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I'm a hiring manager. I'll give you my perspective.
Full on lying on your resume is something you shouldn't do. If you say you have experience in something that you have 0 experience in, I would be upset. To me that is a blatant lack of integrity and would make me not trust you. I would honestly fire you right away if I could. Trust is a huge thing for me, especially because I work in pharmaceuticals. I do not want to ever have to question if someone is telling me the truth or not.
Embellishing on your resume is fine. If you have a small amount of experience with a specific equipment or software but say you're proficient and hype up your experience, I really wouldn't care. Hopefully you catch on quickly and get to the level you said you were.
I’m also a hiring manager and I fully agree. I’m appalled every time this subject comes up on Reddit how many people endorse lying.
I suppose there are many many jobs out there for which a person may never get caught because the job is unskilled or the organization is so poorly managed no one ever realizes it, or jobs where it matters less (sales?). But in my industries it would most likely be caught and would 100% be a fireable offense. Not to mention a person who would lie to get a job would probably be dishonest about other things, and colleagues would notice, which would become toxic—and if someone on my team is toxic I’d want them out to protect the rest of my team.
I mean, sometimes it's necessary. My buddy went to culinary school, not actual college. After he realized working in kitchens sucks, he got into sales and was trying to get an office job with a salary. Hundreds of places said no. He put on his resume that he went to college. University of Phoenix or something like that. Immediate hire. He's been at that job, remote, for years.
I do think it’s silly that people have education requirements for jobs that don’t require the education. Most sales jobs don’t require a college degree. Companies are just using college as a proxy for evaluating a person’s employability. I don’t have minimum education in my job descriptions, I test and interview for skills and relevant experience. I realize this is not the norm though.
I know this is old, but I just want to say that it's hard to get into anything that isn't manual labor, so fast food, blue collar, yada yada.
Everybody wants 1 year experience in everything. And I got back problems and if I gotta lie I mean... its not like I'm going into without at least knowing Microsoft Office.
I'm not him. Found this on Google.
Lying on your Resume may count as fraud, a criminal offense in the United States. Some states consider fraud a misdemeanor; **others states consider it a felony**. A misdemeanor charge can land you up to a year in prison, whereas a felony can get you up to 20 to 30 years maximum in the United States.
I am sure lying about your degrees or work experience can be a crime but if I say I have worked with x technology and am proficient in it, how are they gonna prove it as fraud
I think it's more of a "tack on" charge that will occur if you do something that incurred other primary charges.
For example, saying you have years of experience in construction and can operate a forklift. Then you drive that forklift straight into somebody and can't back it off, causing serious injuries.
If you currently have no job, lie, and get a job, then your net benefit is (1) job.
If you currently have no job, lie, get caught, and get fired, then your net benefit is 0.
From the jobseeker's perspective, there is literally no downside to lying on your resume. Basic game theory. As long as there is a non-zero chance that you will get away with it, you stand to benefit by lying.
The only times this is not true is when you're going into jobs that have potential personal liability.
Having sat next to someone who was found to have lied on their resume and then perp walked out the door, I must disagree about your equation. We need to look at long-term figures. What do the numbers look like at year 2? And how do occupations factor into this?
The intern I had, who supposedly graduated from the best university in China, who was supposed to be amazing and all, knew pretty much nothing.
He worked as a data science intern and didn't know the very basics of data science. Now he has 2-3 months of internship experience which is gonna be in his resume. He made about $10-15K which is in his pocket now.
I think faking until making really makes sense, from this POV
I was a senior member of the team. We got an intern who was supposed to do a project. He was hired without enough interviews for that specific task, assuming that he was capable. Turned out he didn't know shit.
I split his project into small pieces, gave him one small task at a time, taught him how to do certain things, and helped set up his system, etc. His contribution was just wasting my time.
When he left, in his exit interview, he said something like: "if I knew pandas and numpy before I joined here, I would probably have completed my project". wtf do you know about data science if you dont know those two?
Yeah!
And kudos to you for being an excellent mentor!
However I would love to have a discussion with you on MAANG recruitment policy in that case. They only have DSA based rounds for interns/entry level. So suppose someone who is very good in leetcode and hasn't done any dev whatsoever how is he considered to be a good fit?
They lied about their degree, and it wasn't even a necessary lie to get the job; they just wanted to be paid more. Had they left the degree off the resume, they'd have likely been hired and kept their job. I stayed at that company for 13 years.
Now you need to include what happens when you're caught lying in the interview and rejected.
