For your entertainment….
We know none of the Fox School students would have a resume THIS bad…This video is pretty funny but it points out an important lesson you should keep in mind when writing your resume. If you are not qualified for a position…DONT LIE (or even exaggerate)! There have been many people, high powered execs even, who have gotten caught up with embellishing their resume and it has come back to bite them.
- Former Notre Dame football coach, George O’Leary, was forced to resign his $1.2 million salary in 2001 when it came to light that he had grossly overstated his past accomplishments.
- Dave Edmonson, the former Chief Exec of RadioShack resigned after questions about the accuracy of his resume. He had claimed to two degrees which he did not have.
Now these are extreme examples, but click here to see Forbes.com list of most common resume lies. Often times, they may be small exaggerations and may not even get caught before someone is hired. There has been an increase in more intensive HR background checks to mitigate that problem. As many as 40% of HR professionals have explained that they have increased their time conducting new hire background checks.
Just make sure when you are writing your resume, things are on the up and up. All job titles, dates, and responsibilities should be completely accurate. If there is a position that you are interested in, for which you are not qualified, do not lie, just explain in your cover letter or meeting with the employer that you personally do not have one of the skills for which they are looking, however you would be excited about the opportunity to dedicate time to obtaining this skill. This will give the employer insight into your integrity.
Jena joined the CSPD as the Assistant Director of Recruitment and Professional Development with over 4 years career services experience including a background in corporate recruiting. She is excited to work collaboratively with the Fox School students regarding career search strategies and hopes students gain some additional insight into the job search through “Opportunity Knocks”.
Kel is an undergrad majoring in Management Information Systems, graduating in 2010. He is very involved and hopes to share some of his experiences with other students. His goal is to motivate others to do their best. He believes that with a little inspiration you can get where you want to be. Through this blog, he wants to show you that opportunities are out there.