’re tempted to tweak? Resist. Follow these suggestions when creating your resume and preparing for your interviews:
- Always tell the truth.
- Articulate accomplishments rather than providing a list of job responsibilities.
- Practice sharing examples—telling your stories—of the work you’ve accomplished.
- Focus your attention on what the hiring manager needs, and make the strong connection between those needs and your skills and experience.
- Use your enthusiasm and energy to demonstrate your ability to get the job done.
Yes, stretching the truth to make your background more impressive could help you in the short run. But the risk and consequences when your embellishments are discovered could be career stoppers. And that’s not saying anything about your own integrity and character. It’s not worth it.
Always tell the truth.
