These days, it seems everyone is keeping their eye out for good employment. Especially while employment is sparse, one wants to make himself seem as the most eligible and promising candidate to a prospective employer. How does one go about doing this?
Of course you will need an impressive resume. How impressive should your resume be, though? Should it be so impressive that it even impresses you; because it’s not actually yours?? Should you twist some “small” facts to make yourself look better- assuming that the boss will never find out?
Although this probably seems very tempting to fudge some facts on your resume, (instead of your GPA being a 3.4, you make it a 3.9, figuring that the future employer will never actually follow through and look this information up) most would ensure that being dishonest on your resume or in an interview is VERY discouraged, in any way. Even if your employer “doesn’t ever find out,” you will most likely always be worried that he will, and it might even affect your work. Also, work ethics are a big thing today, and even though your resume might seem more promising to the employer, maybe your employer is really looking for ethical workers more than workers who got all A’s in college! Ethics is a big subject in today’s workforce, and if you can bring something like honesty and integrity to your place of employment, you will probably be even more valued than you even thought!
Aside from being unethical, say your employer DOES find out that you lied on your resume. If this does happen, it is quite obvious that you will most likely be fired, and it might even become hard to find a job in your area of expertise, if your employer talks to any managers in your field and mentions to them what you did. This is really a lose-lose situation for everyone, unfortunately.
What if you really do want to seem the best candidate, but you are not happy with something in your academic or employment past? For example, say that you graduated with a 3.0, but you were disappointed in yourself because you did not attain a 4.0 like you wanted to. Most resumes do not “need” your GPA on them, so you don’t have to put that on there. Most likely, your future employee will not even ask what your GPA was. This is not lying, because you are just not even mentioning it. However, if your future employer DOES ask what your GPA was, it’s best to give an honest reply. For example, you should tell him the truth that you made a 3.0. Again, lying will never get you anywhere, except maybe kicked out onto the street. Most employers will understand about your GPA not being what you dreamed it would be, and as long as you prove yourself at your job, will not really care, usually. Also, they will be very impressed that you were truthful with them. Your grades and GPA and all of your academic past are not the only things that get you a job. A lot of the time, your personality shines through at interviews, and this is sometimes key to what will get you a job! You can most likely find a way to hide your nervousness- but even if you can’t, usually your future employer understands that interviews are a riveting event, and somewhat nerve-wracking for most people. It really is best to just be yourself, try to relax and this is also the time to toot your own horn (about things that you are really good at! You don’t have to flaunt your weaknesses- in fact, this is the wrong time to do that).
A huge mistake concerning lying on your resume or in an interview is saying that you have skills that you don’t actually possess. This is huge!! It is one thing to not mention things that you were not great at; that’s understandable to not want to flaunt that on a resume or at an interview. However, purposely selling yourself as a huge computer programmer knowing every computer program in the world is a big, huge, fat mistake!! If you do put this on your resume and then you get an interview, the interviewer will most likely ask you questions about these programs, and want you to do some examples of this programming for him. If you do not actually know these things, you will end up looking like a fool. Even if you do pass the interview somehow, once you work at the company and get asked to do things which you have no idea how to do (and there’s just no way that you can pretend to know how to program computers- you either know, or you don’t, and you will be looking at a blank computer screen), if you cannot do them, the company will find out that you lied, you will be fired, and will be very embarrassed. It was not worth the lying.
What it really comes down to is that in interviews, you really want to sell yourself. Sell yourself, though, not someone else, or the skills that you wish that you had, but don’t really. You don’t need to tell the employers about your past failures, your bad grades in high school, that you re-took math 101 in college. You’ve grown, you’ve learned and you’ve matured. If anything, the interviewing process is the time to toot your own horn, and sell yourself to the future company!
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