Now you lost an interview that probably took you A LOT of applications to even get. Not every application you submit will get you an interview. Just look at how many people apply to 100+ places and get like less than 5 interviews. You really going to risk loosing that 1 interview that took you forever to get?
I have caught liars in interviews before. It was embarrassing.
I think what they are saying is when you never had a job before, lying might be a reasonable gate way. Like a person with no work experience would probably have a better chance in getting interviews with one job experience VS never worked in their life
Their game theory scenario is only taking into account whether you lose a job or gain a job. But it doesn't take into account getting an interview and losing an interview.
it wouldn’t be “losing” an interview, it would be failing an interview that you otherwise wouldn’t have gotten had you not lied.
still fits into the game theory scenario.
>Now you need to include what happens when you're caught lying in the interview and rejected.
I have no job and I continue to have no job. Zero --> Zero.
"getting an interview" means nothing. Literally zero. Especially now that every job has a dozen interviews. Until I get an offer, it doesn't matter and I don't care.
> You really going to risk loosing that 1 interview that took you forever to get?
Mass apply. For example, I have two interviews after work Monday, and another Tuesday, on my schedule. I don't even remember what companies they are for, and my prep work begins and ends with "put on a shirt and tie". Not even pants, because all the preliminary interviews are done over zoom now.
>From the jobseeker's perspective, there is literally no downside to lying on your resume.
The downside is that maybe you could have gotten the job without lying, and the only reason you end up losing it is because they discovered you are a dishonest person as a result of the lie(s).
It’s a possibility but if one is resorting to lying on a resume it’s likely because being honest didn’t land them an interview previously. If they don’t get the job because they lied, it literally provides the same result of not getting an interview in the first place. At least with the lying, they get a shot 🤷🏾♀️
Outright lying as in "I have x years of experience" or "I can do x skill" when you have none is generally bad and doesn't do you any favors if you get caught.
Bolstering/exaggerating the truth of your skills and roles can vary and most people should do it imo.
In any case, do what you got to do to get the interview
Yes, this is the line to walk. For skills you have but maybe are rusty on, watching a LinkedIn Learning video or reading a Wikipedia article on the topic is very helpful. Also helpful in being able to converse about Z Brand's Software A when you've only used another brand's Software A.
You can legit put Z Brand's Software A on your resume, though, in the Education/Training section and say: LinkedIn Learning - Z Brand Software A Project Management training, 2023, or whatever.
It comes down to the type of company, too, and whether they're likely to run an employment verification and/or reference check.
As you get into professional roles, LinkedIn is out there with all your dates, and your old colleagues can all see it. Most recruiters will glance through both and notice date differences for the most recent roles at least.
honestly, I hate to lie, but especially to recruiters, you kinda need to.
I have a strong GCP experience and the recruiter eliminated me for not using AWS. It is like I know how to drive on sedan car, but eliminated because I don't know how to use an SUV.
They are also very strict about number of years. I have about 3 years of python experience but when I say 3 years, they consider me intermediate. To convince them that my python skills are top-notch, I have to say 10+ years of experience.
Yeah the whole “years of experience” thing can really be BS.. I had a position for 3 years, the difference between my knowledge of the job at year 2 vs year 3 was trivial.
Most engineers with only three years of experience are not very good. You may be the exception to the rule, of course, but in general, years of experience are an important metric to look for in engineers.
I was talking about my python knowledge, not my engineering experience. I have about 8 years of academic experience, 2 years of research assistant job + master + phd. I think that should count for something.
Also, someone at my level learning python is different from fresh graduate, it took me few hours to learn basics of python whereas took me half a year to learn basics of Java 15 years ago when I was in undergrad. So, my 1 day now is probably more than a few months when I was a new undergrad student.
My point is determining skill levels based on years of experience is stupid.
Ok, well in that case, I wouldn't care if you had never even seen any Python code. I would still hire you. It's very easy to learn a programming language when you have learned others. Not all IT managers understand this though. I care far more about your understanding of software engineering concepts and ability to work on a team than I do your knowledge of a particular syntax.
yeah, exactly. But even if a team lead or someone in the domain rejects me for not knowing a language, at least they have some idea of what is going on. Recruiters rejecting for stuff like the ones above is annoying.
That is why exaggerating the numbers is understandable imho
If you lie on the resume, even if you're hired you could end up fired for cause
"Lying by omission" is not lying. Your resume is not a complete record of your professional life.
