Do we really have to go over this again? It amazes me that in today’s world, where nothing is a secret and where background checks are as routine as your morning Starbucks, that people still insist on lying on their résumés.  A recent article by Klaus Kneale on Forbes.com quotes Nancy Davis, a psych professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She says that college students are, in some cases, encouraged to embellish their résumés. She gives the example of an intern who runs copies of a manual putting it on his résumé as a manual that he “created.” Now that’s a stretch, and he’d probably end up back-pedaling in an interview. But then again, it happens all the time - and he just might end up getting the job he wants if the interviewer doesn’t probe deeper into that claim. But how long would he be able to fake his accomplishments? Alicia Shepard of The Huffington Post, and author of the new book, Woodward and Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate, recently wrote about two very successful, accomplished women, both of whom just lost their jobs because they out-and-out lied on their résumés.  The first, newspaper woman Marti Buscaglia, misrepresented her education on her résumé, saying she had graduated from Lima University in Peru. She had that lie on her résumé for 30 years before she finally came forward.  Then there was Marilee Jones, Dean of Admissions at Massachusetts Institute of Technolog. She was forced to resign in April after it was discovered that she had lied on her résumé about her academic credentials. On her résumé, Jones claimed to have degrees from Albany Medical College, Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She had perpetuated that lie through her entire 28-year career at MIT. Recent statistics from Hire Right, a company that conducts background checks, indicate that more than 80% (yes, 80%!) of all résumés are misleading. Better than 20% show fraudulent degrees, 30% have altered dates of employment, 40% of people show higher salaries than they actually earned, 30% exaggerate job responsibilities and more than 25% have falsified references.  Lying on résumés has spawned hundreds of companies that investigate claims made on résumés. And companies, large and small, are paying big bucks to make sure résumés are accurate and the people they hire have been truthful.  You can even send your own résumé to a résumé verification firm and they’ll do the background investigation before you submit your résumé to a potential employer. So what’s the lesson in all of this? You might get away with lying on your résumé, and you might get away with it for years. But it will come back to haunt you eventually. So it’s simple, really. Don’t lie. Don’t do it, no matter how tempting. Your personal and professional integrity is at stake - and integrity, in work and in life, matters more than anything. 

Job Search, Resume Tips | No Comments »

Writing a resume that tells a hiring manager about your credentials, experience and accomplishments is the easy part. Writing a resume that forces a hiring manager to pick up the phone - NOW - and invite you in for an interview - PRONTO - is a much tougher assignment. 

What are hiring managers looking for?  

They want: 

1)     Clarity – they want you to tell your story clearly, concisely and in a format they can easily read.

2)     Criteria - they want a candidate that meets their hiring requirements. They want to see the qualifications, education and experience needed for the job they’re trying to fill.

3)     Correctness – no “gilding the lily”. They want a truthful, accurate picture of who you are, what you can do, and where you did it. They don’t want typos, spelling errors or grammar mistakes. 

So, if all things in the resumes of two job applicants were essentially equal, why would a hiring manager contact one candidate for the interview over another? 

It’s all about how you sell your personal brand. It’s all about how you differentiate yourself in the market. It’s the WOW. It’s the things that make you the “must-have” candidate that everyone wants to interview.  You have to create a sense of excitement – a buzz – around your brand. Remember, a resume is a marketing tool. It has to highlight your strengths and your contributions in a way that make YOU the standout applicant. You have to tell the story of your professional life in a compelling and powerful way.

When I work with clients on rewriting their resumes, I ask them to run the “so what” test on every single sentence. Here’s how the “so what” test works: read each line in your resume, then ask yourself, “so what? Would someone hire me because of this?” If the line is a reason to hire you, great – leave it in. If it’s not, you should probably take it out. 

Your resume has to show that you’re up on the latest technologies, trends and issues in your industry. Show that you’re knowledgeable about the hot-button topics that everyone in your field is talking about NOW.  Let hiring managers know that you’re ahead of the curve. You’re up on the latest developments in your field. You know what the latest and greatest products. You know what’s coming on the horizon. Tell the hiring manager that you’re up on what’s “IN” and what’s “OUT” in your professional arena. 

Hiring managers and recruiters see and scan thousands of resumes every month.  Make your resume the one they actually READ – and GET the interview! 

Professional Branding, Marketing Yourself, Job Interviews, Resume Tips | No Comments »