Face to Face
With Fred Coon

January 6, 2004 - 20 Pet Peeves Recruiters Have About Resumes
Courtesy of Mike Worthington, ResumeDoctor.com

# 12 - Lying or Misleading Information

We all know the temptation is there to beef up your background by stretching the truth here and there to land that job. BEWARE! It is becoming more commonplace for companies to do extensive background and reference checks on a candidate's background prior to hiring. Also, companies are demanding that their vendor recruiters do more extensive background checks. The chances of being caught are forever increasing.

Recruiters stated the most common misleading information being put on resumes is:

• Inflated titles
• Inaccurate dates to cover up job hopping or gaps of employment
• Half-finished degrees, inflated education or "purchased" degrees that do not mean anything
• Inflated salaries
• Inflated accomplishments
• Out and out lies in regards to specific roles and duties

Connecticut recruiter, Tom Mahon shared this story, "One bonehead forgot we had worked together a few years earlier (I still had his old resume) and sent me a new resume where every title was upgraded. His former employers apparently promoted him because he was doing such a great job at his current employer."

If you are in sales, don't be surprised if an employer will ask to see your W2s to verify your sales income before being hired. So in a nutshell, recruiters are "hip" to what is going on. Present your resume accordingly; be TRUTHFUL.

Recruiter’s likes and dislikes in a resume were surveyed nation-wide by Mike Worthington of ResumeDoctor.com. FACE to FACE will publish all twenty pet peeves in this column over the next months.

ResumeDoctor.com is a service provided by Personnel Department Inc. PDI is Vermont’s largest independently owned staffing agency. They have been locally owned and operated for over 14 years. They have been featured in many publications, TV news programs, and radio broadcasts. You may contact them at: http://www.resumedoctor.com.

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About the Author: Fred Coon