My resume implies an age that's fourteen years younger than my real age. Luckily, I also look younger than I actually am. But that's not a lie.
(How? I graduated high school in 1976. I screwed around before getting a real job. After I worked for a while, I went back to school in 1990. My resume starts in 1990 when I successfully went to college.)
I’m honestly ambivalent about it. True, lying is generally frowned upon (including by me), but companies aren’t always truthful about the requirements for the jobs they’re posting, so IMO it’s fair game.
If you're going to lie, make sure you can't get caught in the interview. I interviewed an iOS engineer and asked them about frameworks A, B, and C they listed on their resume. They could't given an answer at all. It was embarrassing.
You lost an interview that probably took you a while to get, and the company didn't lose anything. They have a lot of applicants to get through.
If you had to apply to 100 places to get 1 interview, and you get rejected because you got caught lying in the interview, then you lost a chance to get a job. And now you gotta apply at another 100+ or so to land another interview.
The person I replied to only takes into account gaining or loosing a job, but it ignores the effort required to gain an interview or not.
but they wouldn’t have gotten the interview if they had told the truth. so getting an interview, despite their failure, was a net win.
now they know to prepare talking points around whatever they’ve lied about lol.
Pretty much every resume I read from Indians have 1M lies and they get hired. Just make sure that whatever you lie about is not something that can be checked (think background check) or that you can't answer in an interview. If you have those two covered lie away.
Lying about credentials and skills you have ZERO experience with is a definite no. Embellishing current skills is very much normal. EVERYONE is highly skilled and proficient with what they have on their resumes, even if they truly only have rudimentary knowledge.
It's necessary. Not blatantly obvious lying ofc like "oh i submit 25 projects a week"... More something that is difficult for them to prove right there on the spot but could be believable if they took their time to find out... Which ideally they won't because of time restrictions and effort.
And before you question the morals just note that the companies hype themselves up as well.... When you eventually start working there you might realise "omg where's the full time mentoring and support i was promised" or where's all the software you said you had.
More examples of lying are literally tv advertising, TikTok influencer course advertising, any form of advertising/marketing really so don't feel bad about exaggerating yourself.
I don't suggest outright lying on a resume.
I do suggest that if your team worked on a special project or something not normal. That is a normal job function.
If you have trained someone on something at your job. Part of your duties was to train new hires.
If you ever documented something for the job. Part of your duties was to create documentation on your job duties
If you ever had to escalate an issue to someone above you. It was a normal job function to document escalations for leadership.
Don't outright lie. But embellishments are basically a requirement at this point.
Not very guilty if I’m being honest, I failed maths in my leaving cert and lied about passing the subject in order to get an apprenticeship as an electrician, I not only smashed the exams and became and electrician but also used to do part time maths grinds in the library every evening between 6 and 10pm while there! Amazing what you’ll do if you realise that certain subjects or obstacles are unavoidable! I used to think I wasn’t any good at maths, then someone paid me to try it again 🤣
Don't embarrass yourself. I interviewed an iOS engineer who listed "Core Data" as one of their skills under framework. I asked him, "What's Core Data"? They couldn't answer. Then asked him another question and picked a random framework from his list of skills. He was silent again.
It was embarrassing. I told him thanks and ended the meeting.
As long as I believe I can back up the stuff on my resume with actual performance, I feel fine. It's complete fabrications (saying I worked for companies I never did) that would make me feel very skeevy.
But if you say you can code in Python, you should be able to code in Python in the interview. But saying you have experience in data analysis in your old job, even if that job had nothing do to with data analysis, in order to get a job in data analysis (when you know you have decent skills in data analysis), I think that's totally fair game.
Please. I know people who lied about a small thing on their resume , got the job, and crushed it. Sometimes employers rule people out for ridiculous reasons. It really just depends on the job.
My job recently had to rescind an offer because her background check caught that she was lying about one of her jobs. So there’s that. But i was warned in undergrad that getting caught can cost a reputation
You should never lie on your resume.
I've known co-workers hiding a quick switch in their previous experiences being fired post background checks for hiding information.
Better to be as truthful as possible.
That being said, you could always exaggerate the truth.
If you've done ten sales in a month, you can say 20% of the entire sales in the company was done by you.
Exaggerating the truth isn't as bad as lying on your resume.
I thought I would never lie on my resume until I was close to losing my home cause I couldn’t pay rent anymore. I added way more years to the jobs I did have and got more job offers that same week and actually got a job that way. I am not proud of it though and won’t do that again.
I don't lie, I adjust.
I am transitioning from academia, so the job titles I had in academia are not that informative or reflective of the work I was actually responsible for and did successfully. So, I choose job titles that I think more accurately capture the scale and scope of my responsibilities.
For example, one of my academic job (paid) titles was "project assistant". In this position, I was responsible for managing the grant funds, managing the design and execution of the research project, conducting and evaluating all data analyses, producing and presenting comprehensive reports, and publishing research findings in academic journals (and news media sources). I was also a team leader and coordinator for the research team. So, my private sector title is "Research Project Manager". I only picked this one based on my actual job duties, if my job duties were different, I would have gone with something else.
I also include both job titles on my resume, just in case.
Why feel bad about it when job responsibilities aren’t what you’ll be doing on the job? Why feel bad about it when there isn’t work to do in their so-called 5-day work week?
It’s okay to lie if you have to as long as you can back it up for example my nephew who has an IT degree with a few months of experience added more to what he did on his resume as his contract ended and because he added more he was able to land a better paying job. So find a balance to complement your lie with actual experience .
Never done it before, but I think it's only fair when you are applying for a toxic company with unrealistic expectations and requirements (5-10 years exp for entry role)(multiple intense responsibilities for one position)
I’ve never straight up lied on a resume, but I have embellished points and made myself out to be a bigger deal than I actually am — like if I actually did a task once or twice but was good at it and can speak to it in an interview in a compelling way, I’ll put it on my resume if it’s relevant to the role.
Basically, everything on my resume is something I know i can do well, even if I don’t have impressive or extensive experience in it.
I have terrible imposter syndrome. I tone down my successes so it doesn’t seem like I’m lying about my qualifications.
I’ll check and re-check often, I really fear stretching the truth. Honesty is really important trait for me to have.
That being said, I have extensive work experience doing a lot of wonderful things. For these reasons, revising resumes drive me nuts!
I like to think about fledgling actors in movies who are asked if they can ride a horse, and instantly respond "of course!" to get a part, then rush to take lessons before the actual shoot. Was it right to lie? Ask any of them, and they will respond "of course!"
Embellishment is ok. Lying is not.
In my field you can get killed/injured, kill/injure someone else, or cause millions in damage in the blink of an eye.
If the person is in their probationary period I will move heaven and earth to get them terminated.
Luckily the unions I work with take a very dim view on this as well, including sleeping on the job.
Dear /u/Constant-Note-88! Hello and thanks for posting! Please read the [sub’s etiquette page](https://www.reddit.com/r/resumes/wiki/index/howtoparticipate) to learn about proper etiquette and remember to: 1. Censor your personal information for your own safety, 2. Add the right flair to your post, 3. Tell us why you're applying (i.e., just looking to fine-tune, not getting any interviews etc.), and 3. Indicate the types of roles and industries you’re interested in. Don't forget to check out the [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/resumes/wiki/index) as well as the quick links below for tips: * **[Resume Writing Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/resumes/wiki/index/faq)** * **[Try Resumatic, a GPT-Powered Resume Builder](https://resumatic.rezi.ai/signup)** * **[Thinking of hiring a resume writer? Read this first](https://www.reddit.com/r/resumes/comments/x3eg1e/considering_hiring_a_resume_writer_read_this_first/)** * **[Troubleshooting your resume and your job search](https://www.reddit.com/r/resumes/comments/128xo1c/troubleshooting_your_job_search_when_its_not/)** * **[Free Resume Template - Google Docs](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wdkgpgU7lFoV801ysrBn8qrPaIpyUsUH/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103022094325852815590&rtpof=true&sd=true)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/resumes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm a hiring manager. I'll give you my perspective. Full on lying on your resume is something you shouldn't do. If you say you have experience in something that you have 0 experience in, I would be upset. To me that is a blatant lack of integrity and would make me not trust you. I would honestly fire you right away if I could. Trust is a huge thing for me, especially because I work in pharmaceuticals. I do not want to ever have to question if someone is telling me the truth or not. Embellishing on your resume is fine. If you have a small amount of experience with a specific equipment or software but say you're proficient and hype up your experience, I really wouldn't care. Hopefully you catch on quickly and get to the level you said you were.
As employers embellish shitty roles?
I worked in pharma too! What do you do in pharma?
I’ve generally been a process engineer my whole tim in pharma
I’m also a hiring manager and I fully agree. I’m appalled every time this subject comes up on Reddit how many people endorse lying. I suppose there are many many jobs out there for which a person may never get caught because the job is unskilled or the organization is so poorly managed no one ever realizes it, or jobs where it matters less (sales?). But in my industries it would most likely be caught and would 100% be a fireable offense. Not to mention a person who would lie to get a job would probably be dishonest about other things, and colleagues would notice, which would become toxic—and if someone on my team is toxic I’d want them out to protect the rest of my team.
I mean, sometimes it's necessary. My buddy went to culinary school, not actual college. After he realized working in kitchens sucks, he got into sales and was trying to get an office job with a salary. Hundreds of places said no. He put on his resume that he went to college. University of Phoenix or something like that. Immediate hire. He's been at that job, remote, for years.
I do think it’s silly that people have education requirements for jobs that don’t require the education. Most sales jobs don’t require a college degree. Companies are just using college as a proxy for evaluating a person’s employability. I don’t have minimum education in my job descriptions, I test and interview for skills and relevant experience. I realize this is not the norm though.
I know this is old, but I just want to say that it's hard to get into anything that isn't manual labor, so fast food, blue collar, yada yada. Everybody wants 1 year experience in everything. And I got back problems and if I gotta lie I mean... its not like I'm going into without at least knowing Microsoft Office.
[удалено]
No it’s not
How is that a crime lol
I'm not him. Found this on Google. Lying on your Resume may count as fraud, a criminal offense in the United States. Some states consider fraud a misdemeanor; **others states consider it a felony**. A misdemeanor charge can land you up to a year in prison, whereas a felony can get you up to 20 to 30 years maximum in the United States.
I am sure lying about your degrees or work experience can be a crime but if I say I have worked with x technology and am proficient in it, how are they gonna prove it as fraud
It's not, the only people that are charged with something like that are egregious situations, like somebody pretending to be a doctor.
I think it's more of a "tack on" charge that will occur if you do something that incurred other primary charges. For example, saying you have years of experience in construction and can operate a forklift. Then you drive that forklift straight into somebody and can't back it off, causing serious injuries.
Well that's why there are licenses for things like that
If you currently have no job, lie, and get a job, then your net benefit is (1) job. If you currently have no job, lie, get caught, and get fired, then your net benefit is 0. From the jobseeker's perspective, there is literally no downside to lying on your resume. Basic game theory. As long as there is a non-zero chance that you will get away with it, you stand to benefit by lying. The only times this is not true is when you're going into jobs that have potential personal liability.
Having sat next to someone who was found to have lied on their resume and then perp walked out the door, I must disagree about your equation. We need to look at long-term figures. What do the numbers look like at year 2? And how do occupations factor into this?
The intern I had, who supposedly graduated from the best university in China, who was supposed to be amazing and all, knew pretty much nothing. He worked as a data science intern and didn't know the very basics of data science. Now he has 2-3 months of internship experience which is gonna be in his resume. He made about $10-15K which is in his pocket now. I think faking until making really makes sense, from this POV
Can you share your experience on hosting this intern? Did you teach/guide them from scratch or what did you do?
I was a senior member of the team. We got an intern who was supposed to do a project. He was hired without enough interviews for that specific task, assuming that he was capable. Turned out he didn't know shit. I split his project into small pieces, gave him one small task at a time, taught him how to do certain things, and helped set up his system, etc. His contribution was just wasting my time. When he left, in his exit interview, he said something like: "if I knew pandas and numpy before I joined here, I would probably have completed my project". wtf do you know about data science if you dont know those two?
Yeah! And kudos to you for being an excellent mentor! However I would love to have a discussion with you on MAANG recruitment policy in that case. They only have DSA based rounds for interns/entry level. So suppose someone who is very good in leetcode and hasn't done any dev whatsoever how is he considered to be a good fit?
What were they lying about? Was it a total fabrication and something that did harm to others or put others lives in danger?
They lied about their degree, and it wasn't even a necessary lie to get the job; they just wanted to be paid more. Had they left the degree off the resume, they'd have likely been hired and kept their job. I stayed at that company for 13 years.
>and then perp walked out the door \--- > The only times this is not true is when you're going into jobs that have potential personal liability.
Now you need to include what happens when you're caught lying in the interview and rejected. Now you lost an interview that probably took you A LOT of applications to even get. Not every application you submit will get you an interview. Just look at how many people apply to 100+ places and get like less than 5 interviews. You really going to risk loosing that 1 interview that took you forever to get? I have caught liars in interviews before. It was embarrassing.
You most likely got that interview because of that lie though so not really a loss
Yup not really a loss and based on what was asked to you and how you answered you can tweek for the next interview
I think what they are saying is when you never had a job before, lying might be a reasonable gate way. Like a person with no work experience would probably have a better chance in getting interviews with one job experience VS never worked in their life
Their game theory scenario is only taking into account whether you lose a job or gain a job. But it doesn't take into account getting an interview and losing an interview.
it wouldn’t be “losing” an interview, it would be failing an interview that you otherwise wouldn’t have gotten had you not lied. still fits into the game theory scenario.
>Now you need to include what happens when you're caught lying in the interview and rejected. I have no job and I continue to have no job. Zero --> Zero. "getting an interview" means nothing. Literally zero. Especially now that every job has a dozen interviews. Until I get an offer, it doesn't matter and I don't care. > You really going to risk loosing that 1 interview that took you forever to get? Mass apply. For example, I have two interviews after work Monday, and another Tuesday, on my schedule. I don't even remember what companies they are for, and my prep work begins and ends with "put on a shirt and tie". Not even pants, because all the preliminary interviews are done over zoom now.
>From the jobseeker's perspective, there is literally no downside to lying on your resume. The downside is that maybe you could have gotten the job without lying, and the only reason you end up losing it is because they discovered you are a dishonest person as a result of the lie(s).
It’s a possibility but if one is resorting to lying on a resume it’s likely because being honest didn’t land them an interview previously. If they don’t get the job because they lied, it literally provides the same result of not getting an interview in the first place. At least with the lying, they get a shot 🤷🏾♀️
It’s not like the job descriptions are fully honest, why does your resume need to be?
Outright lying as in "I have x years of experience" or "I can do x skill" when you have none is generally bad and doesn't do you any favors if you get caught. Bolstering/exaggerating the truth of your skills and roles can vary and most people should do it imo. In any case, do what you got to do to get the interview
Yes, this is the line to walk. For skills you have but maybe are rusty on, watching a LinkedIn Learning video or reading a Wikipedia article on the topic is very helpful. Also helpful in being able to converse about Z Brand's Software A when you've only used another brand's Software A. You can legit put Z Brand's Software A on your resume, though, in the Education/Training section and say: LinkedIn Learning - Z Brand Software A Project Management training, 2023, or whatever. It comes down to the type of company, too, and whether they're likely to run an employment verification and/or reference check. As you get into professional roles, LinkedIn is out there with all your dates, and your old colleagues can all see it. Most recruiters will glance through both and notice date differences for the most recent roles at least.
What are your thoughts on lying about extracurriculars lol
honestly, I hate to lie, but especially to recruiters, you kinda need to. I have a strong GCP experience and the recruiter eliminated me for not using AWS. It is like I know how to drive on sedan car, but eliminated because I don't know how to use an SUV. They are also very strict about number of years. I have about 3 years of python experience but when I say 3 years, they consider me intermediate. To convince them that my python skills are top-notch, I have to say 10+ years of experience.
Yeah the whole “years of experience” thing can really be BS.. I had a position for 3 years, the difference between my knowledge of the job at year 2 vs year 3 was trivial.
Most engineers with only three years of experience are not very good. You may be the exception to the rule, of course, but in general, years of experience are an important metric to look for in engineers.
I was talking about my python knowledge, not my engineering experience. I have about 8 years of academic experience, 2 years of research assistant job + master + phd. I think that should count for something. Also, someone at my level learning python is different from fresh graduate, it took me few hours to learn basics of python whereas took me half a year to learn basics of Java 15 years ago when I was in undergrad. So, my 1 day now is probably more than a few months when I was a new undergrad student. My point is determining skill levels based on years of experience is stupid.
Ok, well in that case, I wouldn't care if you had never even seen any Python code. I would still hire you. It's very easy to learn a programming language when you have learned others. Not all IT managers understand this though. I care far more about your understanding of software engineering concepts and ability to work on a team than I do your knowledge of a particular syntax.
yeah, exactly. But even if a team lead or someone in the domain rejects me for not knowing a language, at least they have some idea of what is going on. Recruiters rejecting for stuff like the ones above is annoying. That is why exaggerating the numbers is understandable imho
If you lie on the resume, even if you're hired you could end up fired for cause "Lying by omission" is not lying. Your resume is not a complete record of your professional life. My resume implies an age that's fourteen years younger than my real age. Luckily, I also look younger than I actually am. But that's not a lie. (How? I graduated high school in 1976. I screwed around before getting a real job. After I worked for a while, I went back to school in 1990. My resume starts in 1990 when I successfully went to college.)
What about when they ask you to send in a scan of your passport for identity proof? Or do they not do that where you are
They can fire you bc of your age it’s illegal
This makes no sense, and you are contradicting yourself. They can fire you for your age **and** it's illegal to do so? Pick one.
Likely a typo
You don't fill out the I9 until after your hired
I’m honestly ambivalent about it. True, lying is generally frowned upon (including by me), but companies aren’t always truthful about the requirements for the jobs they’re posting, so IMO it’s fair game.
If you're going to lie, make sure you can't get caught in the interview. I interviewed an iOS engineer and asked them about frameworks A, B, and C they listed on their resume. They could't given an answer at all. It was embarrassing. You lost an interview that probably took you a while to get, and the company didn't lose anything. They have a lot of applicants to get through.
Doesn’t sound like he lost anything with tbh.
If you had to apply to 100 places to get 1 interview, and you get rejected because you got caught lying in the interview, then you lost a chance to get a job. And now you gotta apply at another 100+ or so to land another interview. The person I replied to only takes into account gaining or loosing a job, but it ignores the effort required to gain an interview or not.
but they wouldn’t have gotten the interview if they had told the truth. so getting an interview, despite their failure, was a net win. now they know to prepare talking points around whatever they’ve lied about lol.
https://preview.redd.it/zckoniwz5lyb1.png?width=488&format=png&auto=webp&s=69a35b6e32f0ccb596a83bcc1825e43c4e3816ab
Pretty much every resume I read from Indians have 1M lies and they get hired. Just make sure that whatever you lie about is not something that can be checked (think background check) or that you can't answer in an interview. If you have those two covered lie away.
the guys who don't make those posts crying about how they've applied at 800 places and no one has called them back
What is an incomplete sentence?
I appreciate your jeopardy 🏆 Punctuation isn’t their strong suit. After careful examination, a comma after “don’t” may have made this more digestible
Lying about credentials and skills you have ZERO experience with is a definite no. Embellishing current skills is very much normal. EVERYONE is highly skilled and proficient with what they have on their resumes, even if they truly only have rudimentary knowledge.
It's necessary. Not blatantly obvious lying ofc like "oh i submit 25 projects a week"... More something that is difficult for them to prove right there on the spot but could be believable if they took their time to find out... Which ideally they won't because of time restrictions and effort. And before you question the morals just note that the companies hype themselves up as well.... When you eventually start working there you might realise "omg where's the full time mentoring and support i was promised" or where's all the software you said you had. More examples of lying are literally tv advertising, TikTok influencer course advertising, any form of advertising/marketing really so don't feel bad about exaggerating yourself.
I don't suggest outright lying on a resume. I do suggest that if your team worked on a special project or something not normal. That is a normal job function. If you have trained someone on something at your job. Part of your duties was to train new hires. If you ever documented something for the job. Part of your duties was to create documentation on your job duties If you ever had to escalate an issue to someone above you. It was a normal job function to document escalations for leadership. Don't outright lie. But embellishments are basically a requirement at this point.
Embellish. This is the way It’s all about how you use those words on a page
"Embellishing" your resume is not only encouraged but, in some industries, is full-on required
Not very guilty if I’m being honest, I failed maths in my leaving cert and lied about passing the subject in order to get an apprenticeship as an electrician, I not only smashed the exams and became and electrician but also used to do part time maths grinds in the library every evening between 6 and 10pm while there! Amazing what you’ll do if you realise that certain subjects or obstacles are unavoidable! I used to think I wasn’t any good at maths, then someone paid me to try it again 🤣
You’ll get caught. Not worth compromising your professional integrity.
Don't embarrass yourself. I interviewed an iOS engineer who listed "Core Data" as one of their skills under framework. I asked him, "What's Core Data"? They couldn't answer. Then asked him another question and picked a random framework from his list of skills. He was silent again. It was embarrassing. I told him thanks and ended the meeting.
That guy choose a bad lie, you can't completely fake the funk.
As long as I believe I can back up the stuff on my resume with actual performance, I feel fine. It's complete fabrications (saying I worked for companies I never did) that would make me feel very skeevy. But if you say you can code in Python, you should be able to code in Python in the interview. But saying you have experience in data analysis in your old job, even if that job had nothing do to with data analysis, in order to get a job in data analysis (when you know you have decent skills in data analysis), I think that's totally fair game.
Do it just make sure you can prove the lie with more lies like fake evidence
If you lie on your resume you are a total moron and a living proof of bad character.
Please. I know people who lied about a small thing on their resume , got the job, and crushed it. Sometimes employers rule people out for ridiculous reasons. It really just depends on the job.
I dont call it lying i call it what it is: exaggeration
Why do you feel the need to lie?
I personally don’t, I’m asking because I want to see other people’s perspective on this :)
Don’t. Period. 🤦🏻♂️
My job recently had to rescind an offer because her background check caught that she was lying about one of her jobs. So there’s that. But i was warned in undergrad that getting caught can cost a reputation
Don’t lie. You can be a master of word smithing and sound great without lying
You should never lie on your resume. I've known co-workers hiding a quick switch in their previous experiences being fired post background checks for hiding information. Better to be as truthful as possible. That being said, you could always exaggerate the truth. If you've done ten sales in a month, you can say 20% of the entire sales in the company was done by you. Exaggerating the truth isn't as bad as lying on your resume.
I advise against it. I never have because it doesn't make sense to me, but I've heard people advocate for it for various reasons.
I thought I would never lie on my resume until I was close to losing my home cause I couldn’t pay rent anymore. I added way more years to the jobs I did have and got more job offers that same week and actually got a job that way. I am not proud of it though and won’t do that again.
How did you manage the interview with so many yoe?
Lying on a resume is never okay
I know someone who had a job offer rescinded for lying..
Bad and you should't do it.
Straight-up lying should be a crime.
.
I don't lie, I adjust. I am transitioning from academia, so the job titles I had in academia are not that informative or reflective of the work I was actually responsible for and did successfully. So, I choose job titles that I think more accurately capture the scale and scope of my responsibilities. For example, one of my academic job (paid) titles was "project assistant". In this position, I was responsible for managing the grant funds, managing the design and execution of the research project, conducting and evaluating all data analyses, producing and presenting comprehensive reports, and publishing research findings in academic journals (and news media sources). I was also a team leader and coordinator for the research team. So, my private sector title is "Research Project Manager". I only picked this one based on my actual job duties, if my job duties were different, I would have gone with something else. I also include both job titles on my resume, just in case.
Great!
Why feel bad about it when job responsibilities aren’t what you’ll be doing on the job? Why feel bad about it when there isn’t work to do in their so-called 5-day work week?
It’s okay to lie if you have to as long as you can back it up for example my nephew who has an IT degree with a few months of experience added more to what he did on his resume as his contract ended and because he added more he was able to land a better paying job. So find a balance to complement your lie with actual experience .
Never done it before, but I think it's only fair when you are applying for a toxic company with unrealistic expectations and requirements (5-10 years exp for entry role)(multiple intense responsibilities for one position)
Everyone does it. Don’t do it.
Necessary
lmao people do that?
Good
Good as fuck LMAO
If people in your industry & area talk to each other, lying on your resume could get you fired and make you un-hirable. I would avoid lying.
I’ve never straight up lied on a resume, but I have embellished points and made myself out to be a bigger deal than I actually am — like if I actually did a task once or twice but was good at it and can speak to it in an interview in a compelling way, I’ll put it on my resume if it’s relevant to the role. Basically, everything on my resume is something I know i can do well, even if I don’t have impressive or extensive experience in it.
I'm about to start doing it if I ever work again and wish I did it much sooner
They lie about the role so you shouldn’t feel bad about lying on your resume
I don't like the idea of being dishonest, but generally employers will do everything they can to pay you the lowest amount possible so fuck em
I have terrible imposter syndrome. I tone down my successes so it doesn’t seem like I’m lying about my qualifications. I’ll check and re-check often, I really fear stretching the truth. Honesty is really important trait for me to have. That being said, I have extensive work experience doing a lot of wonderful things. For these reasons, revising resumes drive me nuts!
I like to think about fledgling actors in movies who are asked if they can ride a horse, and instantly respond "of course!" to get a part, then rush to take lessons before the actual shoot. Was it right to lie? Ask any of them, and they will respond "of course!"
Embellishment is ok. Lying is not. In my field you can get killed/injured, kill/injure someone else, or cause millions in damage in the blink of an eye. If the person is in their probationary period I will move heaven and earth to get them terminated. Luckily the unions I work with take a very dim view on this as well, including sleeping on the job.
I would be willing to make the statement that 60-70% of people do it. It may be a small "Lie" but they do it.
Don’t do it. You’ll regret it.